Influential Introvert: Communication Coaching for Professionals with Performance Anxiety - The Best Gift for a Podcaster? Expert Advice from Those Who've Lived, Learned, and Become Even Better

Episode Date: December 19, 2019

’Tis the season for gift ideas for podcasters. You’ll see lots of suggestions for mics and mixers, and while these are fun — who doesn’t love unwrapping something new and shiny during the holidays — I want to give you something even more valuable.     In a special episode of Podcasting Step by Step, I asked some of my favorite podcasters to share an audio gift with you: Their best podcasting advice.   I asked them to answer this question: “What do you wish someone would have told you when you first started out? What have you learned that’s made all the difference?”    Whether you’ve been podcasting for years, or haven’t launched yet, I know you will hear something in this episode that can improve your show and increase your love for podcasting.  From marketing to mindset, we’ve packed a lot in here.   Huge thanks to the podcasters who shared such brilliant words of wisdom in this episode. I subscribe to, and recommend, all of their shows, and encourage you to check them out. Links to their shows can be found on sarahmikutel.com   *** Ready to start your own show? 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 launch consultant, Sarah Mikutel. If you’d like to learn more about me, you can check out my other podcast, Postcard Academy travel podcast. This travel podcast is for 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 Mikital 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. At this time of year, we see and hear a lot of roundup give suggestions for podcasters. physical products and software and well, these are fun. I mean, who doesn't love opening a new

microphone on Christmas or whatever you're celebrating? I want to give you something even more valuable to you as a podcaster. In this special episode of podcasting step by step, I've asked some of my favorite podcasters to share an audio gift with you, meaning their best podcasting advice. I asked them to answer this question. What do you wish that somebody would have told you when you first started out. Whether you have been podcasting for years or haven't launched yet, I know you will hear something in this episode that can improve your show and increase your love for podcasting. From marketing to mindset, we have packed a lot into this little episode. Enjoy. Hi, Sarah. Thanks for inviting me on to your podcast. My name is Katie Jones and I am the host and

creator of Food Heroes podcast. And the mission of Food Heroes is to highlight people who are making big changes in the way our current food systems operate. My background is in the food industry. So I know that things can be done in a better, more ethic, earth-friendly way. So I was so compelled that I had to start speaking out on this. And that's how the podcast was born. With that, I was clueless how much work it takes just to get ears on your podcast. And so my biggest tip for you is about promotion. How do we market and promote our podcast episodes? And I see this all the time where people get in an Instagram account and they,

every single post is, listen to my podcast, listen to my podcast, listen to my podcast. And then they run it through stories. click Spotify to listen to my podcast. Why? Why should I listen to your podcast? You haven't told me anything or engaged me in any way. So here is my tip. And I use Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest and my own website to market and promote food heroes. What I do is I take the topic discussed in the episode and then I look at the things. that I can educate on or I can do a deeper dive on. So for instance, we just did an episode on Fair Trade Bananas.

So instead of just saying, listen to this episode on Fair Trade Bananas, I said something like, why is it important? Why is fair trade important? Is it legit? Should we be supporting it? How does it impact the environment? How does it impact farmers? So I started asking a lot of questions and I did this over six or seven different posts.

So I was able to really. go into a deep dive and create conversation around the topic so that if people wanted to, they could go to my website, they could read the more detailed blog post, or they could listen to the podcast episode. Because the truth is a lot of people, especially when they're scrolling around on social media, they may not click on your podcast. But you can still engage them. And then when they have time later, they'll be thinking about it, especially when they go to the grocery store and they see a big pile of cheap bananas, they might go, oh, Katie over at Food Heroes just had a few posts about fair trade bananas. I should really check that out because my goal

isn't so much download numbers, but it's about sharing information and becoming very educated as a consumer. So for promoting your podcast, another great tip that I do that gets a ton of engagement is when I noticed that I've had a spike in listenership or followers, I will do a photo of myself or I'll get on stories and I will reintroduce myself. I will share information about why I'm the person talking to you about these issues and food. Those get so much engagement. People really love those. I really should do more, but I don't have all the time in the day because I,

I still have to edit and get guests on the show and all that other fun podcast coordinating stuff. So that is my piece of advice. If you want to really market your podcast and promote it, think of it as building a relationship with your listeners and not just as you with a bullhorn shouting. Click this link. Listen to me. Check out the newest episode because people will scroll on by. Hi, Sarah. This is Julie Neal from the Mother's Quest podcast where I get to interview Inspire mothers about how they're living their version of an epic life, making a difference beyond their family, all while also showing up being present for their children. And what I would love to tell people who are just starting out on their podcasting journey, who are doing interviews,

is to not feel like when you're inviting somebody to come on your podcasts, but they are necessarily doing you a favor. But to know that if you hold the space of the interview, with intention and thoughtfulness, that allowing them to press pause on the busyness of their life and to be in reflective conversation can really be a gift for them. Today I released an episode with Judy Blank, who's the mother of a 26-year-old transgender model activist and writer, and I invited them for what was the very first conversation that the two of them as a mother and daughter have had about the trailblazing journey they've had helping Corey to transition. After Judy listened to the episode this morning for the first few minutes, she called me in tears

and just said what an incredible gift it was to have their journey summarized and captured back and reflected back to them in such a thoughtful way and how she really treasured it and is so honored to be able to share it far and wide with not only the people. people that she's close to, but she knows that that conversation is going to reach other mothers and their children newer on the journey and may really make an impact for them and help them feel less alone. So if you're worrying it all, if you stay true to your mission and you, again, just bring care and thoughtfulness to what you're doing, you're not only supporting your own podcast, but you're making a difference in the lives of the people you're interviewing and

everybody who is hearing it. I hope that helps you on your journey. Thank you, Sarah, for the opportunity to reflect on this. Hey, Sarah, it's Jessica Kupferman with the Sheep Podcasts, podcast and community. Our podcast is the podcast about podcasting for women podcasters. What really made the difference for me in podcasting, the entire time has been never thinking or measuring success based on other people. Bull's measurements. So when I started podcasting, there really wasn't any talk about how many downloads or CPMs. I had already an established social media community and audience. And so I was already confident that people were going to listen before I started. And I didn't obsess about

how many people were downloading the show. I didn't really obsess about how many people were joining the group or things like that. I just wanted to focus on delivering really good content and because I did so, the show grew and grew and grew. And then we started Shee Podcasts. It was a side project and we weren't paying attention to how many people were growing. We just really wanted to offer value and serve this community. And our show grew and grew and grew. And I think when you are passionate about a project and your measurement of success is helping people not 10,000 downloads per month or per episode, you can really focus on what's important and then the money comes. You know, there's there's all kinds of quotes about this.

Albert Einstein's famous one is don't be a person of success, be a person of value. And when you are a person of value, success comes. So that is my gallant wisdom for the day. And thank you so much to Sarah for allowing me to talk to you about it. Bye. Hi, this is Brittany with podcasting for coaches. The things that I wish I would have known so much sooner that would have made my life so much easier has to do with editing. I wish that I would have known years prior about keyboard shortcuts when editing in audacity and about editing at a faster speed than normal. So keyboard shortcuts let you cut down on the time it takes to do literally anything when you're editing your show because you don't have to go through the menu just to do one simple task. You can literally just

click one little key on your keyboard and it's done. And editing at a faster speed is pretty obvious, but it never occurred to me to actually increase the playback speed so that I don't have to listen to someone talk at their normal speed. Instead, now I just listen to people sounding like chipmunks all the time, but I'm used to it because I increased the speed gradually over time. And now I get through my edits so much faster and it's so frustrating to think about how many hours of my life I have wasted because I didn't know about these two little hacks. Hi, it's Jackie McDougall from the 40thrive podcast, where we connect women over 40 with the experts and resources they need to thrive. So one thing I really wish I knew when I started podcasting was that it's okay that you're not for everyone.

So realizing over the years, since I've been podcasting since 2011, that I'm not for everyone and I don't need to produce a show to attract millions, but to show up, be authentic. and talk and serve my actual listeners has been a total game changer and a gift because it allows me to just be me. So if you're a future podcaster or a new podcaster, that is my biggest gift to you is to help you understand. It's not about pleasing everyone. It's about being yourself and bringing your unique badassery to your show. Happy holidays.

Hey there, my name is Andrea Jones. I'm the host of the savvy social podcast, which is a show all about the how and the why of social media marketing. And one thing that really changed my podcasting game was when I started planning ahead. So what that means is I plan out my podcast episodes in advance in batches. And this really freed up my time. Before this, I was planning one episode at a time and it felt very heavy. It felt like I was doing a lot. lot of work. And it actually freed up more time to sit down, plan on my episodes a month, two months ahead of time, and actually record them a month, two months ahead of time in batches. So instead of working a few hours a week on a podcast episode, I would work a little bit more a few hours a month and then take a few weeks off and give a breather and allow myself to enjoy my show and then get back into planning it. And that's what made all the difference for podcasting for me. Hey, everyone.

I'm Amanda. And I'm Ryan. And we're the host of the World Wonders podcast. The World Wonders is a podcast about travel, lifestyle, and adventure. But really, at the heart of it,

it's our travel diary from the last eight years of us traveling around the world. We started traveling together in 2011, and we haven't stopped since then. And here's what changed podcasting for us.

So when you're starting a podcast, you'll have heard lots of really good and really valuable advice about focusing in on your target audience, paying attention to your niche and what the people listening want, what they need, and how you can best serve them. And that's all really important stuff to think about as you get started and as you continue on your podcasting journey. But it's also important to think about what really makes you feel alive. I think when you're podcasting doing anything creative,

it can be easy to fall into the trap of thinking more about what your audience wants than what you want to create. And the reality is podcasting is hard to keep it going over the long term, you need to be motivated. You need to be excited. So tune in to what you really love to do. What are the interviews you want to make? What are the things that you're going to feel excited about creating and do that stuff? Because that's what's going to keep you going in the long term. And that's what's going to help you find the audience who wants what you have to offer. Absolutely. Couldn't have put it better myself. Happy holidays. And good luck with your podcast. As Amanda said, I couldn't have said this better myself. Thank you so much.

much to the podcasters who shared such brilliant words of wisdom in this episode. I subscribe to you and recommend all of their shows, and I encourage you to check them out as well. And I wish you a very merry holiday season. Whatever you're doing, wherever you're celebrating, I hope you finish this year, resting, relaxing, and reflecting on what you've achieved this year, because you did a lot and 2020 will be even better. Until next time. Thank you for listening to Podcasting Step 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 sarahmicatel.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 sarahmicatel.com slash blank no more.