The Showrunner

This week we are going to talk about naming your show.

Specifically, we are going to go over three key concepts that you should consider when coming up with the name for your new show — or, if you have a show that isn’t getting the traction that you want, then for renaming an existing show.

And even if you are settled on your name, so you’re thinking maybe you should just skip this episode, you shouldn’t. The concepts we’re going to discuss today are applicable to many elements of your show besides just your name.

Among the topics we discuss:

• Why you definitely should not emulate the name of the #1-ranked show in Apple Podcasts
• Why context is everything
• The importance of understanding your usefulness proposition and working it into your show’s name
• The importance of also understanding your primary differentiator, and working that into your name too
• Why you shouldn’t get too cute trying to be different and memorable, at the expense of actually showing up for terms people search for

And much more.

We also shine our Showrunner Spotlight on Robbie Samuels (http://www.robbiesamuels.com/), find out why Jerod was extra excited about this broadcast, and learn what Jonny’s last meal on earth would be.

Have you checked out our new course on podcasting positioning?

It’s currently priced under $100, so it’s a low-cost investment that can make a major difference on whether your show launches and fizzles … or launches, connects with an audience, and delivers big-time results.

If you find this episode useful, you should also check out these three recent episodes:

• [123] 3 Pieces of ‘Low-Hanging Fruit’ That Will Help You Attract More Listeners
• [118] What Are Your Unfair Advantages?
• [114] Is Your Podcast Positioning on Point?

Connect with us:
• Connect with Jerod on Twitter: @JerodMorris
• Connect with Jonny on Twitter: @JonNastor
• Website: Showrunner.fm

This week we discuss some elements of your podcast that are easy to overlook or take for granted but that can make a huge impact on your ability to get discovered — which is the first step toward driving meaningful results.

We call these elements “low-hanging fruit” because they are simple changes that can really make a difference, and we shouldn’t overlook them in our haste to seek more advanced strategies for our shows.

This low-hanging fruit includes:

• The importance of manicuring the search engine results when people google your name or brand name
• Making sure your website is delivering an easy, intuitive experience for people trying to listen to and subscribe to your podcast
• Maximizing the impact of your podcast meta data and Apple Podcasts display page

In addition, we shine the Showrunner spotlight on Chris Connor. You can listen to his shows Life Sciences Marketing and Flip Turns. We highly recommend this episode with Sonia Thompson: https://flip-turns.com/podcast/swimming-started-sonia-thompson-path-rediscovery/

Also, if you’re interested in learning more about the new course Jonny launched, Roadmap to Freedom, click here: http://roadmaptofreedom.co/

Check out our sponsor Hover for your domain hosting needs. Go to Hover.com/Showrunner and get started today with 10% off your first purchase.

If you find this episode useful, you should also check out these recent episodes:

• [101] Showrunner 101: Back to Basics
• [72] How to Create a MVP (Minimum Viable Podcast)
• [66] 5 Steps for Conducting a Useful Podcast Archive Audit (in 30 Minutes or Less)

Connect with us:
• Connect with Jerod on Twitter: @JerodMorris
• Connect with Jonny on Twitter: @JonNastor
• Website: Showrunner.fm

This week's episode is being published a day early due to the 4th of July holiday on Wednesday, and it's also about a quarter of the usual length -- with a very specific call to action for how you should invest your extra 30 minutes!

You may remember our discussion from episode #117 (What Are You Avoiding That You Know You Should Be Doing?) in which Jonny relayed the overwhelming response he received when he finally sucked it up and sent an email to his list that he'd been avoiding. One of the responses was from someone who was inspired to follow Jonny's example.

Jonny reads the email, and then he and Jerod provide a short, emphatic call to action for why right now is the best time to reach out to someone, or a group of someones (your list, perhaps), who may be missing hearing from you. It's easy to put it off, but all you're likely doing is just delaying the positive response that will result.

If you have ever tried to host a remote 2-on-1 interview, then you are almost surely aware of the landmines laying in wait all over the place.

From disorganization to verbal car crashes and more, remote 2-on-1 interviews can be fraught with issues if you don’t have a solid strategy for executing them.

This week we use a question from our Showrunner Course Facebook group as the inspiration for an entire episode highlighting three of the biggest potential problems and give you strategies for overcoming them.

Among the topics we discuss:

• Common problems for any type of interview
• Questions you need to answer to avoid being disorganized with your co-host
• How to communicate during the interview so you avoid verbal car crashes
• Why maintaining flexibility is still possible and important, even though you’re planning so much out
• The importance of making sure your ego gets out of the way

We also shine the Showrunner Spotlight on Julie Duffy Dillon and her show Love Food: http://www.juliedillonrd.com/

If you find this episode useful, you should also check out these recent episodes:

• [105] How to Conduct Not-to-Miss Podcast Interviews
• [87] Krys Boyd of THINK on Conducting Better Interviews
• [60] to Execute Engaging Podcast Interviews

Connect with us:
• Connect with Jerod on Twitter: @JerodMorris
• Connect with Jonny on Twitter: @JonNastor
• Website: Showrunner.fm

When that green or red light is on, and words are being recorded, you are performing for your audience.

Which can be tricky, because when we use a word like “performing,” it can suggest that we are putting on a front, or that we are somehow being fake. This isn’t the case — at least, it’s not the case if the foundation of your show is an authentic connection with your topic and your audience.

The performance is about channeling all of your energy and attention into delivering useful content to your audience. For those five or fifteen or fifty minutes that you’re recording, it’s about stripping everything else away and being 100% focused and consumed with being present for your audience. Just like an actor does in front of a camera. Just like a musician does on a stage.

So yes — you can be authentic and still be delivering a performance for your audience. In fact, delivering a focused performance is the only way to truly be authentic for your audience.

And thinking about showrunning as a performance can have another benefit as well. If we have a character who we become for each show that we host — a character based on an authentic part of ourselves — this can also help us bring the kind of consistent focus and energy that we need to sustain our ability to provide consistent usefulness over time.

Which brings us to this week’s topic: how do you create your inner character as a showrunner?

It’s a 3-step process:

• Arranging the ELEMENTS of your inner character — the backstory, the character flaws, and the polarity
• Choosing the IDENTITY you are going to assume for that particular performance — whether it be The Leader, The Adventurer, or The Reporter
• Following the STORYLINE that best fits the subject matter you’re discussing and identity you’re assuming — from Loss and Redemption to Us versus Them, and many others

We break that entire process down in depth.

Then make sure you stick around after the outro, as we’ve included some bonus material from the live broadcast. You’ll hear us discuss:

• The pros and cons of using scripts for certain elements of the show
• Jonny’s idea for what he wants to try moving forward
• Answers to Bob’s questions about how we record backups and whether we batch record episodes.

Check out our sponsor Hover for your domain hosting needs. Go to Hover.com/Showrunner and get started today with 10% off your first purchase.

If you find this episode useful, you should also check out these related episodes:

• [114] Is Your Podcast Positioning on Point?
• [102] How to Immediately Become a More Productive (and Better) Podcaster
• [88] Podcasting Lessons From a Psychotherapist

Connect with us:
• Connect with Jerod on Twitter: @JerodMorris
• Connect with Jonny on Twitter: @JonNastor
• Website: Showrunner.fm

Jonny’s random introduction question was generated at ConversationStarters.com.

[119] 3 Ways This Showrunner is Getting His Podcast Right
This week, we share three important tips that we took away from listening to a show hosted by one of your fellow showrunners.

These are tips that will help you create a better audio experience for your listeners, and they will help you better define your positioning in the minds of your listeners — which is something you can’t just do once, but that needs to be an ongoing part of your message.

The episode we are referencing is When Money Isn’t Real by Jarmar Dupas of Get Your Money Right.

Among the topics we discuss:

• How Jarmar uses the introduction to this episode to welcome and orient listeners to what makes his show different — which is essential for the making your positioning clear
• How he uses framing and strong, strategic word choice to prime the audience to have a positive experience
• How he takes an idea typically reserved for blogging — curation — and applies it to podcasting in a way that expounds upon his own authority, and also furthers it.

If you find this episode useful, you should also check out these two recent episodes in our series on reassessing your podcast, plus another we did on podcast production:

• [118] What Are Your Unfair Advantages?
• [114] Is Your Podcast Positioning on Point?
• [76] Is Your Intro Silently Killing Your Show?

Connect with us:
• Connect with Jerod on Twitter: @JerodMorris
• Connect with Jonny on Twitter: @JonNastor
• Website: Showrunner.fm

What is the unique combination of advantages that you have -- whether these advantages were earned, gifted, or came to you by happenstance -- that no one else in your niche has? These are your unfair advantages, and maximizing them is one of your keys to success as a showrunner.

Among the topics we discuss during our main topic segment:

• Examples of unfair advantages from popular shows/showrunners and from our own experiences
• Why understanding your unfair advantages is so important
• The questions you should ask yourself to discover your unfair advantages
• What to do when you recognize that you aren't maximizing your advantages

We also briefly discuss:

• Jerod's experience presenting at Podcast Dallas last week
• The details of our new Podcast Positioning course, which is currently on sale for a 30% discount! Learn more here: http://showrunner.fm/podcast-positioning
• The mysterious shirt with the curious, 90s-callback slogan on it that just showed up on Jonny's doorstep
• Our new sponsor Hover, who you should absolutely check out for your domain hosting needs. Go​ ​to​ ​​hover.com/showrunner​ ​​and​ ​get​ ​started today with 10%​ ​off​ ​your​ ​first​ ​purchase.

Connect with us:
• Connect with Jerod on Twitter: @JerodMorris
• Connect with Jonny on Twitter: @JonNastor
• Website: Showrunner.fm

This week's episode is pulled directly from Jonny's own showrunning experience with Hack the Entrepreneur. Recently, he had fallen into a rut in which he'd gone close to a month without emailing his list. With every passing day, the prospect of reaching back out felt more difficult and monumental. Until he just ... did it.

So we discuss some of the lessons Jonny learned from this experience, and that we hope you learn too:

• Why doing something (even if it's imperfect) is better than doing nothing.
• The upside of repelling the people who aren't really your ideal, long-term audience members.
• Remembering that you're not the only one who gets stuck (and why sometimes admitting it to your audience can be the best way to improve your connection).

Jonny actually reads the email he ended up sending, verbatim, and provides the open rate, unsubscribe rate, and reply rate that it generated. And, naturally, Jerod proceeds to give him a pep talk about why the numbers are encouraging. :-)

This is the fourth episode in our series on reassessment. In this one, we dive into the importance of routinely shaking up the experience that your podcast is delivering (or at least reassessing to determine if you should) — both for your audience’s benefit, and your own.

Among the topics we discuss:

• Different ways that you can shake up your podcast by adding or removing elements
• Examples from our showrunner past of how we have shaken up our shows
• A sequence of three questions to ask yourself when you’re ready to reassess the experience your show is delivering

Listen here:



If you find this episode useful, you should also check out the other three episodes in our series on reassessing your podcast:

• [115] How to Improve Your Podcast Audio Production (with Toby Lyles)
• [114] Is Your Podcast Positioning on Point?
• [113] Why You Should Podcast

Connect with us:

• Connect with Jerod on Twitter: @JerodMorris
• Connect with Jonny on Twitter: @JonNastor
• Website: Showrunner.fm

Our series on reassessment continues, this time with a discussion about audio production. And we have a special guest here to lend his expertise: Toby Lyles from TwentyFourSound.

Among the questions we ask Toby:

• When you are talking to new podcasters who don’t have a ton of experience creating quality audio, what basic tools do you suggest they start out with?
• What is the biggest mistake you see podcasters make when it comes to getting quality sound?
• Once a person is comfortable with the basics, what are some next steps they can take to improve quality, improve efficiency, or both?

And many more, including a few that we definitely didn’t plan on. But hey — sometimes conversations just go in their own directions.

If you find this episode useful, you should also check out these two recent episodes in our series on reassessing your podcast, plus another we did on podcast production:

• [113] Why You Should Podcast
• [114] Is Your Podcast Positioning On Point
• [81] Professional Podcasting Tips for Pristine Production (and Hosting Hacks)

Connect with us:

• Connect with Toby at TwentyFourSound.com
• Follow Jerod on Twitter: @jerodmorris
• Follow Jonny on Twitter: @jonnastor
• Website: http://Showrunner.fm