Influential Introvert: Communication Coaching for Professionals with Performance Anxiety - Elsie Escobar: How Podcasts Saved My Life

Episode Date: May 23, 2019

Elsie Escobar is a Hall-of-Fame podcaster, actress, advocate, one of the most significant voices in podcasting today, co-Founder of She Podcasts, manager of all things community at Libsyn, and an all around amazing woman who I am honored to know.   If you listen to Elsie on She Podcasts or Libsyn’s podcast, The Feed, you’ll know that she is creative, fun, and a die-hard podcaster who is all about empowerment, intentionality, and vision. Born in El Salvador, she’s also a proud Latina influencer who advocates for social and cultural change through her work. She challenges podcasters to go deeper with their shows and their messages and to get really clear on how you want to show up in this world.   On Podcasting Step by Step, we talk about what it takes to make it as a podcaster; why downloads are not the best way to gauge your podcast’s success — and what is; the conversation she wants to be having right now; and how podcasting saved her life. I’ve heard her mention this fact on other shows before, but she dives deeper into the specifics here, and I thank her for sharing such a personal story that I know can help others escape a bad situation.   Visit sarahmikutel.com for more articles on how to podcast. Ready to start podcasting? Download my free guide: “8 Mistakes New Podcasters Make and How to Fix Them.”   Looking for a podcast media host? Use my Libsyn affiliate code POSTCARD to get the rest of this month for free and next month free.   I’m your podcast coach,Sarah Mikutel. Did you know that I also host the Postcard Academy travel podcast? Check it out if you’re the ‘experiences not things’ kind of person who believes travel goes deeper than a fantastic meal (though that is pretty great). Every week, I interview people who packed up everything to start a new adventure in another part of the world. You’ll learn how they did it and get their best insider food and culture tips.   Thank you so much for listening to Podcasting Step by Step. I know you’re busy and have many listening options, so it means a lot to me that you’re here. You are the best.Do you ever go blank or start rambling when someone puts you on the spot? I created a free Conversation Cheat Sheet with simple formulas you can use so you can respond with clarity, whether you’re in a meeting or just talking with friends.Download it at sarahmikutel.com/blanknomore and start feeling more confident in your conversations today.

Have you been wanting to start a podcast for a while now, but something's holding you back? Maybe it's fear of putting yourself out there or confusion about the technology. I'm Sarah Micahettel and on podcasting step by step, I'll break down how to podcast with a little loving motivation to give you the skills and the confidence you need to finally launch that show of your dreams. Let's get started. Elsie Escobar is a Hall of Fame podcaster, actress advocate, one of the most significant significant voices in podcasting today, co-founder of she podcasts, manager of all things community at Libson, and all-around amazing woman who I am honored to know. If you listen to Elsie on She Podcasts or on Libson's podcast The Feed, you'll know that she is creative, fun, energetic,

and a diehard podcaster who is all about empowerment, intentionality, and vision. Elsie challenges podcasters to go deeper with their shows and their messages and to get really clear on how you want to show up in this world. Forne in El Salvador, Elsie is also a proud Latina influencer who advocates for social and cultural change through her work. And like me, Elsie is often recording in less than ideal locations. She and her family are living the homesteader life in part of the U.S. that does not have very good connectivity. But she makes it work and you will learn how in this episode. We also talk about what it takes to make it as a podcaster,

why downloads are not the best way to gauge the success of your show and what is. We talk about the conversation that she wants to be having right now. And she shares how podcasting saved her life. I've heard her mention this on a few other shows before, but she dives deeper on the specifics here, and I thank her for getting so personal with the story because I think it can really help a lot of people get out of bad situations. Elsie has so much to share with this world, and I am very happy that I can share this interview

with you today. Let's jump into my conversation with Elsie. Welcome, Elsie. Thank you so much for joining me today. Hi, I'm so happy to be here today. So you have been podcasting since 2006. You're a podcast Hall of Famer and a fantastic role model to thousands of podcasting women through She Podcasts, the community you co-founded with Jess Kuperman. What motivated you to get into podcasting? Oh my gosh. Actually, I think it really just was my ego.

I don't believe that. No, I, you know, I got an iPod, you know, remember those iPods with a with a little video, the little video iPods. It was like a fifth generation iPod. And I got one of those for Christmas. And at that time, I didn't have any digital music like at all. Like I had just my CDs and I didn't even have a computer that could, I don't even know. I don't think my computer even had a CD player on it. I mean, it was just old school. And I thought like, how am I going to use this iPod? Like, how am I going to get the music on it? I'm, you know, I got a little overwhelmed. So I, I plugged in the iPod into my computer, my PC at that time, and iTunes popped up.

And in that version of iTunes, podcasts had just been added into the scene, which meant that I could download free content because that's what I was looking for. I didn't want to buy music. I didn't want to buy anything. So I thought, oh, look, here's some stuff that you can listen to and I can download to my iPod. And it's free. Yay. And so I didn't know what it was at all. I just knew that they were called podcast and I went in there and it looked like it had all kinds of really cool content. And I was like, okay, I'm just going to download a bunch of these things. And I searched for stuff in there. And I downloaded into my iPod. And lo and behold, I was incredibly taken by the content that I downloaded and I became even more intrigued because it wasn't a show, like it wasn't a radio. And so I started to do a little bit more research about podcast. And of course, I downloaded

podcast about podcasting because that's what you do. You want to know stuff. And so through that, I immediately went almost, almost immediately to podcasts about podcasting, only because I was, I wanted to know what this was that I was listening to. And in doing so, I was exposed to the world of podcasting, which at that time had just started. And of course, when you do that, I wanted to do one of my my own. You know, I wanted to create a show myself. Since I'd come from like sort of like a creative background, I was in our, I am an actor. And so I had that fee, that desire to sort of perform. And I thought, wow, this would be really cool to be able to have my own show. And in the shows that I listened to way back at the beginning were all in really, really different, like very different.

They weren't, there was, you know, nowadays you kind of get a sense of like there's a lot of interview shows and there's a lot of, you know, I don't know, solo shows or something like that. And these shows were all completely, like there were some solo shows and yes, there were some interview shows. There was a lot of like panel type shows, but there were a lot of like people on the street type shows that were recording, you know, just real life. There was a lot of like sort of audio journals and there was a lot of like full on proper shows where the intro would start and there were segments and there was this dust discussion and there was like, you know, it just felt really professional. And I thought, wow, I can do all of those things. I want to test it out. So that's

why I say it was an ego thing. Well, I love that. you were so like game to try new things. Like I was listening to a podcast since before iTunes, but it never, it didn't cross my mind until years and years later like, oh, I could try this out. So what were your feelings about the technology back then? Were you confident? Have you always been into tech? You know, that was one of the biggest things that I think I had to, it was a hurdle that I had to cross for sure. You know, I mean, I wasn't. I was not in any way, shape or form. comfortable with the tech at all from the beginning. But I do come from sort of like my family, well, my grandfather in El Salvador was incredibly

tech lover. You know, he was such a tech lover. That's amazing. Yeah, he was, it was amazing. Like, he always had the coolest, like watches. He always, like, he had one of his little, he had a little personal TVs. I don't know if you remember these, those little televisions that were, like, a little square that were super small.

And he would, the smaller the TV, he could get the better. Like every time he traveled anywhere in the world, he would buy the latest and greatest. Even when he passed away, like in his 80s, he was, you know, he was still on his computer. Like he figured out how to use the computer and he was doing all kinds of research on his computer. He was never deterred by tech at all. And I think that I remember that. although I wasn't like that.

I wasn't like him then. But then when I started with the whole podcasting thing, I sort of developed this love for it that started with the iPod. You know, the iPod kind of opened my eyes to what technology could be. And then in hearing podcast, I started to recognize that the, sort of like the line between you creating a really amazing show or your show, is much smaller than you would imagine. And I think maybe the thing that took me over the line

is that the fact that I was listening to Podcast 411, which is co-hosted, or not, it wasn't co-hosted at that time. My co-host, Rob Walsh, the VP of Podcast Relations over at Lipson, is one of the people who co-hosts the show, the feed with me. But way back in the day,

he had another podcast called Podcast 411. And in that show, I think he was one of the very, very first sort of interview shows where he would interview podcasters. And he had a key question. As soon as you get on, he would ask, like, you know, what is your, I think he would ask, what is your microphone or like, what is your current setup or something like that? And he would ask what was your first computer? Like he had two core questions at the beginning.

And every podcaster that got on, explained what their setup was and they would go off on talking about it. And I learned so much about tech just by hearing that and how much money it was and where they bought it and all of this information that you would initially Google, right, and search for. And then you would hear all the behind the scenes of how everybody was recording what they were recording. And I realized that it was easy for me to do it as well. So that's why I did it. And so your yoga podcast was born.

Yes. It was. My yoga podcast was born because I, because again, for me, it was like a test. It was really a test. And I was like, okay, I want to create a show. Like I thought, I'm going to have intro music and segments and, you know, I'm going to talk about all these different things. And I had an idea of what I wanted my show to be. but I thought, but I at first have to figure out how to do it.

And I don't want to do any extra work. So what is it that I can record that I can use that I'm already doing? And at that time I was teaching yoga a lot. I was teaching like 13 public classes a week, which is a really, it's kind of a really heavy class load. Right. I was, I was a full-time yoga teacher. And so I thought, okay, so every time I go. to a class, I'm just going to record that class and test it every single time I would test it out.

And that's what I did. I started to test my classes out. I would just record. I recorded anywhere from three to five classes a week and I would use one because usually there was only one that I could use out of all of those. You know, either because it was a technical difficulty. There were so many different times. I had tech difficulties. I pulled out the microphone by mistake. I didn't set the volume levels right. I didn't turn the recorder died in the middle. Like there were all of these things that would always happen. And also, you know, yoga classes, as maybe some people could hear at this moment, a lot of the time people would still go like, why did you even start an audio yoga class? Like most people would think like you would need a video, right? And so,

the classes that I shared had to be very, very good classes for somebody who was listening. And any time that I ended up having a really great class, but for somebody who was attending, meaning I would do like extra things or extra tutorials, I couldn't really post that because there's a lot of teaching going on that requires visuals. Right. And so I couldn't use those classes at all. It would just be, it's too confusing. You know, everybody go get a block.

Yeah. Okay, everybody, put the block in this. You know what I mean? It's just too much. It's like it makes no sense for anybody who's listening at home. So there were a lot of classes that I could not use because of that. So that sounds like a really fun experiment. But I've heard you say before that podcasting also helped save your life.

Could you speak a little bit about that? Yes. So again, at that time during when I was in L.A. doing all of these different things, you know, trying to find myself and all this. I was in a sort of in a very negative relationship. I was in a relationship that was, I would say it was abusive in the psychological way. And I was in a situation where I didn't really have the tools or the resources to figure out how to get myself out. And it wasn't that it was so bad that my life was in danger, although it was a few times.

It was really more of the fact that I felt like I was isolated and I had lied to so many different people in my life that they didn't really know what was really happening in my life. And I really, I've always been really good at taking care of myself and having like, how do I say it, like a front face so that the world thinks that you're fine, but everything at home is not. So I was able to, you know, go to work and, you know, teach my yoga classes and, you know, do all those things.

But I was not happy. And I didn't quite know how to get out of the situation that I was in. So I didn't have anybody to talk to about any of the stuff because you inherently isolate yourself whenever you're in a situation like this. There's so much shame around it. There's so much stigma. there's also the feelings that will come from somebody else that they had come up and go like, well, all you have to do is leave. But it's not really that easy for a lot of women in these situations.

There's just so much nuance to it. And anyway, so I was in that position. And I started listening to shows and I started listening to podcasts. And I started to recognize that the world was so much bigger than what I felt. And it wasn't that, and here's the interesting thing about that, too, that I was, it wasn't that I was listening to like, you know, women's empowering, you know, podcast and podcasts that would get me out of my situation. I was listening to primarily the podcast that were coming out of Los Angeles at that time, which is I was, I became part of the original LA podcasters. And it was this, these group of guys who were primarily. storytellers and they would get behind the microphone and they would tell stories about their life.

And some of them were very off the cuff and some of them were very, very finely tuned performers that were just telling these stories in their life. And in doing so, they not only inspired me to kind of be a better performer, like it made me want to do that, but it also helped me see that the world was so much bigger than I thought, that experiences were so vast that there was the possibilities for more for me. And I got to know them, I got to listen to them.

And I very distinctly remember one specific podcaster. And I don't think I've never, I mean, I still follow him on Instagram and I don't think he is podcasting anymore, but it was, his show was called Cush Things I Say. And he would kind of pontificate on men and life in Los Angeles. And he would occasionally just, you know, give advice to like women out there, not on purpose, like not saying like, this is my advice column, but he would just say like, something like, you know,

hey ladies, if the guy is doing this, he is not a good guy. So you need to, you know, get yourself together. And I remember he, there was a point there where he, he had, he was pontificating, you know, like being, he was actually mansplaining. And I'm sitting there hearing him and he was like, well, if the dude does this and this and this and this, this is not a good situation. Like he was almost exactly talking about the person that I was with. And I remember I got really pissed off. I was really mad at him because I was like, how dare he? He doesn't know. Because you always stand up for whatever negativity is going on in your life.

For whatever reason, that's what you do. You're just like, no, you don't understand. Yeah. You know. And so I remember being really pissed off. I was on my bike because I biked everywhere in LA and I'm listening to the story. And I'm just like really fueled up. And but that was like he planted a seed in my mind.

You know, he planted a seed that would not leave, that would not go away. Because I heard it from somebody who wasn't talking to me. I heard it from somebody who was just simply talking behind the mic, you know. And it was listening to these voices that really helped me eventually make the choice to leave, to get out. And to like to literally just pick up and go. And in the same vein, the other thing is that because I was so... in love with podcasting, I ended up being hired to, to, to, into a podcast company. You know what I mean? Essentially like right after I left my situation, I was hired. So you, you left L.A. and then were

hired at Lipson? Actually, I didn't even leave L.A. yet. I was hired at Lipson, which is crazy. I left my situation. Well, see, so this is why it's so strange because I think pot, like, that's why I say podcasting saved my life. So not only. was like the ears, you know, me listening to these voices in my ears for a sustained amount of time. But then also what ended up happening is that when I made my choice, like when I decided, this is it, I'm finished, bye bye. I immediately had two job opportunities come up that were pretty mind-blowing, like where I was like, I cannot believe that this is. I mean, I honestly was like, what? When I decided to do that, I put it down.

my calendar. I'm like, this is when I'm leaving. And then I got a phone call from an old, one of my my old directors from my graduate program that I had worked with years ago. Like, gosh, at that time, over a decade ago, at in Denver, at the Denver Center Theater Company. And he called me out of the blue, no, like nothing. And he goes, hey, I'll see how's it going. I'm like, fine. And he's like, Would you like to do a show at the Arizona Theater Company? You would have to leave in two weeks and be out for five weeks in Tucson, Arizona, doing a show on stage. Here's it.

So, like, that was, that was it. So that was your transition out. That was my transition out. Beautiful. It was crazy. And then at the same time, I had talked with Rob right before that. And from Lipson, again, and he, you know, he said, he essentially offered me the job. and he was like, when can you start?

And I was like, I'm going to have to do this job over at the, in Tucson for five weeks. I'm going to be done like at the end of October. He's like, okay, well, we can have you start in November. I was like, okay. So literally, it just, it all sort of fell into. Well, thank you for sharing such a personal story. I think that will be really inspirational to many people listening. And I'm so happy that you.

You are in a much healthier relationship now. You and your family are homesteaders living in a rural area. And I would love to hear how that environment inspires and also impacts your podcasting. And also, what is homesteading for people who don't know what that is? Yeah, we do our best to kind of live off of the land, although we are kind of, I would say, half homesteaders. Because you see our shopping at Whole Foods all the time. It's like Whole Foods inspired homesteading.

No, we are very moved. You know, we have goats. We have goats, essentially, is what we have here. We don't really have anything else that you kind of essentially live off the land. But we are slightly off the grid, if you will, a little bit away from the city, urban life. And then we do have, we do homeschool our girls. And so our entire home, our entire lifestyle is kind of based around where we live. and how we live. So our lifestyle is essentially drives the things that we do so that we can have

all the space so that we can be away from what I guess what in cities are, it's just too much. It's too much noise. We felt that this was the best, the best choice for us. That said, living in like rural areas like this also poses issues, which is connectivity. And oftentimes, I don't really have much of it. So there are a lot of different things that I've had to come to terms with when it comes to podcasting. And thankfully, I do have partners that are willing to work with me with my lack of bandwidth. And that has to do with the fact that, you know, in terms of our knowledge of the way that tech works, we're able to do that. Meaning that most of the time, Every time that we record our show, we almost never use Skype the way that we're recording at this moment because there's often failure, often failure.

And, you know, for recordings, we want to do the best job that we can. So usually when I podcast at any time in either of the two shows, we connect via cell phone. So we call my landline, if you will, on the phone. and that's how we connect and that's how we talk. But we each record locally on our own computers or digital recorders, however, locally. And then afterwards in post-production, we put everything together. So it does sound very great. Yeah, you guys do sound good.

So you're each recording your own computers and then you're listening via phone? Yes. Okay. Yes. So like right now the way that I have this setup, just in case anybody wants to know sort of like the background here, is we are connected via Skype and we are recording earlier in the morning, which is when I have the best bandwidth. Right now is when I have the best connection. And so this works well. That said, I am using Samsung Q2U. And the reason that I love this microphone is because it's both USB and XLR. And so I am recording in two separate places right now. just in case. So I have the USB microphone into the computer, and that is recording its own thing using call recorder. So that's capturing my audio there. But I'm also using that same, the XLR input into my H6. So at this time, it's also recording into the H6 because I have learned

that there's been many times when the recording goes away or there's a glip or a blip or whatever. And so I need to always have a clean recording of what I'm doing. So yeah, that's why I have two right now. And the reason that I do this, I almost do this for every single recording that I have that somebody asks me to be a guest on because my time is very precious to me. Right. And it's easier for me to do this than to have a complete recording fail and then have to do it again.

Yeah. So you always have a backup. I always have a backup. And I have saved people's behinds in the past because they are like, oh my God, your recording sounds awful. And I'm always like, yep, it does. So here you go. Is it a clean track? So it is more work on the end for the person who's, you know, editing.

But all in all, it ends up being better always, you know. Yeah. Yeah. But it's a pain. And there's times like I just finished and posted the. latest she podcast. And with she podcast, I have, we connect on the phone. Like, that's what it is. And so I hear them as they would sound on the phone. Okay. So that's the quality that I hear in my ears because we're connected via cell phone. And so when I listen back, I'm always in awe of how good we sound because I'm like,

that's not what I heard. Right, right. And the only thing, though, is that the nuance of Jessica's responses, the thing she says under her breath, the stuff that she kind of mumbles, I miss. Okay. Because you don't hear a lot of those subtleties in your ears. And then it shows up on the show. And it shows up on the show and I laugh and then I never respond to it. So there's a lot of times I totally don't even respond to her jokes.

Okay. And it's not because I don't think she's funny. It's just because I didn't hear it. Right, right. Okay. So, yeah, it sucks. But other than that, though, it sounds really good. It is a lot more work, I would say.

You know, sometimes it's easier to just get the recording and do a quick edit and you're done. But a double-ender, I think, is possibly the best quality sound that you could get. Great advice. And as the community manager for Libson and also co-founder of She Podcasts, when you're giving podcasters direction, what are some core questions that you tell them they should ask themselves before they get really deep into podcasting. Oh gosh, that's a great question. I think one of the best questions that I would have for somebody that's starting out is

like to kind of know what they're getting into, like me, not even like in terms of workload, but to actually know how the technology works? Because I'm often floored by how many people want to start a podcast, but they don't know what a podcast is. or how it's delivered, you know? So there's a lot of real basic stuff where, or that it's like this is an MP3 file and why do I need to have an MP3? Or like, what is the difference between this and that?

Or, you know, the file sizes and how something is delivered to somebody else where this is a download and they're going to be pulling your content from the podcast host, that's what's delivering your content. You know, like there's a lot of little small, little basics that are around the understanding of what a podcast is, that I would say to somebody, just get to know what the mechanism is for the show and what it is because that way you'll understand, you'll understand how better to support not only your show, but how to explain this to your listeners, right? That's possibly the number one thing that I would suggest to people because there's a lot of miscommunication when it comes to understanding what it is. And the other

thing is there is no magic bullet for building audience. It's just not. There isn't. I think that there are some people who are better prepared to build an audience. Like if you already have an existing platform and you know how to market, like maybe that. is possibly one of the biggest things that I would share with people that specifically now, as podcasting has grown so much, your education in marketing and promotion, the skills that it takes to get the word out or to market a, to really actively market something is very important. And there's a lot of people who don't understand anything about that at all. And there is sort of like an understanding of, and not an understanding,

a misunderstanding that if you just put the show out, that people will listen. And that it's about putting the show, like telling everybody in all of the different places. So, okay, and I see this question come up all the time, especially on Shoe Podcast, actually everywhere, not just a Shoe Podcast, where it's like, all right, guys, I put my link out on Twitter, on Facebook, on LinkedIn, on YouTube, on Instagram, and I told, you know, and I don't know, and I put it on my website. And I'm still only getting, you know, insert number. What am I missing?

It's like, well, there's like a, there's work that goes with sharing your show. It's not just putting your look out there. That's not how it just works. Yeah, there's a lot of obsession with download numbers. not just with new podcasters, but with everybody. And I think it's an easy thing to get caught up in. I think because podcasting is moving so fast, people are afraid they're going to get left behind.

But I would love to talk about why downloads are not necessarily reflective of podcast growth. Yeah, I love to further this conversation a lot because part of what we have a misunderstanding, I think again, as podcasters, that the only way that your show is worthy of anything is that if you have thousands of downloads or like numbers that you can be proud of, you know, like you're like, oh my God, these are just big numbers, right? There's very few podcasts out there that have the type of numbers that you hear in sort of like the industry websites that are reporting on numbers. That's what they lead with. they have to lead with that because they are trying to get money, you know, not maybe not just with sponsors, but possibly funding or possibly somebody that wants to in some way create a partnership with them. They want to sell their company. I mean, there's all kinds of reasons why

they need to lead with these massive numbers because that's what kind of level they're working at. Most of us as podcasters are not working with those numbers and we'll never get there. Why? Because there's a lot of variance to the types of shows that do get that kind of an audience. I mean, some of the top performer shows out there right now are things like true crime. You know, true crime is really big out there. And so is like comedy shows. And so those two type of shows have a larger built-in audience within them because they kind of do appeal to almost everybody. And true crime is very, like, popular in almost any venue.

I mean, if you think about all the documentaries that are like on Netflix that are about some kind of true crime thing. And also the TV shows, things like Dateline and stuff like that that are like, those are U.S. centric, but I'm sure that there's many in all over the world where they report on murders and like some crazy story, some lot, you know, you know, lost person or something like that. People are very intrigued by that and that has been something that has been driven throughout the entire global culture to be something we find, sadly, entertaining. So those types of shows have a built-in audience with them and also TV shows like fan, fan type shows like anything right now that has to do with Game of Thrones as the last season moves through, there's a lot of conversation that's around them. And, you know, Game of Thrones

fans are Game of Thrones fans. It doesn't matter whether it's a podcast or a book or a website or an article or whatever. They're going to go for it. They're going to find it. They're going to want to see more. So and then, but most of us are not doing that. Most of us are doing like, you know, like this show. This is a very, it's a very niche show. It's, you're not trying to appeal to all the people everywhere in the entire planet, although it would be nice. But still, though, I mean, I wouldn't even want that. It's sort of like, it's very unique. So there's like a cap on the amount of people that would be interested to listen to the show,

number one. And number two, that they're actually listening. So that's why I think that the reflection of your sort of impact or growth has to be very unique to what your goals are for your show, right? Yeah. And so it's interesting to me. that there are a lot of podcast out there that are, in quote, successful, that have very little download numbers, I guess, in comparison to these larger numbers. But they are, they have a very

engaged audience. They have a very potent dialogue back and forth with people. They are having a real massive impact on some part of society, whichever part it is that they are speaking into at that moment or that they are having a really incredible conversion rate for their business, whether it be a product-based business or whether it's a consulting-based business where they have set up systems so that there is this wonderful entry-level approach to hiring them or in some way making their business money. So these larger numbers aren't really as important as those conversions are for the existing audience. So it depends on what your goals are for that. I'm always intrigued because I always think

like, what is really the end game for somebody when you get more listeners, right? There's a lot of us that want more listeners, but we don't know why we want them. You know what I mean? Like, what else is it going to get us? Like from one week to the next week, let's say I double like from 100 listeners to like 1,000 listeners and the next day, 2,000 listeners. Not the next day, but like in weeks, let's say, but the end of the month, I have 5,000 listeners to my show. How is my life different at that moment? Yeah, when you were talking about all of the true crime and like the TV podcasts,

and also I think I'm the only one in the world who doesn't like true crime. I feel like I'm the only one who's not into those sorted stories. But I can imagine a bunch of people being like, oh, I don't know anything about podcasting, but if those shows are really popular, I think I'm going to create a podcast about that. And then maybe if I get a ton of downloads, then I'm going to start like getting money from sponsors and all this type of thing. So that seems like the wrong way, the wrong reason to start a podcast. What are like the more purposeful questions we should ask ourselves if we want to start a show that we will actually have it in our hearts to continue long term? Yeah. There are two two separate things. One of them is,

whether or not you really like to talk. You know? I mean, if you really feel amazing behind the microphone, like you really have to talk and you're like, oh my gosh, that you have it in your feeling like, I really want to do this because there's been many times when I have felt,

you know, people ask me to do videos a lot more. I'm, I feel comfortable doing videos. I think that I could do a good job. But I feel, I don't feel as free at all. and they feel like really hard work.

So anytime I do a video, it takes me a long time for me to do a video. I just, I don't feel as comfortable doing videos. So that's why I chose audio because for me, audio feels really comfortable and it's easy for me to do. So that already takes that part out of the equation out, meaning that the really hard part of actually getting behind the microphone because it feels good and that will keep you podcasting. So it's not just that it's, there's going to be many times where you're not going to want to

get behind the mic, but it'll just take at least that pressure off. And the other thing that I saw in a presentation that was a marketing presentation over at Work It, and I didn't go to Work It, I just saw this presentation and I loved it. It was like, it was about, I think, marketing your show or something. And they had a question in there that was, does this have to be audio? And I thought, that's a fantastic question. You know? Because. if there's a better way to do it, like for me, it's really about the conversation. What's the conversation that you want to have? What is that one thing that you're driving home? What is it that is so important that you need to get out? Can it be done anywhere, any other way, right?

Using any other media. And again, does it have to be audio? And if all of these answers are yes, or if it's like, well, it can be done other ways, but I want it to be an audio, that's fine, because you're committing and you are saying, yes, I want to do it this way. I find that this has value by me giving this voice. Because, and I'm asking from the beginning, these are super important questions to ask because it's not easy. Keeping podcasting is not easy. It's not an easy thing.

You're going to get burnt out. It's going to suck. You're going to not want to like think again the next week. What's going to be next week's content? Oh my gosh, I have to put this out. Oh gosh. I have to market it and all of those things. And if you really don't believe in it or you're going to quit.

So those are the two things that I would say from the get go. So what is the conversation that you want to have right now about podcasting? That podcasting is a tool for self-transformation. that podcasting is a tool to shift social change. Those are the, I think, two of the biggest things that I feel are super important. Because if you start to think about the conversations out there that are often not heard, the way that media at this moment is very headline-driven and very disingenuous is what I feel. it is driven primarily by misleading information or misleading headlines where we only get

an upcrumb of the total story about things that if we can start to listen to each other have the conversations that need to be happy in whatever your niche is you know whether it's political whether it's religious whether it's social activism or whether it's and parenting and all of those different things that we might want more of. It's that nuanced back and forth conversation that I feel has the legs to be able to change the world the way that we see society and get away from the way that media has positioned itself lately and also empower people to find their voice. My God, I mean, just being able to, I keep thinking about the power of a microphone

phone to a to a young girl or a young person who is feeling that they don't have a voice to just be able to be given the opportunity to create something. Maybe it's a maybe it's in quote just a class right. Maybe they're going to school and they get exposed to recording for three months. But if they have the opportunity to explain who they are and to give voice in some way, it can have the potential of big ripple effects for the rest of their life. Not that we want them to, not that they are ever going to choose maybe to be broadcasters or something like that, but to know that they have the skill set now to have important conversations with somebody else. It gives you a lot of confidence to clarify, you know, who you stand for, speaking to other

people, stop using ums as much to be very clear about the types of. You know, the types of the questions you're asking to, there's just so much that comes from having to be clear behind the microphone that is beyond download numbers. Like there's no, I can't quantify that for anybody. I can't tell you what the right person behind the right might at the right time, what kind of impact it can have on their life. And that to me is, is life changing for that person. So maybe not even young. Everybody, you know, I think it did it for me too, being able to do that for myself really gave me the skill set to step into a position of leadership and to own that for myself. It didn't happen overnight, but it gave me, it was like little steps. You know,

every day, if I can get behind the microphone and I can do this, I can do it, I can do it. I can say it. I can say it. Yes. Well, you've definitely stepped into the leadership space when it comes to podcasting. Thank you so much for making the time to speak with me today, Elsie. It has been really great to talk to you. where can people find out more about you? I think, you know, if you come to my website, elsie escobar.com, please. That would be amazing. You can find out all the things there.

And also follow me on Twitter or Instagram. That's usually where I hang out. So the LC Escobar, you can follow me there. I'm possibly a little bit more active on Twitter nowadays just because it's easier. There's less stuff. It's just, you know, I'm just there a lot of the time. And yeah, those two places.

That would be awesome. All right. Thank you so much, Elsie. Thank you. I recently took part in Elsie's ELeague, which is a group mentorship program that she refers to as an experience, which it is. So if you're a female podcaster, looking to take your show to the next level and have a meaningful impact on the world and deep insightful conversations, you might want to consider applying for the ELeague when it opens again in October. conveniently right after she podcast live, which is a conference that is being held in Atlanta, Georgia in October. I can't wait to go. If you're going, let me know I would love to meet up. And if you are ready to start podcasting now and are looking for a podcast media host, feel free to use my affiliate code postcard from Libson. This will get you the rest of the month free and the month after that free. but wait until the first of the month so you can get as much free hosting as possible.

All right, I hope you have an amazing week and talk to you soon. Thank you for listening to podcasting step by step. You are now one step closer to launching that podcast you've been dreaming about, but I want to get you even closer. I created a free guidebook for you with actionable worksheets called Eight Mistakes New Podcasters Make and How to Fix Them. To find that, head on over to Sarah Micah Taeketka, dot com slash fix.

Do you ever go blank or start rambling when someone puts you on the spot? I created a free conversation sheet sheet with simple formulas that you can use so you can respond with clarity, whether you're in a meeting or just talking with friends. Download it at sarah mygatel.com slash blank no more.