How To Make A Contagious Fitness Podcast For Peloton Fanatics Who Never Miss Episodes With Crystal O'Keefe Host Of The Clip Out Podcast

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 Hazard 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 Factor. I'm Tracy Hazzard and today I have one of my podcasters, Apoditized Podcaster is coming on the show today. I've invited Crystal o' Keeffe on. She's got a podcast called the Clip out. She does it with her co host, her husband Tom. So Crystal and Tom have run the Clip out for over 200 episodes and I met them at she podcast event in 2018, October 2018, it was in Atlanta. And I met them and they were this very serious couple who were asking me all these very pointed questions about how we edit and what we do. And they were really detail oriented. And I thought, whoa, what intensity? And when I found out that they had a podcast about Peloton, that's what the Clip Out's about. It's about the Peloton. I thought, ah, this makes sense. This is what I've heard about these peloton fanatics out there, that they're obsessed with this machine. And I thought, well, maybe that translates into obsessed with details and other things, but, you know, in this case, this is a tremendous benefit. And I want you to hear in this episode, when Crystal is talking about how everything is going, she's really talking about the great details and the great purpose they've put into everything that they do on the show, really creates this rich environment for these pelotona fanatics who are their listeners. I also want to just read you a little bit from their website about them. And I'm going to read this, which, you know, guys, I try not to read.

I try to like, you know, do.

This off the cuff from the introduction, but it's so funny that I just want you to get a sense they have such a great sense of humor and such a great interplay. And we don't often get to introduce and talk to as many co hosts, especially two that have this kind of interpersonal relationship. And so I think it really sets the tone for why their podcast is so great and why you really need to listen to it. So after months of listening to Crystal talk about her Peloton obsession. Tom suggested she start a podcast dedicated to the topic. His theory being he would then only have to listen to her talk about Peloton for one hour a week. Tom was wrong. Very, very wrong. Every week, Crystal and Tom talk to writers, instructors, and other luminaries from the pelliverse. It's hour ish of news, tips, commentary, banner, and inappropriate comments, mostly from Tom, about the bike that goes nowhere. First off, that's just a great. It just invites you in. It makes you feel like you already know them when you haven't even listened to an episode yet. But you're gonna wanna listen, especially after you hear the wonderful, infectious laugh that Crystal has that I'm hoping I'm gonna be able to get out of her in this interview. I hope I'm funny enough. I mean, I know she thinks Tom's funny, but I hope I'm funny enough. And I really hope that I'm gonna be able to get our Tom, both our Toms, my Tom and her Tom and Crystal and I together to do an episode with the four of us. I think that will be a lot of fun. So we'll try to do something with some kind of, like, magic and tips on co hosting. Maybe we'll do a special episode for all of you in the future. So let's listen to Krystal talk about the clip out and how she's gained that peloton fanatic audience.

Krystal, I am so glad to talk to you today. And, you know, we left our Toms out and we thought we'd just chat by, you know, us girls today, but we could have had both our Toms on here, and that would have been really fun. We may have to come back and do that.

That can be a second episode.

Yeah. You know, it is my favorite part of the way that your show is, is that, you know, there's so few of us who have co hosts because it's hard. It's really hard to do. You know, luckily we're married to ours, so, like, it makes it a little bit easier. But, you know, the interplay between the two of you is a fantastic part of the show. And I think really quickly your audience gets to know the two of you and gets to know, like, oh, Tom's gonna say this and Crystal's gonna giggle. And, you know, I swear I can hear you blush sometimes when you're laughing because of something he says.

Yeah, that's accurate. I'm. Because it does happen a lot.

Yeah. I was like, I should probably should watch the video and see if I'm right about this, but I can definitely hear it. But, you know, let's start at the beginning. Like, what made you decide to start the clip out?

So I have a pretty button up, traditional day job as a project manager, and Tom and I were literally driving one day, and I was expressing my interest in finding a creative outlet the way that he has so many creative outlets. And he just said, you know, you should really start a podcast. And I was like, about what? I couldn't even think of it. And he was like, the bike that you never stop talking about, maybe that would be a good idea. Because at the time only had a bike as their product. That was the only thing that they offered. And so, you know, I had had my bike at that point for about eight months, my Peloton bike. And I was like, well, I don't even know what I would talk about, you know, for an hour a week. Ish. And he was like, I can't imagine you not talking about the bike. That's all you ever do is talk about the bike. He's like, if I could get you. He said something much funnier, but basically, if I could get you to stop talking and only talk for a week, that would be a win.

Wow. Yeah. So he kind of pushed you into it. That's so funny, because Tom pushed us, too. It's like, it was my idea about podcasting, but he was pushing us into doing something media like, and he wanted to do video first. And at that time, I jokingly said I didn't want to have my hair done every day. And. Because videos were a lot more professional back then than they are now. Right. Like, I could come in with my Peloton ponytail. Right. And it would be okay right now. I didn't today, but, you know, I could have. And, you know, we couldn't have done that back then. So it's so funny that both of them pushed us into doing this podcasting thing. That's really great. Well, you know, your show is so highly produced compared to some. Were you a podcast listener before? Was that a concerted choice?

It was. I think that that is another thing that I owe to Tom, though, because he comes from a radio background, and he felt that we already felt, like way back in 2017 that Peloton was going to be huge. Like, it just. It really felt to us like they were about to explode. And that if there was not already a Peloton podcast, we wanted to come out of the gate very strong. And so we checked. There was not already a Peloton podcast, and at that time, there are now, but there weren't at the time. And. And when we started it, we wanted to kind of create more of, like, what you would hear on the radio. That was our thought process. So we, right out of the gate, we were like, let's get a theme song. That was important to us. We wanted to have something that was catchy and that was unique to us and kind of had the feel of what we were looking for. And so we had our own theme song made. And, you know, it ended up not costing a fortune, which is what we thought would happen. It was. It was a very reasonable cost. And then we put together. We had a set of bumpers put together, and Tom had friends in the radio world that did voiceover work for that. And so I feel like those two things kind of pointed us in the direction of keeping things at a very high level. And we've just added onto that and kept adding to that theme as we've gone on for, what, four years now? So.

And I think you've made some really smart choices here because, you know, sometimes some people produce for the wrong reasons, right? You are actually matching what your audience expects because your audience are used to the highly produced Peloton videos and all the things that go on and energy of them and the interaction level. And, you know, sometimes I think, you know, watching them, it just makes me, like, a little manic. Like, I'm sure that, I mean, the shirt's purposeful. It's supposed to raise your heart rate, right? You know, get you going and inspired, and that's what your show reflects. So I think it was a smart choice from that in that it's mirroring what you wanted to achieve, where sometimes people do it. Like, I can say, there's a lot of times on here after a call or after an interview, I'll say, you know, I think you could dial back your production and save yourself some time and energy where. I couldn't say that to you because you needed. It's part of what makes the energy of the show so good. It's probably really creating that binge factor and that attractor for you. And speaking of your binge factor, did you know people were binging on your show?

No, not at all. No, I did not.

Has anyone reached out to you and said, hey, I listened to all your episodes, and, you know, we have had.

Some people do that. You know, we've had some people who have listene listened from the beginning, and they've listened to us grow and adapt and change. And we've had people that say they listen to every single episode. And then we've had some people that are like, I only listened to this segment or this piece of every single episode. But I have recently heard more that people are just kind of discovering us as they just discover Peloton. And so they have, like, started where we are, but then they go back and listen to every episode, which just, like, is so shocking to me. Like, it's just.

It takes.

It takes me, like, by surprise. And also, it's just. It makes me feel really like, wow, that's really great that we created something that people want to go back and hear the evolution of what has happened with Peloton and the company and all the things that we've talked about. I think that's pretty cool.

I think that that's the idea of something that's bingeable. So if I discover Peloton, it's new to me, right? And I might want to absorb everything I can about the culture, everything I can about the tips, right? And so I'm going there, and you can see some people are going to be, like, really action and tip oriented. They might skip to those segments that you do or want to know more about, you know, investing in them. And you've got your Tread section, which is. Although I really do. Like when at one point you suggested calling it the Rundown, which actually really made sense from the Tread. The tread's perspective. But, you know, you start to look at that and you think, oh, I want the financial information. What's really going on with the company in the marketplace? Because there's a lot of investors in that market. And so you've created that segment as well. So you've got so much for so many different people within it that I could see some people skipping, but I could also see some just binging on the whole thing and just wanting to, like, you know, find those episodes and all the gems of things you shared over the years, because you're way past, you know, the stage of a newbie, and it does come across right. You know, you talk with such knowledge. So I might want to get back to where I'm. You're only a few steps ahead of me. So. But, you know, this is the thing. It's like, when I look at the binge factor for a show, it isn't just that, like, you've got something that's hot, which you have, obviously, this is something of great interest. It's got a really Decent market size and all of that. But you've created a show within that that is infectious and addictive at the same time, which I think is exactly what the Peloton is supposed to be.

Right? Like, it is supposed to be. Yes, it is.

It's supposed to be that. And so it mirrors that audience so perfectly that it's, you know, it's serving you well, and it's serving that audience well, and they're not going to go anywhere because of that. But, you know, the other part about it is, is that, you know, even if you're not a Peloton fan and you come and listen to the show, you're all of a sudden, you're thinking, like, wow, that wouldn't be such a bad gift. And, you know, and I was like, I think Tom, my time would fall over if I asked him for one. He'd be like, no, if I buy that, I'm just totally, like, in the doghouse, so I wouldn't do it. But, you know, he's thinking about. He would be like, wow, what happened to you? It would be, I drank crystal and Tom's Kool Aid. Right. And that's what you say in your description. That's exactly it. Is that. That this is that kind of infectious and add that you created on an infectious and addictive product, which is really a great blend and good for you to create such a great show.

Thank you. I feel like I didn't really ever think of it that way as far as, like, being, you know, infectious, but I think it comes from my genuine love of the product. I mean, it's. It all stemmed from me not being able to talk about it like I said earlier, or not being able to stop talking about it like I said earlier. So I think it just comes through, you know, and we've had the opportunity to meet people who work at the company, not just in the showroom. We've been able to meet people who run the company, and they're just good people. And so even if it's not something that's for you, like, even if I couldn't have the bike, I would just be rooting for them because they're just such good people. And so I'm in their corner so completely, you know.

Well, you know, and that's what I really love. Like, when you're talking about the financials, you've been talking about some of the lawsuits and the recalls that have happened, you know, and these things happen to all companies, but you've been saying it with such a nice Direction, really. It's like we're not going to pile on this company. We're going to say we do love the product at the end of the day and recognize that they're going through some horrible growing pains. And so I think that at the end of the day, that's serving you well in terms of creating that great rapport with the company itself, which gets you the benefit of them being a supporter of your show and giving you great information and insights over the years. It's a place that Tom and I played when we did in the 3D print market, where we play this kind of world of where critical of, you know, the process, but in a great way that is trying to help critique the marketplace and move it forward, not pile on and, you know, and give it, you know, just destroy it.

Yeah, it can be a fine line, you know, because it would be easy to make fun of the situation in a mean way. I mean, we crack jokes, so I don't mean to say we don't make fun of a situation, but we also don't like, make fun of people or make fun of. It's all about keeping it light for us, you know, and we do try to keep it entertaining. I mean, you know, whenever you think, oh, you're gonna have a podcast about an exercise bike that sounds about as dry as you can possibly get. And so we wanted to keep it fun and light. And that's another thing that I feel like Tom really brings to the show. You know, he has a great sense of humor, he always has, and he just knows how to keep things light. And he's got great timing, so it works out really well. He does.

I wanna talk about that in a second, but I wanna first highlight the fact that you guys have won an award. So you run from the Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts, you won a host award and the best independent episode in health and fitness. And so the independent episode, that one was your interview with the Peloton wife, Monica Ruiz. And reality is that the interview is like the 20 minute segment of this 90 minute show. And part of the show that I. The reason I think you won is because of the joke section of it, which was absolutely hilarious. I was laughing out loud. I clapped at the end of it. That's how good it was. And this is where Tom did his running list of the top 10 reasons you can compare Pornhub and Peloton. And this was based on an article that had come out about, you know, so it wasn't like you guys made this analogy. It had already been in the news and he was just running down the top 10 list. You know, I could have started crying, laughing. It was so funny and yet so good humored between the two of you. And you're giggling away because he's, you know, he's telling off color jokes and like. But at the same time, there's like some truth there. And that is just such a great move that I can see why that episode would win. Like, it just that portion of it is like the perfect mix of what you two do so well together. And you add to every episode whether you're talking about pornhub or not.

You know, that's so funny you say that because privately between the two of us, we're always like, which one of us got the host? So it's funny.

I know. And that I thought was hilarious too, because it's called the host award, not the host's award. Yeah, yeah. And he graciously gave it to you, though, I have to say. Good man. But yeah. You know, I think that this ability for you two to laugh in the process just makes it easier for us to actually laugh out loud as listeners. And that's why a co host situation is actually so great. You know, it's kind of weird when you laugh, you know, and it's just you like, oh, it's my joke, and I kind of laughed for myself. It's weird. And, you know, we started to see that here with like, talk show hosts who have no audience. Right. It's so uncomfortable in the pandemic as we've been watching this, but you guys have each other and you're comfortable with that and you're comfortable with making each other laugh and teasing each other and that why we're listening. We're listening to vicariously, like, watch your relationship grow too. So.

Well, we definitely have fun together. That's for sure.

Well, congratulations on the award. Really, really, really well deserved. You know, I have to say, and I mentioned this in my open but that, you know, I met you both at she podcast event which a couple of years ago in 2018, and I thought you were the most serious coup. And so I would have never expected, like, I really. Because you were so serious about your show, about how its production went and like, you know, and I thought, oh, okay, they're really intense. And that's okay. Like, you know, I applaud intensity. I'm an intense person. But I had no idea there was this wonderful sense of humor behind it till I listened to your show for the first time. So you know, really, really great that you have all that dimension to the both of you as well.

That's true. We offset each other very well, so. And also, we are both very. We have, like, opposites in a lot of things, but we take the same types of things seriously. So we're just. I can totally. I know exactly what we're talking about because we came up and we were like, what about this and what about that? You know, we like, talk everything to death, even in our relationship. So if something comes up and we're not sure about something, we just, like, dissect it from every angle. You know, if one of us is, like, looking at a job change, it can be hours long conversation as we look at every single angle and like, what it's going to mean to the rest of our lives, for example. So, yeah, we are very intense.

But, you know, that meticulousness is coming across and making a really great show. So, you know, I just posted on LinkedIn actually today. Today's article was about. Or today's video was about having a great attention to detail, having a goal with where you're going, and having a great attention to detail along the way. People skip that stuff. They're like, I'll just wing it. But, you know, having that can really make a purposeful end appear. Right. And it can get you to where you want to go. And that's what I see you're doing here. You've done over 200 episodes. Congratulations. That's quite an accomplishment. How are you fitting this in with a day job?

I don't know.

It's the real truth there, right?

Yeah, it's like a little of this and a little of that. Mostly I do our interviews at night, so that helps. So I'll do interviews right after work, and then whenever it's something that won't fit in, we'll do interviews on the weekend. That helps a lot. And also we have kind of two pieces to our show that we kind of put together. So every week we have an interview that we interview somebody from the community that's in the peloton community, whether it's an instructor, somebody that else that works there, or just somebody who rides a bike or just somebody who has a treadmill. But they usually have, like an interesting story that has caught my eye for some reason. And so we do that, but we do that ahead of time. So maybe it might be three or four weeks ahead of time. And then the week the episode airs, I've been kind of watching Instagram, watching Facebook, watching all the different socials that are out there. And then I collect interesting stories that come up for Pelosi on throughout the week. So then we put all of that together in one show. So the interview, since it's already done, takes the pressure off. You know, you don't. I don't have to come up with that two days before we're getting ready to air because things happen. And I learned that pretty quickly that was not a good idea to try to do the same day. And I think the combination of those topical stories that we can just kind of whip through and our interview, it makes it easier to put together at the end of the day.

You know, your titles are really interesting, so you've got some really great titles. This is what I want people to hear because this is something that they do so badly. Like, typically, it'll be like, oh, Monica Ruiz, Nicole Gonzalez. Like, these were people who are on my show. And that's the title. But you're not doing that. You've got Are people abusing the high five. I have no idea what that means because I'm not a peloton writer, but maybe if I did, I would let. No. And I totally want to listen to that. My other one is turning the bike into a sex toy. Totally intriguing. I don't care if you're a peloton person or not. You got to listen to that episode. Will having a tread affect your homeowner's insurance?

Who would've think of that?

It sounds like it could be the driest subject in the world, but I bet it's pretty interesting. And people are like, yeah, I never thought of that before. And so these are just the kinds of insider topic and yet intriguing to someone new and an outsider. And that's what you're doing really well to draw people into the show.

Thank you. And again, I have to give that credit to Tom because he almost always comes up with the titles and he has a sense of humor about it. So it's funny because almost every week he comes up with it without asking, and very, very seldom does. He'll be like, I'm stuck. What should we talk about? And then I'll say something and he'll turn it into his funny. He's great with that.

That's amazing. So it's so great to kind of split the duties. That's probably also how you're managing to, you know, get this accomplished and fit this in. Well, let's talk about some of the five things, because, you know, you do have some really interesting guests that Are un. I want to talk about how you get those great guests. So how do you reach out to them? How do you get them?

Yeah. So ever since we started the podcast, I've looked for people within the community that just interested me. So going way back to the beginning, there were people that just stood out because they posted on all of the socials a lot. And a lot of people who ride peloton are really, really big Facebook users. As peloton has really grown in the last year, that has started to happen elsewhere. You see it on Instagram and Reddit and Twitter even now. But at the time when I first started, it was almost all on Facebook. And so I could hang out in different Facebook groups because there are thousands of peloton Facebook groups, and I could hang out in them and just kind of watch interactions and people that interested me and I would just then friend them or I would start talking to them in the middle of the thread that was happening on Facebook, and we would start having a conversation about if they wanted to be on the show.

And they'd probably don't refuse very often.

I mean, especially early on. Like, almost nobody did because the people. It's just such a tight knit community. People are so excited about the peloton communities and they don't want to stop.

Talking about it either. Right.

I mean, it's great to, like, be able to have that conversation with anybody that'll listen because some people will be like, please stop talking about your peloton. And especially early on, when no one knew what it was, you know, before the pandemic, before the Monica Ruiz peloton wife commercial, that people had no idea what it was. So they would get frustrated when you would just go on and on. So then, you know, it kind of started to evolve where all of these celebrities started getting a peloton. And so we started kind of trying to get into that a little bit, like, how can we leverage this? And so we started reaching out. We would reach out on all different ways. I've reached out on Facebook, I've reached out on Instagram. In fact, Tom reached out to Kimmy Gibbler, AKA it's not her real name. Her real name is Andrea Barber. And he reached out to her. She used to play Kimmy Gibbler on Full House, and he. She posted about getting her peloton bike on Twitter. And Tom just. Just started commenting on her Twitter. And then he told her we had a podcast, and she was so excited about that. So we waited a few months, and then he reached back out to her on dm and she accepted. She was super excited to do the interview. And, by the way, the nicest person you could ever hope to meet. I mean, just so sweet and so down to earth. And she loves her Peloton.

I feel like what has helped us in that regard is that celebrities who love their Peloton want to talk about it just as much as us average people. And so when reach out to them, like Dr. Jen Mann from BH1 and tell her, oh, my gosh, I love all the things you're posting about Peloton. I would love to have you on the show. And she said yes. I mean, you know, if you don't ask, you never find out.

Being a guest on a podcast is hot today, so if you can be on one that's more relevant and in your interest, it makes it even easier for you. Right. So, you know, I think that's really. You were talking about this, and I want to highlight this before we go on to the next of the five things. But when you're trying to get great guests, one of the things that you're doing is you're seeing people who are already engaging on this topic and choosing to invite them further into having a conversation. So you're setting yourself up for greater success and actually gaining more listeners and growing the show. Because if they're talking about this already, they're going to tell everybody that they were on your show.

Exactly.

Getting your guests to share your show is a hard thing to do if they're not already engaged in talking. So that's a head start for you because. So I can see why this strategy has really worked out. But, you know, how did we take it from getting great guests to increasing listeners? What do you do to help increase.

Your listener base in general or in regards to those celebrities?

No, in general. What do you do in general?

We talk about it a lot. I mean, those Facebook groups that I was talking about when we first started especially, I would post all the time. Every time we had a new episode, I would post in those groups. And people were very receptive of that because, as you said, it's a subject matter they're already talking about. They're already talking about Peloton. That's a group specific to Peloton. So they don't mind seeing that. And I try to keep it relevant. So if it's something, it's not really.

Promotional, you're not selling Peloton stuff, you're giving them information.

Exactly. And so as long as I don't post Too much or kind of, you know, get overboard. People seem to enjoy that. Another thing that we do is on Instagram, I started noticing that if I post articles about Peloton, it really increases my engagement about or within Instagram. And so what I do is I spend a lot of my time on Instagram posting articles that are relevant. And I have enough listeners now or enough followers now that I'm able to, you know, put the link in, the swipe up on the story. But that took a very long time. But before that, I would just start talking to people within those different threads. So I'd post an article, people would have questions about it, and I would bring up the podcast. And of course, every week, whenever we have a new episode, I put it out there too. So it gives people who are just interested in reading about Peloton another opportunity to see, oh, there's this podcast. I didn't even know there was a podcast about it. So it's kind of a whole different way to bring in listeners that I have found is very effective.

That's really a great strategy. I'm so glad you mentioned that. Do you post sometimes your blog posts as articles as well?

Yes, definitely. Especially if it's something that is controversial. That tends to get a lot of interaction. And I just love hearing people's kind of feedback on stuff. You know, you can put something out there and everybody has an opinion and is Peloton continues to grow. The diversity of those opinions grows with it. And it is mind blowing to see something that you put out there that I don't have to try to be controversial anymore, because almost any opinion can be controversial because it's just such a large community at this point.

That's right, absolutely. Well, you obviously. I've already mentioned that you have a highly produced show. It's a produce like a pro. But what do you think is the biggest. Like, what is the thing that you personally spend the most time on making sure that it's the best production possible?

Well, right out of the gate, we spent a lot of time on making sure our audio was spot on. And now I will say Tom already had a podcast before this. You know, that he had been doing for years a movie podcast. So we had a studio that had microphones and everything in it, but we made sure that everything worked correctly and that when we have multiple people in a room, and Tom and I both have our computers here, we have a computer that's mixing those levels and putting it together. And one thing that I found that super helpful to me is Having redundancies in place because every great once in a while I will forget to hit record on the actual soundboard. And because we have the Zoom audio, it's backup. And if you go through and you say click every guest separately, record their files, then you have the ability to get their audio as well. And there's lots of different options out there, but we do use Zoom and I find that it's good enough quality. If that happens. It's not the best, but she didn't.

Lose it and have to try to do it again. Because you. I mean, I can't imagine. I can imagine because Tom and I are like this. It's like it's happened before where we do an episode and then he forgot to hit record or do something on the board and you didn't have the redundancy in place. And I can't redo it. I cannot redo it with the same energy, with. It's a different show. Like, it's just not the same thing. And then of course, the anger of having to redo comes across in the audio. So the frustration. Right.

It's hard. It's hard to reset. And, you know, you can't always redo it because if you have a guest, you can't get them to redo it. Like, I forgot to hit record when we recorded with Snooki.

Oh, no. Yes.

She was so intimidated. Not that she did anything, but just her presence was intimidating. And I forgot to hit record and. But luckily the Zoom was the backup, you know, so having it's auto recording.

And it's doing it for you. That's right.

Exactly. And thank goodness, because she was not going to come back and redo that.

Wow. Yeah. So such a great tip there. And, you know, it is more challenging. And that's really what I think. You know, you have to pay a little bit more attention to those production quality issues and recording well because you have a co host situation and you're both in the same room. Otherwise, what are you going to do? Record from two different locations. And like, I don't think. And you won't take the cues off each other. You won't have that sort of fast dynamic that you have. That is what makes it funnier and what makes it more interesting. If you were in two different locations, having that, like, you know, Zoom delay.

Exactly. It's a lot more organic when you're in the same room.

Yeah. So the next question I ask about is encouraging engagement. And you were talking about engaging in the Facebook group, but what do you do to, like, encourage that conversation, that. That back and forth to happen. What do you do special in social media to make that happen?

I ask a lot of questions. I ask what people's opinions about things are. I will tell them my opinion to create a conversation. Because I have found over time that if you just ask people's opinion and you don't state your own, people don't always engage with that. But if you state your opinion first, then they'll agree or disagree with you, and that starts a conversation.

That's such a great tip there, Crystal.

There's really.

You're kind of placing a premise and then asking for that conversation, pro or con, against that. I like that. I can see how that works on social really well. Does that work on Facebook and Instagram? You're seeing it work everywhere. Yes.

I would say, honestly, it happens faster on Instagram, but it definitely works on both.

Interesting. That's a great tip. Thank you for that one. Now, the last thing that I like to talk about is monetization. And the reason why I put it last is because this is a bigger conversation with you especially. So, you know, how are you monetizing your show? You've got commercials in there, you've got got sponsorship models. Talk to everyone just to give us a little bit of framework about what you've done over time here and then talk about what's working for you.

Sure. I mean, first things first is you have to build an audience that, you know, you have to have people for it to be. For people to want to have a sponsorship on your show. And then something that really worked for us was having that niche, you know, being able to talk about Peloton. When you talk to Peloton users, you're talking to people who skew heavily to the female side and people with disposable income. Like, you already know those two things about them. And because of that, we could ask people, hey, would you like to be a sponsor on our show? They were interested because they wanted to talk to those people. And so one thing that we also do is we only accept sponsorships for or ads for people that we genuinely have tried their product and we like it. There are things we say no to because it just doesn't feel like a good fit. Either it's not a good fit for us personally, or we don't think it'll be a good fit for our audience. And I think that's important, too. Not to just say yes to just anything, because over time, I feel like you build that trust with your. Your AUDIENCE um, one of our. One of our sponsors is Tonal, and Tonal is a competitor, really of Peloton in a way, in that they provide fitness instruction. They do it on a machine, but it's about strength, not cardio and Peloton. They have strength, but they don't have a machine that does nothing but strength. So it's a little bit of a crossover. The point being that Tonal was very interested in talking to Peloton users because they were looking for people who already work out at home, who were interested in technology and working out at home, that kind of thing. And so that was a great opportunity for them, and it was a great opportunity for us because that turned into a partnership. We found another great product that I love so much, and that turned into a whole different podcast.

Right. You have a second one you had a spin off.

Exactly. So, like, you kind of just build those relationships because they mean something that you're not just like, okay, yeah, I'll take the supplements and try those out and then talk about them. You know, you actually do try them and you actually have something to say about them that's really personal. And I think that that builds great relationships, which adds on to something else.

So now the other podcast is called the Superset.

Yes. Yeah.

And so that's a directly sponsored show. So how does that work?

So Tonal, they still actually advertise on the Clipout, but. But because we wanted to create a podcast for them because we love their product, they pay for us to have the talent. So they paid for getting some of the startup costs done, and they pay for some of the production costs. And so they. I wouldn't say that they pay like an exorbitant amount, but they certainly they pay. And it's. It's a great partnership between the two of us because it's another way for them to talk to people that haven't gotten a Tonal yet that aren't in the community, and they can talk to them about specific things. So we often will have conversations with them about something. Something new that just came out and what are the benefits of that. We'll have that conversation and then we'll find people that are using it within the community the way that they intended, and we'll bring out those highlights, we'll talk through the things that are important to Tonal to show people.

So you got that inside track going on in that assistance. But they're not. I mean, I've listened to that as well, that they are not guiding what you say on the show. So you still have full editorial, you know, journalistic integrity at the end of the day. Right. But they're giving you that inside track to help make it more likely. You could be kind of ahead of the trend of what you're talking about too.

Exactly. Yeah. And they're just wonderful to work with. They're just amazing. They're an amazing company. That's another one that, like, I love the people that work there. They're just good people.

See, that's so great that you found a niche that you can work in that is really giving you like a high access to a really valuable audience at the end of the day. But, you know, so monetizing your show, do you feel like you need to do more of it? Do you feel like you're starting to getting to stride? Where are you in this? Cause you're like 200 episodes. So there's lots of people out there going like, crystal, are you making it yet?

You know, I feel like we're doing pretty good with the clip out. You know, we found some good partnerships and we found some good affiliate programs. And so I know I didn't mention that earlier, but affiliate programs are another opportunity that are really good for any podcaster out there. And I think we're at a really good place for the clip out. And the superset still has a lot of growth that it needs to do. So I don't feel like we're there to be able to start doing that yet, but I think we're in a really good place with sponsorships. I mean, of course we're always open to more. Don't get me wrong. Yeah.

Who doesn't want to monetize a little bit more?

So.

Yeah, that's really great. Well, good. And your audience. This is a question that I always wonder is like, you've got a show that's set up to actually do better with monetization because you have a long show, so that means you can drop in physically. More ads, like, everybody's always like, what's the structure of my show? I got a 10 minute show. I was like, well, you can't really do a lot of ads there. You're going to really annoy your audience. It's going to be all ad and no show. But, you know, that's why Joe Rogan's show is 90 minutes. You know, it's so that you can have more spaces for that and more space in between that. So it doesn't feel overwhelming. So you've got the setup. Right. But, you know, you probably aren't getting any resistance from the audience. You haven't probably gotten any complaints or anything about it because they don't feel sold out, right?

Yeah, we are. We are sold out. We do about four ads right now in every show. And we've had a couple people express to us that they don't really like the ads. But I want will also say, you know, people don't like change. And so we also have people that complained when we changed our bumpers to be more professional than the first set that we had. And you know, honestly, almost anything that we change, somebody has something to say about it. But our listenership keeps going up. So I don't feel like it's something that is negative. You know, I feel like it's a balance. And we certainly are mindful of we don't want to put too many ads. And I understand that that can be frustrating to people. I listen to podcasts too. I don't want to listen to all podcasts in no show. It is definitely a balance. You know, at the same time, I think that audiences should try to remember that they're getting a product for free. And then it takes a lot of time, you know, and because we do have full time jobs, so it's like, hopefully they understand that we're trying to do something that we love, but also make it worth the time that goes into it because, as you know, it is a ton of time that goes into these every week.

Well, I want to touch on the part that you do have video as well, which is really important because I think, you know, the peloton is streaming on devices and, you know, I can cast it to my tv and so they have, you know, all those things are going on everywhere. So it is very multimedia already. So how is the video doing for you? How is your YouTube channel going?

I mean, our YouTube channel has definitely grown. I feel like we talk about it every episode, but we don't spend a lot of time pushing it. I would say most of our listeners still gravitate towards listening as a traditional podcast. It's usually what I notice is kind of a spike in YouTube subscribers when something funny happens that is like they want to go and look. They want to see reactions, something that Tom said or my reaction to that or, you know, we had a guest on that showed something visually they want to see, you know, things like that.

Well, and Tom does, he says on occasion, I'm wearing this really funny T shirt. You better go check it out. So, like you're giving them this little fear of Missing out while you're doing that, you're giving them a tease of what to go see. So that helps.

That's true. Yes. We definitely do do that.

I love that. Well, good. I'm glad to hear it's growing, because I can see for you that as the audience grows on the peloton side, it's going to grow for you as well there. So, you know, people will just actually find you there first and not realize you have a podcast. And, you know, that'll be a great day when that starts happening regularly. Well, you have such a great show. You work so hard at this. What advice do you have for other podcasters out there?

Don't give up. Those first couple of episodes can be really demoralizing. If you look at your numbers and you're expecting hundreds or thousands and you didn't get very much. And so that's one piece. And also, I feel like not only is it important to have a topic that is important to you, but make your. Whatever it is, make it stand out among other podcasts that are doing the same thing. There needs some reason that people are going to come to yours versus everybody else's. And I know that's easier said than done with some subjects, but I definitely think that's important when it comes to podcasts.

Well, that's such great advice. And, you know, Crystal, you, Tom, Tom, and I are all going to have to go have dinner together. Lots of laughs over that at the next live event that we get to be at together, seeing things are opening back up. I'm so excited for that. You know, I look forward to seeing where your show keeps going in the future, because I think, you know, you guys are always watching and on the cutting edge of the trend, so. So that's the last question I want to leave with, is like, what is next for you? Do you have something that you're working on that you're thinking about for the future now that you've hit past 200 episodes?

Well, we're kind of trying to figure out how we add another show in, like, another episode every week, what makes sense? Because numbers sometimes show that, like, if you add a second episode, sometimes your audience is used to one a week. And so that can actually make your numbers drop. And we don't wanna do that. But what we want to do, it's. Is there's so much happening with Peloton that we want to stay on top of it and be able to do something small a second day of the week, because there's. I know I Mean, I'm hearing. I'm hearing from sources that there's going to be another big product coming out this fall, and then there's another big product that's coming out for peloton in the first of 2022. And so I think there's going to be so much happening that one episode a week is just not. And so trying to figure that out and do it in a way that makes sense for our audience, that's exciting for our audience and keeps them wanting to listen. Not like, okay, enough.

You know, that sounds really great. I look forward to hearing what you figure out on that and seeing where that goes. Well, Crystal, thank you so much for coming on. Thank you for sharing it. Thank you for having a great show and inspiring others.

Thank you for inviting me and thank you for taking the time. I really appreciate it.

It.

I promised you an entertaining episode. I promised you with that sort of setup of how interesting and funny she is and the whole thing. And even though you didn't get to hear the interplay between her and Tom, you just get this idea for how powerful her podcast is, for how much she loves it. And of course, she also told you about the fact that she ended up with a spinoff podcast called the Superset, so that we've got the clip out the Superset, we've got sponsors and advertisers and monetization going on. But she's really cautious about it. She's saying, look, I'm growing it carefully. I'm growing it with the audience in mind. I'm curating and being careful about my choice of sponsors and advertisers. I'm really doing this with a long goal and big purpose in mind. Now, wouldn't it be great if she could quit her day job sometime soon? I think it's in her future. I absolutely do. Especially if you start listening to the show and you see what I mean. I'm not a Peloton user and I would love to listen to this show on a regular basis and maybe it'll get me off my butt and get me on a bike. I don't know. I think my Tom literally would drop dead if I asked for Christmas or my birthday. So I can guarantee you I'm probably not going to be the next Peloton wife. But, you know, if a show can do that, you can imagine what you can inspire your listeners to do, just like Crystal o' Keeffe has and Tom o' Keeffe on the Clip out. So make sure you listen so that you can get some inspiration of your own about how to create a great show, one with a fabulous binge factor, one that is both inspirational and energetic and fits the audience. So until next time, until I have just another episode for you of various different podcasters and how they're bringing their podcasting messages and success to the world. This is Tracy Hazzard on the Binge Fact.

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.

Sam.