We must create content that matters so much to the people who are listening that they will pay for what they can get for free.
Laura Walker, former CEO WNYC Studios @ Podcast Movement
The morning after Podcast Movement 2019 in Orlando, Florida, I had an idea for what I hope will be an ongoing wonderful series of behind-the-scenes podcasts specifically for VIP Circle members — a little more unpolished, a little bit more raw — which makes me so nervous to say that because I really pride myself on having very professional sounding, very polished episodes.
So I recorded, sitting on the balcony outside of my Airbnb room, all of my deepest insights and some questions that came up for me about the craft and culture of podcasting. So this is a preview of episode 001 of what I am calling Craft & Culture BTS with Podcast Envy, exclusively for my Patreon supporters of $5 (or more) per month.
On episode 47 of Podcast Envy, my advice for how to win at podcast conferences was to choose one thing to focus on — one specific intention that you really want to carry with you throughout the conference so that you don’t get overwhelmed with all of the things because you can’t possibly go to everything. You can’t possibly do everything and you have to budget your resources — time, money, and energy.
But this year I was having a difficult time figuring out my focus area.
So I arrived at podcast movement 2019 without a plan.
At a certain point, I decided that I was going to use the conference as my oracle — like using the conference as a tarot card deck and asking the conference some questions.
Where do I need to be?
What is my next step?
And what resources are available to support me in this?
Those were my three questions that I held in my mind and then everyday I would just show up.
And no this isn’t just about me. This is also about you because I think that there are some takeaways here for you as a podcaster who wants to make an impact in whatever area or community or niche you find yourself.
Read on for more…
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Craft & Culture BTS with Podcast Envy + VIP Circle
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Article Cont’d
What do you want your audience to do as a result of listening to your podcast? What is their next step? And how do you support them in taking that next step?
Andrea Klunder
A few insights…
Robyn Sayles did a topic on mentoring, especially mentoring for women and putting the idea out there that women have so few visible mentors available to them even in the world of Hollywood. First of all, she’s an amazing speaker and presenter but there’s something about her talk sticking in my mind that has to do with mentoring for women as relates to podcasting.
Laura Walker, founding president and CEO of New York Public Radio who recently left for an amazing academic position at Yale, said that as content creators who are looking to both create value for our audiences and also be able to ask for value back from our audiences, whether that be monetary value whether that be support and engagement, we must create content that matters so much to the people who are listening that they will pay for what they can get for free.
During the opening keynotes, there was a presentation from Edison Research about the divergence between veteran podcast listeners and rookie podcast listeners. New people who are picking up podcasting as something to consume are very different and have different motivations and behaviors than people who’ve been listening to podcasts for ever (like me and maybe like you.)
In fact, the way that veteran podcast listeners and rookie podcast listeners define what a podcast is is not the same.
The question that they posed was: How can we put our content in the way of new listeners so that they can more easily discover it?
Finally, I went to a panel on how podcasts create a win-win for organizations and listeners. I knew I was in the right place because I saw all of these people that are somehow connected to my show and I got an invitation to a meetup for podcasters in higher education.
Meetups are a key part of the podcast conference experience. Whether it’s a meetup that’s posted on the app or on the schedule or one that you stumble across, they can be a great way to meet people in a more intimate context and have some good conversations in a structured environment. So I did attend that higher ed podcaster meetup and also the Just Busters female editors’ group.
The final thought that I want to leave you with is in looking at your show and how you move forward, I want you to think about your audience.
What do you want your audience to do as a result of listening to your podcast?
What is their next step? And how do you support them in taking that next step?
And in order to answer that, we also have to answer…
Who is our audience and if we don’t know, how do we find out?
And then finally I want us to think about how is that we are going to grow our audience and our overall audience for podcasting?
How are we going to be creative about the ways in which we’re communicating and engaging with our audience?
Because we want engagement back from them, but first we have to engage with them and I don’t have all the answers yet, but as soon as I do, I’ll let you know.
And as soon as you do, I would love for you to let me know.
Here’s what I want YOU to do:
Join me over on my Patreon page for Craft & Culture BTS with Podcast Envy.
You will get the other half of my insights that I did NOT include here on Podcast Envy. You will get direct access to me to ask your deepest podcast questions to answer on our exclusive Craft & Culture podcast feed. And if you want to upgrade to VIP, you’ll even get face time with me over live video. Let’s make podcasts that matter… together!
Resources, Podcasts & Episodes Mentioned
Craft & Culture BTS Exclusive Podcast
Episode 047 Podcast Envy: How to win at Podcast Conferences
Robyn Sayles – Launch Your Success
The Brookings Cafeteria
Democracy Works
Sidedoor
Big World
After the Fact
Podcast Brunch Club
Rural Health Voice
rePROS Fight Back
Just Busters Facebook Group for female podcast editors
Connect with me
- Join my Craft & Culture BTS community on Patreon.com and send me your burning podcast questions to answer on the exclusive behind-the-scenes podcast.
- Send me an email with a voice memo or .mp3 and let me know what you’re most looking forward to at She Podcasts Live October 2019.
- Join my Facebook Community where we create social support for content creators with inspiring prompts, opportunities for you to share your work, and more.
My favorite hashtags #thecreativeimpostor #podcastenvy #podcastboss
Email or Voice (send me a question to answer on the show!)
Facebook Group The Creative Impostor
Facebook Page @andreaklunder.creative
Instagram: @andreaklunder
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