Making Invisible Illness Visible: What You Need To Know About It? With Harper Spero Of Made Visible

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 noise with the binge factor.

Hey everyone, welcome to Feed you'd Brand center of Influence I'm Tracy Hazard and I am excited to have another podcaster who's been very successful. She's been podcasting over a year, so Harper Sparrow is a business coaching consultant who specializes in working with individuals who want to live, work and earn on their own terms. I love that. Own terms. She thrives on helping people navigate every stage of the entrepreneurial leap, whether it's planning to launch to growth, working with clients to decide when you should leave your day job and go all in on your idea. We're going to talk a little bit about business, but her podcast is so interesting. It's called Made Visible. So she's the host of Made Visible that helps people with invisible illnesses feel more seen and heard. And isn't that what podcasting is all about? Being seen and heard? So here we are out there talking about something even deeper than that. The hidden illnesses we all live with. The interview format podcast also explores what it's like to be a caregiver to someone with an invisible illness, someone who has lived with a rare invisible illness for her entire life. Harper is passionate about bringing invisible illness to light and creating a platform for others to share their stories. And boy, does she have some great stories on there of people who I didn't even know had these illnesses. They barely mentioned them. Prior to coaching and podcasting, she spent 10 years leveraging brands through marketing, public relations, and event production. Her past clients include heavyweights Johnson and Johnson, Disney, Ann Taylor, nonprofits like the David Lynch Foundation, Eastside Girls Club, Headstrong Project, Benton Learning, and she earned her coaching certification from the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching. Wow, a certified coach. We don't get those very often. Since launching her business in November 2014, Harper has helped clients discover their path to professional success while supporting them in integrating fulfilling lifestyle changes. And maybe some health style ones too, right? So she's based out of New York and we're talking with her today and I'm so excited to have you here, Harper. Thanks for joining me.

Thank you for having Me so excited for this conversation.

Yeah. So you've got this hidden illness. We're going to talk about that in a minute. But what made you decide that a podcast was going to be right? Way to bring that out.

So I went through a bit of a health crisis seven years ago and had not really shared what was going on with my health with my friends, family members, anyone. And I started reading content online and just feeling like I didn't resonate with so much of it. I'd read about invisible illnesses and chronic illness and go, okay, a lot of these people are bedridden. They don't live, quote, unquote, normal lives. You know, they can't get out of bed, they can't keep jobs, they don't have friends. And walking down the street, you wouldn't have any idea that I was living with something. So when I was reading this content and doing my own research on podcasts, I'm going, this doesn't exist. And I want to be able to listen to something and hear about people who are thriving while also managing invisible illnesses. And I've been a huge fan of podcasts for as long as I can remember. I don't even know how long they've been around at this point, but I feel like I've been listening to them for a while, and it was just the medium that I enjoy the most. I'm a big writer, I'm a tough reader. It's like really hard for me to sit and focus and read, but I can listen to 10 to 20 hours of podcasting a week and said, okay, if this works for me, I'm sure not. I'm not alone here.

Well, and that's so true. Like, I always say that. That's the thing is, like, if you've got something where people are searching at 2 in the morning when they're in pain, when their family's not around, they've got no support system, they don't have anyone to talk to, and they're searching for something that's the perfect topic to have a podcast about. Because what do you want to do? You just want to, like, you know, cocoon up and listen to something and reading it that late at night is not such a good idea.

So. Absolutely not. I think about the times where I wake up and I'm like, oh, my God, I'm up. What should I do with myself? Do I really want to read? No, I want to turn on a podcast.

Right.

Potentially put me to sleep in a positive way.

Right, exactly. So I think you. You picked the perfect choice, the perfect medium. And so anyway, tell us about you. What hidden illnesses are. Like, what are these invisible illnesses that many people are dealing with? And. And why don't they talk about them?

Yeah, absolutely. So I was diagnosed with a super rare autoimmune deficiency called Hyper IgE job syndrome. There's less than 300 of us diagnosed in the world.

Oh, my goodness.

And it took 10 years, my first 10 years of life, for my mom to actually figure out what was going on, with me having lots of different issues, mostly related to skin and lungs and really not knowing what the deal was. And when I was given the diagnosis, was also told, we don't really know what to do with this because there's so few of you in the world. Here's a medication. Best of luck to you.

Oh, my gosh. I feel for your mom right now, like I really do as a mom myself. I was like, that's the worst answer you could ever receive. It's like you're on your own. Good luck with that.

Pretty much. And I actually featured her on my podcast for my birthday early this year and got to hear her sort of story as the caregiver all my life and what it was like for her, which was fascinating. But to your question, there are tons of people who are walking down the street all over the world, living with health issues, mental and physical, that you would have no idea they're dealing with what they are. So it could be anything from depression and bipolar disorder to multiple sclerosis, cystic fibrosis, Potts disease, all these things that many people haven't even heard of. And then there's the more obvious ones, like cancer, that walking down the street, unless someone is bald or has lost a ton of weight from chemo and radiation, you wouldn't really know what they're dealing with. And so I always say there was a time in my life where I was the jaded New Yorker who would be in an elevator on the fifth floor, go downstairs, and when we got to the second floor, someone would get on, and I go, what is this person's deal? It's so rude. It's one flight. Why aren't they taking the stairs? And then I became that person with my help, and I couldn't get down that one flight of stairs, but I didn't have a cane or a cast or anything visible to see what it is that I was dealing with. It was all internal. And so it's so easy for us to assume that everyone's able bodied. And unfortunately, many of Us are not. So I think a lot of people hide this because there's a lot of shame around it. I mean, I spent the first 27 years of my life not talking about my health in any way to anybody. My best friends of 15, 20 years didn't know anything I was dealing with. Oh, she gets colds a little bit more often than other people or has the flu or allergies, but nothing more serious. And no one understood because I never shared anything about it.

So how did it feel to. I'm going to put in quotes here. Come out on the podcast to your own friends and family.

Well, I started to come out about seven years ago when I had a major surgery and it was sort of impossible to hide it. And I was on medical leave for two months, and basically I had to say to my friends, like, hey, by the way, I'm having this major surgery and there's this underlying issue I have. And they were all just sort of surprised and sort of commended me for how I handled it all these years and why did I hide from them and all that. But everyone was always so supportive of it. And so I wrote a lot of articles for Mind bodygreen and Huffington Post and a bunch of other platforms over the years. But the podcast has definitely been the centerpiece to sharing my story and obviously having conversations with other people. And I try to infuse bits of me and my situation while having these conversations without making the focus be on me, because I did not start this for me.

But it really does help you make that personal connection and rapport with your guests, which really helps draw them out and make them feel comfortable.

Oh, absolutely. I had a conversation with someone today where our conditions are so different, and that's what's been so fascinating, is having very different stories and very different backgrounds and very different health, and yet everything is so, so relatable. Yeah.

So I loved your episode you did with Genevieve Gorder, which I guess was one of your most popular. First off, I really liked her. Always liked her. I worked on a treating snail project, so I knew her very well from that. And you guys sounded like friends. And that's, I think, the best ideal situation. It's because you built a rapport before you even got on the show with her.

Yeah, she was someone that, when I first started, I was like, I need her to be on the show. She had been posting a little bit on Instagram stories about having Hashimoto's and Lyme disease, but she had never really come out about it. And so I got connected to her. She came on the show and we've since become friends. And she's just so supportive of the podcast and been so wonderful through it all. But I think she recognized, like, the importance of sharing her story, which could raise awareness for so many other people and for fans of hers to realize, like, she has Lyme and they may have Lyme too, and they feel like that they can get through it knowing that she has.

Well, yeah, I mean, that's the thing that happens so often. And no, I mean, we see it even at a. I'm going to say even at a lower level. Like, I. We see women with hormone disorders and other things, not just thyroid and, you know, they're suffering in silence because, gosh, you do really want to point out how much of a woman you are right at this moment when you're dealing with big business or something like that. So there are a lot of other situations on which the empowerment that you're giving people can really, really help. So good for you. I'm so amazed with the accomplishment you've done in a year on your show, too. So that's quite something. So what are some of the most interesting or funny things that have happened to you over the course of the year?

Yeah, I mean, I think it's a really interesting thing when you go into something not knowing exactly where it's going to land and if anyone's going to listen other than your parents. And so it's been one of those things where today I released the 50th episode and I'm like, what, 50 episodes? And I have all these other people lined up and I'm starting to get some bigger celebrities, which is really exciting. I think part of it, one of the big lessons that I learned pretty quickly was how important it was to pre screen people because I've had a lot of people contact me looking to be guests on the show, total strangers, people I know, friends of friends. And if I haven't talked to them personally, I don't know their story and I don't know how well spoken they are. So there have been times where I've interviewed people and I'm like, I can't air this.

Good for you to be discerning.

It's such a tough call to make. But it's one of those things where I'm like, I wouldn't want to listen to this, so why would I put this out for anybody? So it's been a tough conversation with a few different people to have to do that. But I'm sort Of protecting my brand and also protecting my listeners ears from listening to things that are boring.

Right, Absolutely. And good for you because you should be. You're the gatekeeper for your audience and you know them best. So absolutely. They expect you to do that. Yeah.

And I think the thing is, is there's no bad stories out there. Everyone's got their story and, you know, it's all important. But I think it's the way that people tell stories that's so important. To be able to present yourself in a certain way that's engaging to outsiders.

Yeah. So you know, that's relevant too, to your show, to your topic, to what they're searching for.

Right.

So that's your, that's your control factor. That's how you decide your litmus test. So if someone else wants to start a podcast, you know, do you think they should?

I think it depends on the person and what the topic is. I mean, I've had people approach me and say, you know, I've been thinking about doing this and I start asking some questions of what is this about? Is this going to be like a mini series that's 12 episodes? Do you see this as a long term brand opportunity? What's your goal in doing this? I think it's important to think about those things because to be honest with you, I didn't. And I'm somebody that figures things out as I go and it's oftentimes worked out and I get a good response to most things, not everything. But this is something where it takes a lot of time and energy to produce a podcast and there's so many different ways to do it in sort of a cheap, efficient way, or you could put money into hiring an engineer and getting a studio and all that stuff. And so I think it's important to think about what your goal is here. And I actually, a few months ago started created a 19 page guide called the Newbies guide to Podcasting, which is a guide that I wish someone handed me a year ago before I launched, because it was one of those things where I had no idea going into this, okay, I'm supposed to get sponsors or I want to start monetizing this. What does that look like? How do I approach these things? What are the right terminology that relates to podcasting?

But you know, it's the same thing. So many people start and they make mistakes. I just did a webinar on the 12 things you did wrong when you were launching your show. That's killing your growth.

Right.

And it's like basic stuff like, you know, you didn't have a voice of authority for your intro outro. But I see the mistakes again and again because I have a big platform that I can take a look at that. And I interview everyone who's successful. And so you start to see these. There's a little area of, like, your topic is so interesting, and there's no one competitive in the region at all. And you're good, and it doesn't matter how good your quality is, but it's getting rarer and rarer. That's happening. And so you have to kind of up that professionalism. And the thing is, it's not too late to fix those things. So if you already started, you could fix them.

There are so many podcasts that I listen to, though, that I feel like things are just getting really competitive, and there's so much repetition of guests and the same stories over and over again. And I'm starting to unsubscribe to a lot of podcasts that I loved two or three years ago because it's just getting totally saturated. I think the big thing here with all podcasts, all genres, is coming up with new content, which is really hard to do in the age of social media and the Internet. But how can you spin it in a different way and put your own, you know, take on things?

Yeah, well, and in your case, you know, how do you become binge listenable? So, you know, I mean, did you expect that? Did you plan that in? It just happened.

It just happened. I mean, I think for me, because I'm so particular about what I listen to and what I put out there, I'm very cautious of what is resonating with people. So when I get responses from people on Instagram, through DM and through email saying, this really worked for me, or I loved this, or I want more of that, I'm really taking that stuff into consideration because I don't want to just push out content for the sake of pushing out content. A lot of people have requested certain illnesses be featured or certain wellness trends be addressed. And so those are the kind of things that I'm doing. And I've had several competitors come out since I launched, and just interesting to see the types of things they're addressing and I'm not, or vice versa.

Yeah, yeah, interesting.

So I do this thing where I go for your five tips, because this is obviously a show for podcasters, so we want to give them some lessons that you might have learned over the last year. What are some of the best ways to book great Guests.

I think the big thing is thinking about who you want and at what point you reach out to them. So I think if you get some press and some notoriety, it's good to wait a little bit to get those things before you reach out to some of the bigger name guests. There was someone I was really excited about reaching out to, and I did it like two weeks in, and I now I'm like, oh, why didn't I wait like six months and say I have this number of downloads and I've gotten this press and I've had this guest. So I think just being a little strategic about how to get those people and when's the right time? I don't know that there's necessarily our true right time, but get a little bit of credibility.

This is a better time than others, right?

Yeah.

So do you have a big get in your future you'd like?

My big person right now is Dax Shepard. Oh. He has rheumatoid arthritis and he's talked about it on his show, Armchair Expert a lot. And so I sent him DMs from my personal account and from the podcast account last week, and my publicist has reached out and I am just sitting here with crossed fingers waiting, waiting, waiting.

I'll tag them here. So, yeah, hitting him from everywhere. So all the Google alerts go off too, Right?

Thank you. He said he sent a note to Julia Louis Dreyfus to get her on the show. And I'm like, maybe I need to send him like a handwritten note. So if anyone has his address, please send it my way.

That's right. There you go. You never know who's listening.

Right.

So speaking of listeners, how do you go about increasing your listeners?

That has been definitely a challenge. A big thing is social media and just trying to engage with people who are already following the podcast and getting them to share it. Press has been a really big thing. Writing about the podcast and thinking about where people who are going to be interested in the podcast are spending their time. Very similar to my business as a business coach. Where can I be featured that my types of people are? And also getting my podcast guest to be sharing the podcast when they're on it, which sometimes can be really challenging to get people to actually share their episode. So I've created a form in the last few months where people have to sort of opt in and say, I will promote this when this goes live.

So we do something on our platform, we call it Ego Bait. So we give them graphics so they have to share it like they won't not. You know, there's no way they won't, because it's just too cool. So that's how we did it. And it really changed everything for us when we started doing that a couple of years ago. And we do it for all our clients. We call it ego bait inside. But, you know, I pretty much tell everybody that that's what it is. So, like, so far, none of the guests seem to know that that's what it's called.

That's all that matters until now. No.

Maybe they're listening. So. But, you know, this is the thing. Look, you're doing publicity on being a podcaster, and, like, I've had people turn me down for this, and so why wouldn't you do this? Because raising the elevating the value of your podcast helps you get better guests. So 100% doesn't matter what the publicity is in the way.

Yeah. And I think I'm really big on being transparent about things that are going on in my life and my business. And I realized even with social media, when I start sharing more things about my health, I receive more engagement, and I'm certainly not looking for anyone to feel bad for me in the different situations that I'm going through. But I see that I become more relatable, and I'm so careful about the words that I use when I share things about my own health. To not be like, woe is me. I want everyone to feel bad about me. That's so, so not who I am. I have friends and family that support me, but it just shows who I am as a person, and I think that that's what people are looking for, especially in this world of social media and highlight reels.

Absolutely. Absolutely. So producing in a professional way, how do you do that, especially on a budget?

So I started on my bathroom floor with three cookbooks and two yoga blocks underneath my computer. And that worked for a period of time. And then I.

The bathroom's an unusual choice. I can say most people will choose a closet.

New York City, we don't have big enough closets.

Yeah, this is it. So you just needed a enclosed environment.

Correct. And so from there, I was in touch with a manager of a celebrity that I was hoping to get on the show. And she said, where do you record? And all of a sudden, I was like, oh, my God, where am I gonna do this? And that day, I. I contacted some friends looking into studios. That was in November. And so I've been in a studio ever since and still have not had that guest on, by the way, it will happen. But I said to his manager the other day, you know, I got a studio for you guys and now it's been nine months. But yeah, I mean, listen, that is certainly not a cheap thing, but the quality of the sound is so much better than my bathroom floor that it's worth it to me.

Yeah, absolutely. How do you encourage engagement from your listeners?

Social media. I mean, I post, you know, when I. At the beginning of the show I always do an intro and then at the outro I say to follow on social media and engage in social media. Two weeks ago was our one year anniversary, so we did a giveaway with some of my favorite healthy lifestyle brands. I have another one coming up in August. So just making sure people know that we want them to be part of the community. We're not just speaking at them.

Wonderful. So best ways to monetize. So it sounds like you've got some sponsors in and so what's going on there?

Yeah, so I'm going to say I think it was episode 24. I had my first sponsor.

That's early. Good for you.

Yeah. And that was a brand that someone had put me in touch with. They loved the podcast and were really interested in being involved. It's all been through personal connections or people I knew that knew people. It's definitely not an easy thing. I started working with an agency a few months ago and it did not work out very well. So I think the big thing for me was finding brands that I truly felt aligned with because I think a lot of people are happy to take any sort of money because it's money. And I'm the kind of person that if a vitamin company comes to me and says we want to sponsor the podcast, I send it to my nutritionist friend and say, hey, is this clean? What do you think about this? And she'll respond and say, I don't think this is for you. And I'm thrilled to have that because I don't want money just for money. That's my own personal thing. I'm not going to take big pharma money and that's just not my thing. So I think it's identifying what messaging you want to share on your podcast and be aligned with because that audio is going to be around for a long time and, you know, it's not going away anytime soon. So for me it was getting sponsors, but ones that I felt good about and just trying to figure out other ways to monetize this because it's certainly again Not a cheap thing to do when you don't do it the scrappy way.

Yeah, absolutely. Well, you know, you're tapping into something that I've seen be most successful. So the majority of the podcasters that are making the most money, to be honest with you, and feeling better about the way that they're making their money, so they're not just making, you know, making the show, you know, paying off the show. They're the ones who are doing it with brands that they resonate with, ones that they actually use themselves. The lifestylist Luke Story is one of my favorite examples of that. He will not rep anything that he doesn't use, and it makes a difference when he talks about it on his show and when he promos it. And it makes a difference in the trust factor between the brand and the audience. That starts to develop over time as well.

Yeah, I find that, like, I'll start using a new product, and that week, if I'm into it, I'll immediately reach out, because if I'm into it, I want to share it with the world. And I've always been that person. Even without a podcast, that's like, found this new water bottle, everyone needs to know about it, There's a new band, everyone needs to listen to it. And so I want that to be the case with the podcast. It's just getting people to be responsive. Come on, brand.

That's right. Yeah. Well, see, that's. I think the big. You're not wr. I see it also so often from the companies that are placing ads for you. There's not a synergy. They're just looking for numbers, and that's not working with how listeners are. Listeners are responsive when it matters, when it's relevant to them, and when they know that you care.

Yeah. And I'll say as an example, my first sponsor was a brand that also had a founder with an invisible illness. And so to be able to promote this product and then feature her episode, there were tons of sales because people got to hear her story and learn why this product made sense for her and for other people.

That's one of my favorite things that we've done in our podcast before was that we would have a feature about them and then we'd advertise for them in later episodes. We would never mix the two because we just felt that that was a straighter. We wanted to get to know them first, too, before we would agree to rep them. But I think it's a really great opportunity for them to be able to come back and listen to that person and really say, wow, there's a really good person behind this brand.

Yeah. So with that said, if there are any people out there that work for brands and have invisible illnesses, definitely reach out because that would be really compelling for everybody.

That would be very valuable to heartburn guys. So listen up. So, you know, I want to really touch on. This is not your day job, right?

This is not my day job.

This is not what you do being a podcaster. This is not your day job. You have a great coaching and business acceleration programs and things that you do. Has the podcast, though, helped you grow your business?

I will say that by sharing my podcast, I'm getting more visibility as made visible podcast. I think that the types of clients I'm attracting are people that may have health conditions or more focused on health just because they know what it is that I've been through. Because I've been so vocal about what I've been through, I don't say it directly.

You can be a better coach to them because you've walked in their shoes. So that's really great. So they're seeing that synergy and that connection to you ahead of time.

Correct.

Well, that's so good because that's where we find most of the people who are podcasting is if it's driving business back to their business, they keep going because at the end of the day, that's really helping them and their give back is so powerful. Motivator as well.

Yeah, absolutely.

Is there anything else you want to share with the audience about, you know, getting started? You know, what advice do you have for someone new?

Yeah, I mean, I think I'm a big gut person and trusting my intuition. So I think it's one of those things where identify what's working for you and what's not and if something doesn't feel right, don't go forward with it. I knew that releasing these few episodes didn't feel right to me, so I didn't do it. I think over time you just get more and more comfortable in being a podcast host. So I think when I first started, I think about some of the questions I wrote out and I was sort of reading, not necessarily a script, but really reading these questions. Like I have to use these. And now I have questions lined up and it's like, all right, if I get to them, great. If not, it's very conversational and I prefer it that way. And I've gotten feedback from listeners how much better I've gotten. So I think it's just like you being comfortable in your own skin and trusting your own gut is only going to make the situation better.

Oh, wonderful. Well, Harper, thank you so much for coming on the show. The Made Visible podcast. What days do you air it on?

On Tuesdays.

On Tuesdays. Airs live on Tuesdays or new on Tuesdays? Not really live. Publishes new on Tuesdays and she just reached her 50th episode. So congratulations, Harper, and thank you. Worth a listen, guys. There are some really great episodes in there. You're going to find somebody who you connect to, who you just were fascinated at and didn't know their story. So listen up, everyone. Made Visible Podcast with Harper Sparrow.

Thank you.

I'm Tracy Hazard and this is the center of Influence podcast from Feed you'd Brand. And we'll be bringing you more successful podcasters. And don't forget that there's an authority magazine article that's coming with this podcast as well, so it follows it so you can read the written word, you can see her tips in one beautiful graphic. So you'll be able to share that on Instagram and share that everywhere and share Harper's podcast in the process of that. So everyone please make sure you come to the website FeedYourBrand Co where you can get all information on how to connect with Harper Sparrow and how to hear the Made Visible podcast. Thanks everyone for listening. I'll be back again next week.

You've been listening to the Binge Factor Podcast. For more information on podcasts 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.