How I'm Building a Podcast Network for Less than $1 a Day

Welcome to the Prompt. I'm Jim Carter. This show guarantees tech news and updates that shape your life and future. Since it's essential now to stay on top of AI, we'll figure it out together so you don't fall behind. I'm here to explain it, offer some deep insights and spark a little curiosity along the way. If you're a techie like me, or just AI curious, hit that follow button for the advantage you deserve. Let's dive in. Today I've got a really fun project update to share with you. It's all about how I built a 100% automated AI driven podcast media network that delivers hyperlocal Weather forecasts to 18 of the biggest cities around the world seven days a week. And the best part? It costs me less than a dollar a day to run while it grows. So here's the deal. Last year, when I decided to go all in on being a fractional CTO with Bara Agency and grow my personal brand specializing in AI and tech, I wanted to find a way to prove that all this crazy tech stuff was actually possible. I figured the best way to do that was to be the proof myself by building a bunch of these projects on my own. Then I had this idea. Could I take publicly available free information and turn it into some kind of revenue generating asset? Something that isn't copyrighted, affects every single one of us every day, and maybe even something so boring that it was time for a little shakeup? And then it hit me. The weather. Now, I didn't want to just build another weather app or email newsletter. With AI, we can think big and do things that don't feel scalable in a world of status quo. So I thought how cool would it be if the weather could be hyper targeted to just the local town I live in? And then I pushed it even further. Why not do that for the other biggest cities in the US and around the world? That's when the daily Weather Forecast podcast network was born. I used some really cool tech like the OpenWeather API for real time and historical weather data make.com to pull it all together. And my favorite podcasting host, Captivate fm, I built an entire automated podcast production tool that creates a two minute super localized podcast for 18 major cities worldwide, released at 5am in that city's local time, seven days a week. To avoid the podcast becoming dry and bland, I wrote prompts to encourage joy in the listener's day. Like going for a walk, getting outside, enjoying life where possible. And each show ends with a reminder to be grateful for another day. It's a beautiful way to blend something old that's stuck in the status quo with something new to bring a fresh perspective and joy to our world. And get this after only a few months of running completely on its own, the network has already had over 12,000 downloads and counting. Even with a slight dip about a month ago, the download count has never been higher as of the time I'm recording this. Cool, right? I've proven a model I've never seen done before, had some fun, and built an asset I can now monetize. I'm excited to see where this weather podcast network goes from here, and I share all this. Not to flex, but to show you that when you're looking to add AI into your life or business, you can start with something simple, even if it's just for yourself. If it brings joy and value to your life, that's usually a sign that it's the right move. Check out all the shows at weatherforecast show and if you live in one of the network cities, let me know if it helps you. If you found this story inspiring and want to dive deeper into how to harness AI in your own projects, I'd love for you to join me and many other AI enthusiasts in my Fast Foundation Slack community. It's where I share my latest experiments, strategies, and favorite AI tools. Inside the community. I talk about similar ideas and have a dedicated channel just for this project. I share more about the way it works and and the latest on what I'm doing with it while building it so you get the inside scoop as I journey through it. Right now, the membership is reaching max capacity, so I'll be closing enrollment shortly, but for the next few weeks you can still join@fast foundations.com Slack and it would mean the world to have you there. After that, I'll be starting a waitlist, so if you're on the fence, now's the time to join and take advantage of everything the membership offers. As always, thanks for tuning in. Let's keep pushing the boundaries of what's possible with AI one prompt at a time.