We Are Podcast

So you’ve decided to start a podcast. In a perfect world, we’d all be able to afford the top-notch gear and sit in our recording studios to record an episode. But sadly, that’s just not the case for most of us. So what are our other options?

Welcome to Should I Start A Podcast. 

Each week Ronsley Vaz, with the help of a star-studded entrepreneurial guest lineup, explores why you should start a podcast and build an audience, and how to keep them hungry for more. If you’re thinking about starting a podcast, or simply finding a better way to get your message out to your audience, then this is the podcast for you.

This episode features a very special snippet from our We Are Podcast 6-week Launch Accelerator Course. Although this intensive program is usually only available to registered attendees of WAP, we decided this information was too valuable to keep to ourselves.

This quick little clip is all about the technical stuff you should think about before recording your first episode. First off, Ronsley answers the most frequent question he hears: “What mic do I need?” Then he gets into what all the factors that affect the answer. 

This is an excellent intro to the audio do’s and don’t for newbie podcasters. We don’t get too technical here, just some simple things to think about. Ronsley wants to make the process as simple as possible for you. The important thing is to get started on your podcast. And you don’t have to have a Dr Dre-esque studio to do it.

Other great info in this episode:

• What mic should you buy? 
• Why you need more than a webcam mic
• What makes a uni-directional mic different?
• The responsibility of a podcaster
• Squadcast and why it’s so cool

If you enjoyed this episode, you’re going to want to check out our We Are Podcast House Sessions 2.0. You’ll get more of these great podcasting courses, as well all the tools you need to launch your podcast, grow your audience and everything in between.  Register here while spots are still available!

As a podcaster, you want your show to grow. So, you try all the tactics, splurge on marketing, and still reach a point where nothing is happening. But here’s the thing about growth- there’s almost always a roadblock. And usually, it starts with you.

Each week Ronsley Vaz, with the help of a star-studded entrepreneurial guest lineup explores why you should start a podcast and build an audience, and how to keep them hungry for more. If you’re thinking about starting a podcast or simply finding a better way to get your message out to your audience, then this is the podcast for you.

In this episode we’re diving back into our We Are Podcast Growth Accelerator Program, a course designed by Ronsley to help attendees grow their podcast in just six weeks. 

In this bite-sized episode, Ronsley touches on recognising the areas you can build upon, to grow within your podcast. Also, how to get over the most difficult podcast roadblock.

If you want to map out a concrete plan and take the next steps towards growing your show, then this segment is for you. Tune in, and within minutes you’ll have an effective strategy right at your fingertips. 

Grab a pen and paper for this one; we’ve got some work for you to do!

• Breaking down how to improve for growth
• Who is in your distribution network?
• How We Are Podcast uses affiliates
• Why you can’t get the magic growth formula
• Where is the roadblock really?

If you enjoyed this episode, you’re going to want to check out our We Are Podcast House Sessions 2.0. You’ll get more of these great podcasting courses, as well all the tools you need to launch your podcast, grow your audience and everything in between. Register here while spots are still available!

What’s your Call to Action in your podcast? How does it add value to your show? Does it convert your listeners to clients or customers?

Welcome to Should I Start A Podcast. 

Each week Ronsley Vaz, with the help of a star-studded entrepreneurial guest lineup, explores why you should start a podcast and build an audience, and how to keep them hungry for more. If you’re thinking about starting a podcast, or simply finding a better way to get your message out to your audience, then this is the podcast for you.

This episode features a very special snippet from our We Are Podcast 6-week Launch Accelerator Course. Although this intensive program is usually only available to registered attendees of WAP, we decided this information was too valuable to keep to ourselves.

In this fun, little info-packed segment, Ronsley discusses the importance of finding the right brands to add value to your podcast. He also breakdowns the almighty Call to Action. He explains why it’s so incredibly important for your show, and your brand.

If you haven’t put much thought into your Call to Action before, this segment will definitely open your eyes to its possibilities. Take a few minutes to listen to podcast expert Ronsley dissect this crucial branding element. 

Also in this segment:

• What brands add value to We Are Podcast
• How does a brand add value?
• Why entertainment should always be a priority in your podcast
• How do you take your listeners to the next step?
• Is your Call to Action easily consumable?

If you enjoyed this episode, you’re going to want to check out our We Are Podcast House Sessions 2.0. You’ll get more of these great podcasting courses, as well all the tools you need to launch your podcast, grow your audience and everything in between.  Register here while spots are still available!

Every new podcaster wants to know how to boost their engagement. The answer is a lot simpler than you think. Engagement comes easy when it’s coming from a place of passion. If you’re faking it, your listeners will see through it.

where each week, Ronsley Vaz, with the help of a star-studded entrepreneurial guest lineup, explores why you should start a podcast, build an audience, and how to keep them hungry for more.

If you're thinking about starting a podcast or simply looking for a better way to get your message out to your audience, then this is the podcast for you.

Mathew Passy has been podcasting since before podcasts were a “thing”.

After a start in broadcasting 15 years ago, Mathew’s career evolved into podcasting. He’s worked in production for major organisations like The Wall Street Journal and individual clients all over the United States. His first podcasting experience began like the storyline from a binge-worthy TV show. The radio station newsroom that Mathew was working in at the time needed a way to transition into the digital world. He suggested converting the early news segment into a podcast. It worked, and it’s still going strong to this day. 

From then on, Mathew worked his magic in the podcasting world. He had his hand in hosting and producing massively popular shows like Tech News Briefing and Your Money Matters. He eventually used his passion to create his very own show, the PodUp Podcast, which gave an inside look at the industry. 

Mathew is now the host of Podcast Me Anything. It’s a question and answers formatted show, where listeners can get all of their burning podcast queries answered once and for all. Besides being the connoisseur of podcast hosting, Mathew also runs his own business. The Podcast Consultant is a one-stop-shop for podcast hosts. Mathew runs audits on their shows, telling them what areas need tweaking and what areas are killing it.

In this episode, Ronsley, Kaili and Mathew get into what makes you an “expert”. Mathew tells us the things that he thinks newbies should be aware of. And he also gets into his biggest point about podcasting. In order to be authentic, you absolutely have to have a genuine passion for what you’re talking about.

Also within this episode:

• The complicated production process of early podcasts
• How Mathew uses his radio experience in podcasting
• Why you can start a podcast for basically any reason, as long as you’re passionate about it
• The magic of affiliate links
• How a podcast can give your business credibility 
• How to stand out in a crowded niche
• The process of a podcast audit
• Why you should always lead with value in marketing
• The 3 things Mathew recommends for interviewing

Links:

Mathew on LinkedIn

Mathew on Twitter

Mathew on Instagram

The Podcast Consultant

Podcast Me Anything

Causepods

Even once we’ve beaten the odds and become successful, doubt can come creeping in. It’s ok to feel not good enough, as long as you push through that. Success isn’t a magic wand that zaps all your insecurities away. Coming to terms with your worth is an ongoing process.

where each week, Ronsley Vaz, with the help of a star-studded entrepreneurial guest lineup, explores why you should start a podcast, build an audience, and how to keep them hungry for more.

If you're thinking about starting a podcast or simply looking for a better way to get your message out to your audience, then this is the podcast for you.

Steph Taylor knows what she’s doing.

But she didn’t always. Like most entrepreneurs, Steph kind of made it up as she went along. 

She founded StephTaylor.co after her first business just didn’t pan out the way she expected it to. StephTaylor.co is a virtual hub that helps online entrepreneurs launch and relaunch their online courses, memberships, digital products and podcasts. 

And it turned out she was really amazing at creating businesses. And she was really amazing at showing other people how to do the same. But even with all this massive success, she still had that nagging little voice in the back of her head telling her she wasn’t good enough. The voice would shake her sense of worth, even if she knew better. In fact, she still has to tell that same voice to shut up, even today.

Today's episode is Part 2 of Steph and Ronsley’s mic switch-up. To celebrate 300 episodes of Steph's podcast "Socialette", Steph asked our very own Ronsley, to interview her on her show. In the second part of their conversation, Steph tells us all about her marketing concepts. They are completely unique to her strengths. She also touches on tracking your social media returns and why she always leaves lots of white on her calendar. Take a listen to the conclusion of this fun interview.

Other snippets in this episode:

• Why Steph never felt like she was good enough
• Why the word “qualification” is meaningless
• What coming to terms with her own self worth looks like to Steph
• Steph’s superpower, according to Ronsley
• The reality of Imposter Syndrome
• Why marketing is all about perspective
• Why Steph will probably always do her own Facebook ads
• What Steph envisions for her future

Links:

Steph's Website – Stephtaylor.co

Steph's Facebook - @stephtaylor.co

Steph’s Instagram - stephtaylor.co

Steph's LinkedIn

Listen to The Socialette Podcast here

Mike Cannon-Brookes TEDx Talk - How You Can Use Imposter Syndrome to Your Benefit

Have you ever started a project and it just didn't work out the way you planned? How did that feel? Our podcasts and businesses are our babies. If the time should come to change direction or call it quits, how do you stop yourself from feeling the sting of failure?

where each week, Ronsley Vaz, with the help of a star-studded entrepreneurial guest lineup, explores why you should start a podcast, build an audience, and how to keep them hungry for more.

If you're thinking about starting a podcast or simply looking for a better way to get your message out to your audience, then this is the podcast for you.

Steph Taylor is a podcast superstar and launch strategy queen.

One day Steph gave up sugar. It seemed like a good idea at the time. But, what she quickly found out was there weren't many tasty treats for people like her. That's when she had a fantastic business idea. Steph developed SugarFree Box, the Australian health food subscription box. As a solopreneur, she did everything herself. Handpicking products, packing up hundreds of orders, and shipping them off for customers to enjoy. Even though the business was gaining traction, it became clear that it just wasn't sustainable. 

Steph's new apartment was essentially her warehouse. She didn't have the funds to outsource tasks. And worse still, all that work was wreaking havoc on her health. It was time to call it quits. That sense of failure was something she would have to come to terms with.

Today, Steph is taking the online marketing space by storm. She is the founder of StephTaylor.co. It's a virtual hub that helps online entrepreneurs launch and relaunch their online courses, memberships, digital products and podcasts. Her goal is to help people have a more significant outreach, grow their impact, create more profit, and have more freedom in their businesses and their lives. 

In today's episode, we're switching things up. To celebrate 300 episodes of Steph's podcast "Socialette", she asked our very own Ronsley, to interview her on her show. Socialette is a bite-sized online marketing show for business owners. It's chock full of memorable guests and marketing golden nuggets. 

Steph may have been nervous in this interview, but she totally nailed it. She gave us some insight into her entrepreneurial journey and her new life as a fully-fledged podcaster. 

Ronsley and Steph talk about podcast introduction etiquette and the stark realities of entrepreneurship. They look at the psychological workings of an entrepreneur and why sometimes it's often best to let some things go. 

Other snippets in this episode:

• Why Steph feels vulnerable being interviewed in front of her listeners
• The welcome process and why you need to make an excellent first podcast impression
• How would Steph introduce herself at a BBQ?
• What the entrepreneurial identity means to Steph
• Steph's first business how it all started
• How Ronsley and Steph met
• Steph's first proper job
• How Google saved Steph's career
• Why Steph still loves journaling

Links:

Steph's Website – Stephtaylor.co

Steph's Facebook - @stephtaylor.co

Steph’s Instagram - stephtaylor.co

Steph's LinkedIn

Listen to The Socialette Podcast here

Sometimes we start out in life with a picture of how things are supposed to be. And then fate deals us a completely different hand. Even if you fell into podcasting as an alternative, or because your Plan A failed, don’t take it for granted. Podcasting can broaden your horizons and open up a whole new world. 

Welcome to Should I Start A Podcast, 

where each week Ronsley Vaz, with the help of a star-studded entrepreneurial guest lineup, explores why you should start a podcast; build an audience, and how to keep them hungry for more.

If you’re thinking about starting a podcast or simply looking for a better way to get your message out to your audience, then this is the podcast for you.

Emma Gunavardhana wanted to work for glossy magazines. 

Emma thought she knew what her life would end up like. She’d work for a fancy beauty magazine for twenty years or so. She’d interview and hang out with famous celebrities and fashion icons. And she’d be happy and content.

Well, that didn’t exactly pan out, at least not in the way she had originally imagined. Sure, she did end up working for a couple of fancy magazines for quite a while. But it didn’t exactly check the box the way she had expected it to. And that’s ok. In fact, it’s more than ok. It’s amazing. Because now Emma is the host of The Emma Guns Show with an audience of more than 8 million listeners.

Working as Beauty Editor at OK! magazine for ten years gave Emma a built-in network when she decided to start her podcast. Writing detailed features for so long also gave her the feel for interviewing. What she didn’t expect to happen was to have her horizons broadened so widely. 

Podcasting gives you quite a different platform than a magazine. Writing for a beauty magazine kept Emma’s topics and outreach somewhat limited. However, once she had her own podcast, she realised how much you can push the envelope with candid conversation.

In this episode, Ronsley and Emma get into the natural evolution process of podcasts. They discuss the power in conversation and how it not only impacts the listeners, but the host as well. Emma lays out the unconventional approach she has to advertising, and why she’s still doing the dirty work herself. This is an excellent conversation for people who are afraid podcasting will box them into a specific niche. It doesn’t have to be that way. In fact, podcasting is a great way to explore your interests and play with your destiny.

Other fun stuff in this episode:

• Why it’s ok to admit you’re not cut out for something
• The natural evolution of The Emma Guns Show
• Why consistency is the key to success
• What’s with all the episodes on hormones?
• Why you should always keep your DMs open
• Travelling through people’s stories 
• Why Emma doesn’t let herself get bogged down in the metrics
• How the podcast has changed Emma’s habits
• Why you should focus more on getting quality guests than anything else

Links:

The Emma Guns Show

Emma’s Website

Emma on Instagram

Emma on LinkedIn

The Tim Ferriss Show

The Emma Guns Show: Learning how to Breath with James Nestor

Starting a podcast is exciting. You’re probably filled with a million different ideas and want to try them all right away. Hold your horses! Sometimes simple is best. Getting too complex too early may make your podcast inaccessible for those that could benefit from it the most. You have to make your podcast work for you and your listeners.

Welcome to Should I Start A Podcast, 

where each week Ronsley Vaz, with the help of a star-studded entrepreneurial guest lineup, explores why you should start a podcast; build an audience, and how to keep them hungry for more.

If you’re thinking about starting a podcast or simply looking for a better way to get your message out to your audience, then this is the podcast for you.

Colin Gray likes to keep it simple.

Colin fell in love with podcasting in 2008, before it was really a thing. He founded The Podcast Host and Alitu: The Podcast Maker in order to share that love with others and help them create their own content. He started his career in Astrophysics, believe it or not, before realising the math world just wasn’t for him. 

ThePodcastHost.com is now one of the oldest and biggest podcasting blogs on the web. It has led to opportunities for Colin to host several different podcasts, including The Podcraft Podcast, as well as a successful YouTube channel.

In this episode, Ronsley and Colin get into what Colin sees as newbie podcasters’ biggest mistake: getting too complicated too early. He breaks down why he always suggests releasing your podcast in short 8-10 episode seasons, instead of working all year long to put out content that may not be working for you, or your audience. They also touch on some creative ways to engage your audience in authentic, effective ways.

Also in the episode:

• Colin’s introduction to podcasting
• Why Colin doesn’t necessarily think you have to be an expert to teach
• Why he recommends recording your podcast in seasons
• Why you should always make sure you’re addressing your listeners’ problems
• Who Colin thinks podcasts are best for
• Colin’s old-school approach to content
• Why you should always reply to your listeners’ emails

Links:

Colin on LinkedIn

The Podcast Host on Twitter

Colin on Instagram

The Podcast Host

Alitu: The Podcast Maker

Colin’s YouTube Channel

Listen to The Podcraft Podcast

The podcast community is growing. As more individuals and businesses are breaking into the audio world, we all have a new responsibility to take the necessary steps in making the industry more sustainable. So, where do we start?

Welcome to Should I Start A Podcast, 

where each week Ronsley Vaz, with the help of a star-studded entrepreneurial guest lineup, explores why you should start a podcast; build an audience, and how to keep them hungry for more.

If you’re thinking about starting a podcast or simply looking for a better way to get your message out to your audience, then this is the podcast for you.

Jill Beytin was always destined for a life on the airwaves.

Jill grew up in a public radio loving household, back in the big city of San Francisco. With her father working in public television, it seemed Jill also caught the production bug. By the time she went to college, she was working at the campus TV & radio station.

Now, as a seasoned podcaster and ex-pat living abroad, she has created a podcasting empire that is taking Berlin by storm. Today, Jill is the Founder of Bear Radio, Berlin’s English language podcasting network. Using her extensive experience, Jill teaches multiple workshops, leads podcasting meetups, and works to grow the podcasting ecosystem in Berlin. As she puts it, she is one of the biggest podcasting nerds in the city.

Bear Radio takes a three-pronged approach. Firstly, they produce their in-house shows such as What’s the Mate? Secondly, they teach corporate clients and members of the public about the podcast industry. And thirdly, they have a network such as the Berlin Podcasting Meetup. 

In this episode, Ronsley and Jill talk about the podcast industry as a whole and how important it is to create a robust podcaster community. They explore why you have to know your worth, especially when you’re offering services. They also touch on the biggest podcasting blunders that really grind Jill’s gears.

Also in this episode:

• The Bear Radio Network and creating the Berlin podcast ecosystem
• The realities behind monetising your podcast
• What grinds Jill’s gears
• Why you must charge your worth
• Why podcasters shouldn’t put Instagram above sound quality
• Why you need to create connections early on 
• What people misunderstand about podcasting
• How you can become an “at home” podcast producer
• Are you really a good podcast host?

Links:

Bear Radio’s Website

Jill Beytin’s LinkedIn

Jill Beytin’s Twitter

Building a successful podcast is more than just buying the right ads or lining up the right sponsorships. Your audience has the power to make your show fade away quickly, or stand the test of time. The key is to creatively engage your listeners, and make them want to stick around for the long haul.

where each week Ronsley Vaz, with the help of a star-studded entrepreneurial guest lineup, explores why you should start a podcast; build an audience, and how to keep them hungry for more.

If you’re thinking about starting a podcast or simply looking for a better way to get your message out to your audience, then this is the podcast for you.

Kristen Meinzer knows what she’s talking about.

And she talks about it often. So much so that she was named “one of the 22 most influential women in podcasting” by Washington Post contributor Alex Laughlin. Kristen is a culture critic, a podcasting consultant, a reporter, an author, a speaker and an award-winning podcast host of several different shows, including By The Book, with co-host Jolenta Greenberg and Movie Therapy with co-host Rafer Guzman.

Kristen is passionate about giving people the confidence to share their stories through podcasting. She sees diversity in the podcast world as it’s biggest asset and loves that her listeners see her as a role model. One of Kristen’s most relatable qualities is her authenticity, and with that comes an ability to connect with her audience.

In this episode, Ronsley and Kristen focus on how to build your podcast audience by active engagement. Kristen gives Ronsley some amazing examples of how she’s creatively engaged listeners in the past with genius ideas like Royal Bingo cards. Tune in to learn how to get those creative juices flowing to bring continual interest to your show.

Also in this episode:

• The diversity of podcasting vs. mainstream media
• How Kristen views responsibility and ethics in journalism
• Why it’s so important to ask for permission for everything you use in your show
• The two questions every would-be podcaster should ask themselves
• Why podcasting isn’t just about a mic and a good editing program
• Why you should focus on listenership before ads
• Behind the scenes details of By the Book
• Why you should always involve your listeners

Links:

Kristen on LinkedIn

Kristen on Twitter

Kristen on Instagram

Kristen’s Website

By The Book Podcast

Movie Therapy Podcast

So You Want to Start a Podcast: Finding Your Voice, Telling Your Story, and Building a Community That Will Listen

How to Be Fine: What We Learned From Living by the Rules of 50 Self-Help Books