Celebrating Podcast Success! Announcing Who Made The Best Guest List From The First 100 Episodes of The Binge Factor

Wish you were one of those influencers with raving fans who binge on your every word, consume all your content, buy everything you have to sell, and demand even more. Then stay tuned while Authority magazine columnist and buzzfeed contributor Tracy Hazzard shares strategies, tips and tactics from top videocasters, podcasters, authors, and social influencers on creating that bingeable factor. Now let's join Tracy as she explores how to rise above all the digital noise with the binge factor.

Hey, everyone. Welcome to the binge factors 100th episode. I don't often celebrate the wins. It's something that I have been accused of by my coach as not being really great at celebrating. So today I thought we'd really celebrate and we've been planning this for quite a while, me and my team, and we've been planning this for about two months now. So getting going up to this 100th episode, to showing you what you can do with your 100th episode. Now, for me, it's probably actually like my thousandth episode. I stopped counting a long time ago. But, you know, I've got multiple shows. This is the binge factor is my fifth show. So I have product launch hazards, which has about 125 to 130 somewhere in there. The WTFF, which has 628 or something like that, actually maybe have 650. I can't even remember anymore. Feed your brand, which has well over 150. And then this binge factor was a spin off of feed your brand. So we've been doing it actually a lot longer. But because we spun it off into its own new thing in 2019, the binge factor became its own show. And so that's why we're just hitting 100 episodes now. Even though we have actually been doing these kind of interviews for a while. We, we used to do it under the name center of influence, but now it's the binge factor. It's been the binge factor for a hundred episodes and I want to celebrate about it with you because you have made this so much more fun to do. You come back, you send me messages, you meet me on Clubhouse, you Instagram me, you know, you send me all these kinds of ideas about things that you're learning from the show that you're able to apply in your own podcast that have been helping you or inspiration that has gotten you to start your own show. So I wanted to bring you some of my favorites over the hundred because here's the thing, I talk to thousands of podcasters Every year. Right. So they all blur together after a while. I hate to say that, but your shows do. But there are some rare ones that really stand out, ones that I refer to again and again, ones that I share with you again and again. And this is the way I thought maybe the best way is for me to pull the ones where just straight off the top of my head, I remembered their interview. There was something about it I loved, and I started to put these things together. And as I was doing it, it reminded me of that idea of, like, what you call superlatives, which is like the yearbook thing, where most likely to succeed or most likely to break hearts, whatever that is. So me and my team turn them into superlatives. So that's what we're going to do. We're going to give you, like, the going in reverse order. There was supposed to be only 20, but there are 24, because I couldn't. There were just a few bonus ones that didn't fall into the specific category area that I just had to throw in there. So we have 24, technically. So we're going to count down the 24 most memorable shows, really. And we each have reasons that they're memorable. And that's what I'm going to bring you today. And we're going to go in reverse order. And there's, you know, you'll have to check out these shows for just the reason that I'm saying this. And I want to thank all of those hosts for making my business so much easier. Right. The business of podcasting so much easier, because they did such a great job of sharing. They did on the show. They gave us such great information. They made it memorable. They did a great job as being a guest, which means that I want to celebrate with them as well. So that's another reason why I want to point all of them out as we go forward.

So I kind of grouped them into sections and. And I wanted to start a course with the most fun and funny because we're having a celebration here. So coming in at number 24 as one of the most fun and funny podcasts that I've had at the Life of the Podcast party, Kevin Dawson with leaders and loggers. And, you know, it was such a fun format to the show. You get to have a beer, you get to have a chat. It worked in and out of the pandemic. He made it work. And I just thought it was so much fun. And I. I want to go on a show just because I want to go and drink beer with them. And have fun with them. So, leaders and loggers, Kevin Dawson, Life of the podcast party. Number 24. Number 23, my most the best edutainer host. And you know, I talk about edutaining all the time here. That's our job as podcasters. But the best edutainer post that I found on what is kind of a dry subject, and I don't mean that to be mean about his subject matter. It's just, how much can you talk about virtual summits? And his podcast is called the Virtual Summit Podcast. But he makes it fun, he makes it entertaining, he makes it exciting. He's a great host. Dr. Mark T. Wade deserves the best edutainer host award. Coming in on number 22, the most friendly show host. And this one has a really great backstory because I met this host just as she was launching her show. Her show is called Mind Love. Her name is Melissa Monte, and she just was so passionate. We met in a bar at a meetup for podcasters, and she just chatted and got me excited about her show. I checked out her show, I invited her on my show. The next thing you know, she's tearing it up. So being a friendly show host certainly served her. So the most friendly show host out of all of the group of binge factor shows is Melissa Monte and the Mind love podcast number 21, the most perfectly imperfect show. You know, here's the thing. We all want to strive for perfection and. And that's really great. But sometimes we need to just keep going and improve it along the way and aim for that perfection. And that's really where Erica Corday calls you out. She calls you out. She has the Pause on the Play podcast. She's going to call you out when you're pulling those kinds of things, like you're trying to be the perfectionist in the world. And I love that about her. I love the show. I love the name of the show. Paws on the Play was one of my favorite names of shows ever. And she's just a dynamic, fantastic host. And I love that her show is somewhat imperfect, but it's imperfect in that perfectly great way that makes you want to listen to her again and again. So the most perfectly imperfect show is Paws on the Play. Erica Corday, number 20, the most original sports interviewer. Now, here's the thing. I've talked to a lot of sports broadcasters, right? We hear them all the time. We did a big sports event with many sports podcasters at the Super bowl in 2020, and this one impressed me the most because it's most original, most unusual format to use for sports podcasting. Jack Settlement, the Snapback Sports. It's really a Snapchat show first, and podcasting, of course, comes out of that, but it is just such an original show format, such an original way of hosting a show, and such an original view on the audience that's going to consume sports. So I love the show. It's a lot of fun. And Jack Settlement's a great host. So Jack Settlement, Snapback Sports, the most original sports interviewer. And it wouldn't be complete if I didn't talk about a podcaster on fire. And no, I'm not talking about the one you think I'm talking about. Connie Benjamin podcast are on fire. My Fire within podcast. Connie is just like, I mean, she's on fire. She's so passionate, so exciting. She makes you have so much fun while you're being interviewed on our show. And we did a show swap where she came on my show and I came on her show. So we got that kind of dynamic going. And I can tell you, I had so much fun with her. She's got an incredible show and she's great at interviewing, great at getting people excited about you. My next set of shows are the ones that I learned the most about. Right? Like I learned the most on our show. There was something really special. I learned some takeaway that I have that I've shared again and again, which is why their names and their shows stand out to me. Because I've had something that I can, that they gave to me, that I am able to give to others. And that's a powerful thing right there. When you have a tidbit away, you're going to remember where it came from, and that's going to create a tremendous value and subscriber base for your show in the long run. So this is where I threw in a little special, right? It's a special because he's not really a podcaster, but he's my favorite author. And so it's my fan girl favorite, my personal fan girl favorite. I had to throw in here because I learned so much about being an author and about books and about the way the process works and about connection with your subscribers, which is what we have this distance subscriber connection, and he has this distant connection to the readers of his book. Right? It's not. You don't know exactly who bought your book on Amazon. Right. And so he taught me some great things about it. Plus, we just had such a great connection and it was so much fun for Me to fangirl out and get to interview my favorite author. So my fan girl, favorite show episode out of all of the binge factor is Shane Snow, the bestselling author of Smart Cuts and Dream Team. And I can tell you, I have referred to his books hundreds of times on other podcasts when I've been interviewed. So it was really exciting to get him on my show. So he's my number 18, my fan girl favorite, the most fearless post. And this is a thing, a lot of people, I hear this again and again. They're kind of afraid to get started. And this host is not afraid of podcasting. She's not afraid of anything because she is fearlessly facing 50. That is her podcast show. And it might have had a personal resonating factor, saying, I turned 50 last year, and so, you know, and I was kind of in denial about it, and she made me a little bit braver to say that and a little bit braver to talk about that. And also, we're from the same state originally, so we're both Connecticut girls, so we bonded over all of that. And that's why I remember Amy schmidt fearlessly facing 50. And I've referred to her show to other people, those who might be afraid to take that leap and start podcasting. Number 16 really surprised me. It is my most unexpectedly interesting show when it came across my email, someone applying for the show, and the show was called Business Infrastructure. You know, you just saw my face right now if you're watching the video, Business Infrastructure. Like, how exciting could that be, right? And I was like, I was really unsure about it, but I always try to give everyone the benefit of the doubt. And she met every other criteria to being a binge factor guest, so I had to check it out. So, Alicia Butler Pierre, Business Infrastructure. Her subtitle is Curing the Back Office Blues, which sounded interesting. What does that mean? And when I went to listen to her show, I thought, this is not boring infrastructure. This is really about the power of infrastructure and the people behind it and the stories behind it, but how it can really change a company. And I thought, this is really unexpectedly interesting. I'm curious about this. I'm learning something. I'm getting something really valuable out of something that I thought was boring. And she's changed my mind about that. That's why people hire her, right? She's got the magic formula to. I found her to find to give me something really interesting about something that I know is important to my business, but I don't know why she brought that why in there? And she brought a personality that made me want to hire her. Right. That's power right there. So the most unexpectedly interesting show, Elisa Butler Pierre, Business Infrastructure, Curing the Back Office Blues, number 15. She impressed me so much that I actually hired her. And that's a big announcement right here because most of you haven't heard that, but she had the most original podcast format I'd ever seen. She's passionate about the details of podcasting and I've hired her to do some special new program that I'm going to announce in the future. Raffi Wagner, not a mom of life. It's a really interesting show format. It's short format, but she structures it in such a great, highly produced way. She's a fantastic podcaster. She's a fantastic podcast strategist, which is why I hired her. And I can't wait for you to check out her show most original podcast format, because you gotta check out some of the originality going on here. And I can't wait for you to meet her in the future and we're gonna have her back and talking about her new show that she's launching Next. So number 15, Raffi Wagner, not a Mama Life. The most original podcast format, number 14 also works for me. Imagine that. Well, the reason she works for me is because I couldn't find anyone who was such a great social media strategist. She is my podcast social media queen. She was a social media expert before, but now she really knows how to take that and say, how do we get Instagram to work for podcasters? How do we get take TikTok and make it work for podcasters? And that's what I love about her. She's so generous with her information she shares with my community. So I couldn't help but hire her as a consultant for this company. So Whitney Lauritson, this Might get Uncomfortable is her podcast. And. And she is showcasing some fabulous ways to increase your listeners, get great guests, and do all of that via social media. So she is my podcast social media Queen.

Number 13. The best advice and wisdom. And this is someone I've learned from again and again over the years, which is one of the reasons why I invited her on my show. Penny Zenker, Take Back Time is the podcast. It's a fabulous show with, with productivity tips and tools and all kinds of things. And Penny's take on the world is just so pragmatic and wonderful to the point she gives you the details of the things that you need. She gives you great tips and advice. Her Wisdom is amazing, and that's why I had to give her the best advice and wisdom award. The next group of podcasts are my personal favorites, like ones that I got something out of. It changed something in my life. It just made things a lot more fun for me, or I just personally got something special out of it. And the best guest award has to go to the serial guest or of everything. He doesn't have a podcast. I was his 99th guest interview. Mark Hirschberg, author of the Career Toolkit, had gone out there, and he's been on over 100 shows now, and he gave the best advice for being a guest and having a guest, right? So the best guest award goes to Mark Hershberg. He's my special award that I had to throw in there because he's not a podcaster. But I learned personally learned so much from him, and I got so much enjoyment out of interviewing him. So that was one of my personal faves. Number 11, my best podcasting guilty pleasure. Like, you know, sometimes I don't have a lot of time to do all the research I need. I try to make it a point to listen to three episodes from every single podcaster. I try to listen to their most recent a topic or interview, depending on which one is the opposite of what you did, in case you have multiple show formats. And then I try to go find like, your hundredth, your one, your trailer, something like that, and listen to it, like that way, so that I can see where you've come from and how far you've come, and then also get sort of what you're really doing right now and what does that look like and what does that sound like so that I can really give a good assessment of a show. Well, I have to say that I, like, kept listening to the show, and that's what I mean by this one is a podcasting guilty pleasure. Brooke Sifrin and Arisha Skidmore Williams, even the rich podcast, like the one that I was listening to was all about Harry and Meghan. She has ones on Madonna. They have ones on all kinds of guilty pleasures. Things that you might, you know, flip through those magazines at the end of the aisle at the grocery store. Well, their podcast is just that kind of guilty pleasure. So the best podcasting guilty pleasure goes to even the rich podcast giver award. I have to have a giver award because so many of you are so generous with what you give out on your podcast, and so many of the podcasters that I interviewed did the same thing. But the biggest podcast giver I found is Brett dehut the Hardest Word podcast. His podcast is a completely unusual format podcast. It's a letter based story, so it's giving someone else an apology via reading a letter. And sometimes he has professionals read the letter and sometimes the person that wrote it reads the letter. And it's just such a brilliant format. Really incredibly hard, I think, to maintain it because you have to get people to submit. And so there's a lot of outreach and effort that has to go into it. But he was also starting other things where he was trying to support other podcasters by doing GivingTuesday podcasts. And I just love the idea of switching GivingTuesday to GivingTuesday podcasts. And so we did that last year. We'll do it again this year where we give a Giving Tuesday shout outs and try to make that happen at. Of course, for us, it's like right after Thanksgiving. Or is it right before Thanksgiving? I don't remember one of those two. It's a Tuesday right around Thanksgiving and we do the Giving Tuesday format. At that time, we did a shout out to five nonprofits because we thought that would be the most useful here. And I had a great time doing that show. It's a lot of work to do those shows, to prop them up and do them. And so that's why I say the biggest podcast giver award has to go to Brett dehut. Now, this one, I loved it. I had a lot of fun listening to the show. It's been great. I've listened to it since then because I learned there was something really important in there that I needed in my life. And so my dog Lucy is extremely pleased that I met this podcast host. So the podcaster most loved by my cocker spaniel, Lucy, is Krista Karpowich of the Wag Out Loud podcast. And she has Krista to thank for making her food better so that she's healthier, she itches less, her skin is better, her hair looks beautiful because she's like a little lady in the tramp kind of dog. And she has Krista to thank for that. So I had to give the podcaster most Love by Lucy award to Krista Karpowitz. Wag Out Loud podcast number eight most creative co hosts. I'm a designer. I love the idea of, like, someone who really does a great job of both designing their logos and doing things on their website, adding great images to their social media posts and other things like that. These two hosts have done a fabulous job and it's no surprise, because one of them has a Rhode island school design RISD background, which I do too. That's how I met her. And the other one has a background in journalism and writing for great magazines like W and other things like that. So Julianna Stone and Catherine Hong of K POD Korean American Stories podcast, which is just fabulous. And they partnered up the Korean American Stories, a website. And everything that they do is beautifully crafted from the opening paragraph that they share as their description to the images that they put with their episodes on the website. They do a beautiful job and they are the most creative co hosts. Now, number seven is the show that made me physically laugh out loud and clap, right. Crystal and Tom o'. Keefe the Clip Out. I love the show. I love everything about it. It's highly produced. I am not a peloton user. I admit it. I might be a little bit allergic to exercise in general, with the exception of walking the dog and swimming in my pool. Right. So it's not my thing. But to get into this podcast and listen to it and have me go, wow, that was so funny. And laugh out loud at what they do and the pieces that they put into it, that takes a tremendous lot because it's not in my personal interest space. So they have something really special. So the show that made me laugh out Loud award goes to Crystal and Tom o' Keefe of the Clip Out. And you definitely need to check that show out. Now, the last personal favorite is another one of those special ones that I threw in. And I threw it in because none. She hasn't had time because she was my 99th episode, so she was just the last episode you guys got. And so she hasn't had time to like, get into my. Oh, referring to our episode every other week, you know, letting people in Clubhouse know about our episode. I know it's going to happen. Why? Because I got hooked on our show and subscribed after one episode. So that doesn't happen for me. Usually I'll listen to everything. I might do the interview and then really enjoy it and realize, you know, I could get something out of it and then hit the subscribe button. So. Because otherwise I'd have thousands of shows that I would be subscribed to and I'd never listened to any of them. So I'm very picky about what I hit. Subscribe to. Do I listen to them? Do I have it? I. I might even have a special playlist for that on Good Pots, because that's what I actually use. But I don't actually hit the subscribe button very often for very few shows that I do. But after one episode of listening to her show, I hit the subscribe button and we hadn't even met yet. Then once we met, I knew that we were going to, I don't know, maybe one day do business together or be in a joint venture partnership together or something. But. Lara Meyer, Scale with Joy podcast. I just telling you, this is an amazing show. You can learn so much about it, especially if you're building a multimillion dollar business. And that's really why it connected with me, because she's the right person to bring the right kind of information to the stage of business that I'm in. So my personal favorite and hooked and subscribed after one episode. Laura Meyer, Scale with Joy. So now we are at our top five, right? Going to get down to the top five. So we're going to go and we're going to say these ones have the best business lessons. They've all those also been the ones that I've referred to the most or maybe brought me the most business at the end of the day. And I know some of you are out there as business podcasters using your guesting strategy or your topic based strategy, whatever it is, to actually get business from your show. Mine's not any different than that. I'm trying to attract new podcasters who are already podcasting out there and pull them into our ecosystem. So they'll come and host on Potatoes or they'll come and utilize our done for you production services. Right. Like that's the ultimate goal of my show is. But at the end of the day, it's also a show for learning what's working out there. And so these ones are the best business lessons out there. They've done the most for growing my business over the last couple of years. And so I have to put them in the top five for you guys. So the number five favorite podcast from the past 100 benefactor episodes is the most engaging interviewer, Veronica Dagger of the Secrets of Wealthy Women. Another one that I subscribe to personally and listen to all the time. Veronica makes me want to up my interview game. She's a Wall Street Journal journalist. She's an amazing interviewer. She interviews other journalists, which I think is kind of intimidating. You know, interviewing others in your industry when they're already interviewers themselves can be intimidating. And she does a fabulous job. She goes deep and she gets them to tell stories that they maybe wouldn't tell elsewhere. And that's a gift. And so whenever I feel like, you know, I need to up my. I'm getting a little lazy with my interview tactics. I was feeling a little programmatic. I go and listen to more of Veronica's episodes and really get to dial that in. And, you know, lucky me, I got to actually meet her in person at an event we were both keynoting at or speaking at. And so I know she's as engaging in person as she is over her podcast. So I think you're going to really love connecting with her. Veronica Dagger, Secrets of Wealthy Women coming in at number five as the most engaging interview. Number four, the most locally devoted podcaster. Before I met this woman, I didn't really think you could do a successful local podcast, you know, one that was serving your local community, that was just serving local businesses, because podcasts are heard all over the world. So it seemed almost like a waste to use it like radio. And why wouldn't you just use radio instead? That was kind of my thinking before I met her. But Audrey Belkurney impressed me to no end with Good Morning Gwinnett and the model of podcasting that she's been able to use to help her local community grow, to really help local businesses get more visibility, to give them more publicity, to give them more incredible Google value, at the end of the day, being searchable and being found by giving them a podcast to be on, by reaching out to the local community and working with the Chamber of Commerce and all the other places. And so the most locally devoted podcaster award has to go to Audrey Bell Kearney. Coming in at number three, the loudest podcast industry cheerleader. And I really hope he gets a big kick out of the image that we created for him. But Lou Diamond, Thrive Lab podcast. I mean, Lou is an incredible podcast cheerleader, right? He is all about what the industry, how it can grow, who you can connect with. He's connected with dozens of guests that I've had on my show. And so he is just really such a super connector. And I thought I was a good connector, but Lou outdoes me. And so I may have been accused of being a little cheerleader like, but Lou fits it even better than me. So Lou diamond, the loudest podcast industry cheerleader, is our number three award.

Our number two most valuable show swap is no surprise. Pat Flynn, right? So a show swap is where I go on your show. You go on my show. Well, Pat Flynn and I swap shows. He came on my show, I came on his show. His show is called Smart Passive Income. For those of you who don't know it. And I'd be shocked if you were in the podcast industry and you hadn't heard his name before, Right? So Pat Flynn, or I consider him the godfather of podcasting. Like, that's kind of how I talked about it there. John Lee Dumas is the king of podcasting, and so, you know, he's kind of the godfather of it. And so many people have him to thank for starting their show, including me. I read a lot of his blogs and I learned a lot from him. I also learned a lot from many other people at the same time, but it was a lot of his information that I found extremely valuable. And it's part of what we built into being a successful podcaster when we started. So it was an honor to have him on my show, but I really never imagined how much benefit we each would get from show swapping. So I'm very sure that he's gotten subscribers to his show, and. And I know that I've gotten subscribers and clients from being on his show. So I'm sure that it was the most valuable show swap for both of us, but it was definitely for me, and that's why that one comes in at number two. Now, my number one, this is my most referenced podcast host. I have said her name repeatedly on so many episodes. I have said her name probably every single time I've been in a clubhouse room speaking. I have told clients on strategy coaching calls about her. And the reason is because she has a model of a podcast that is absolutely perfect. It's amazing. It works perfectly. It has three components to it. It's just everything about it is done extremely well. She's been doing this for at least six years. I think almost seven now. She's amazing at what she does. She's got amazing personality. She's as great in person as she is on her show, and she's amazing life and relationship coach and love coach, if you want to call it that. And so because of that, because she has a coach and so many of you podcasters out there have coaching models of business that you're trying to use podcasting for my most referenced podcast host and coming in at number one of the most memorable Binge Factor episode is Kim Seltzer, the charisma quotient. You are not going to want to miss checking out that show if want you, if you haven't already, because I've said it so many times. So congratulations, Kim Seltzer, and thank you. Thank you so much for being on my show. And I say that to everyone. Thank you all for being on my show. All 99 guests. I appreciated every one of them on there. I learned something from every single one. And I'm sorry if you all couldn't make my 100 list, but that's what the point of having a podcast library is, right? To go check out all the shows. If you want to check out more of these superlatives and see the images that go with each one and click through and just get to any of the ones I mentioned here because you are exercising. Maybe you're on your peloton and listening to my show. You can just go to the bingefactor.com we have a blog post with everything in it and you get to see the fun graphics I created for each host and you can see what I did for them as we shared them out on social media and everything. And you can click right through their episodes so you can go hear that specific episode and you can click right through to find them and their show as well. So thanks everyone for celebrating my 100th episode with me. Thanks for being around and subscribing to the Binge Factor. And if you loved the last 100, please share this with a friend, share this with another podcaster out there, invite them to come on my show, nominate them to be one of my next 100 guests, and if you're hesitant at all about whether or not you belong on the Binge Factor, apply anyway. My team is always willing to screen through and give you some feedback. If you're not ready yet, they'll tell you why. And then when you are ready, you can come onto the show. Then I look forward to meeting another hundred diverse podcast hosts in the next series of shows. And I thank you so much for being around for the Binge Factor. I'm Tracy Hazzard and I'll be back with my 101st episode next week to bring you great podcast hosts with success tips and ways for you to grow your show and to find your Binge Factor.

You've been listening to the Binge Factor Podcast. For more information on podcasting and videocasting success tips and tactics, please go to thebingefactor.com and be sure to listen to our other show for podcasters called Feed you'd Brand. If you'd like to be interviewed on this show as well as featured in Tracy's column, please go to thebingefactor.com guest and apply.