Podcast Co-Hosts Crushing Their Binge-ability With Big Hearts With Craig Casaletto And Asante Cleveland of The White Tiger Podcast (Podfaded)

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 the Binge Factor. I am excited to bring you a great new podcast and podcasters that I met recently at the event we did with Athlete Times Media and the network advisory down in Miami. So we did this pre super bowl event and I met these two guys there, and they have a great show that you're going to just love. It's a lot of fun. It's called the White Tiger Podcast. So I have Craig Castelletto and Asante Cleveland, and they bring sports mindset success to their podcast and they interview great sports players. They've interviewed Olympians, NFL greats, obviously. And they have a really interesting show because they're not just talking sports. Like, there's a lot of shows out there that just talk sports, but they're really talking about creating that winning mindset, achieving success. But more importantly, they're also talking about the professional stories about victory, defeat, and what can really crush you, right? What can crush your goals. And I think that that's so true of all of us here as entrepreneurs and as podcasters. There's a lot that can crush our goals. So that's why I'm super excited to bring them to you today. So I've got Asante and Craig from the White Tiger Podcast. Guys, thanks for joining me today.

Thank you.

Thank you for having us.

Yes, thanks for having us.

You know, one of the things that I've loved about your show and your approach is that you guys are very humble. And I'm going to say that that's a rarity from many of the sports people I've met.

Yeah.

And see, look, they're so humble right now. They're kind of just chuckling and not answering. But you know what? It's your strength right off the bat here. And I don't normally do this. I normally wait till towards the end to talk about it. But I think that's your binge factor. It's your personalities and your humbleness and your gratefulness that makes me want to listen to your show again and again.

Yeah, I appreciate that.

Yeah, I appreciate that, too. I think that's something that we truly tried to be intentional about when it comes to podcasting, as far as keeping our listeners in mind. And this is not. I don't think it was ever about us. It was all about just delivering back and giving back. Well.

And, you know, it's so interesting because your show is set up this way. Your show is set up. Your names and pictures are not in your cover art, which is very rare in the sort of market and area you play in. That intentionalness is coming across in every little detail of your show.

Yeah. Appreciate that. Well, I'm glad it's working.

I think it does, because then it makes it about your guest and about the audience and what we're going to get from it.

Yeah, that's always been. The main goal is to bring on guests that their stories will provide values, and our job is just to help facilitate a way for them to give their stories so that our audience can really hear something that will resonate with whatever they're going through personally.

And you guys, do you hear the great radio voices? Yeah, they've got that going on there as well, so. Wonderful. Well, you know, let's tell your story. I'd love to know how the two of you connected and decided to start this podcast.

Wow. Do you want to start this?

I'll start. So I met Craig through a friend who had a social media marketing company, and Craig was already working with him, and I had just started working with him. I was in limbo with football, and Craig and our friend were in Starbucks actually talking about I would be a good guest on his podcast. And as fate would have it, I was actually in the Starbucks at the same time that they were there talking about it.

Oh, that's so funny.

Yeah, we did our first episode, and this was when I was figuring out if I was going to play football or not still. And I actually announced my retirement on the podcast.

Ooh, wow. You gave them quite a coup.

But it was the fact that Craig gave me the platform to do that. It was so therapeutic, and I just wanted to keep coming back on.

And it was just, like, very serendipitous, as people have told us to actually talk about having Asante on. And I'm totally a believer of things do happen for a reason. I felt like that day happened for a reason. And, you know, I look at it now, what we're doing, and, you know, who we're impacting, and a lot of it to be a little selfish. A lot of it is enjoyable for us because we're students when we come on these podcasts and we learn from our guests just as much as we like to deliver that same information to our listeners. But, yes, it was great to connect with Dysante, and things have been just, like, growing and from so many perspectives. It's been really great.

Well, and, you know, you guys have such a diverse background, so, you know, Craig, you're a former police detective. You know, Asante, you're a former Tiger. So, you know, you're. Miami, Florida is, you know, where we all met there. But that's kind of where you also, you know, played a lot. So, you know, you got. You were kind of like, at home there. That's what I noticed when I met you there. You were kind of like, oh, I know all these people. I, you know, I'm at home. So you kind of bring the best of both for each other, to balance each other out.

Yeah, we have different backgrounds, but what we realize is that we also have a lot of similarities going through. Craig's transition of creating the podcast from being a police detective and then my transition from playing in the NFL to now figuring out what the next steps were going to be, and just falling into this podcasting space has just been just really serendipitous for me.

Did you have a plan for it from a business perspective?

No. And you know what? I think that's kind of where we're a little bit different than the norm. I think a lot of people who have podcasts maybe are working on something else to where they're tying the podcast into. And I never felt that was one thing for us. I think the one thing that's always been a constant is the fact that we just really enjoy connecting with people, and the value lies in the information from our guests and our experience. And so. And it's about providing, you know, for me, in the law enforcement field, it was a. About continuing that service aspect of what I used to do on a different platform into a new community. And Asante, from leaving a football community and finding a new community. So it was really all about giving back. And never really had, like, a business side, let's say, to promote or a program to promote or anything like that, which made it unique.

Yeah, absolutely. Cause then it's in its genuineness, it's service.

Yes.

And I think that really comes across in your show as well. So now you've interviewed, you've done, like, well over 60 episodes. You've almost gotten to a year. Congratulations. You know, that's a big deal. So has there been Any, like, funny mishaps, really interesting interviews, things that you enjoyed that you'd love to share a story with us To Miami.

Yeah. Well, so Miami was a big. Was a big deal for us because it really kind of like, melded a bunch of different. Put us in a place where really is our sweet spot, which was the sports aspect, the sports industry aspect, people that are in transition from athletics into, let's say, an entrepreneurial space. So it was like our sweet spot with people. So it was great. But the interesting part about In Miami was, is that. And Asante knows this is like the weather and the unpredictability of your environment. And this podcast hero thing that we did, we were doing these episodes outside, and the one thing we could not forecast for, nor that I have any idea that we'd ever have to wrestle with, was the idea of our place that we were doing the podcast getting pretty much taken over by bugs.

That's because we're from Southern California and we really don't know what bugs are.

Yeah.

And it made me realize always expect the unexpected, especially when it comes to podcasting. You just have to be prepared for. You never know what's going to happen. And to be honest, so what happened was that we were doing these podcasts outside, which comes with challenges as it is. Then on top of it, there was like, a gnat infestation. Swarms of gnats were pretty much in the area of where we were. And so we're interviewing these great guests, and these gnats are on their face. They're in there up their nose.

I'm itching just thinking about it first time.

So, you know, if there's anyone that's a podcaster listening, and you're like, you think about all the different things you have to forecast for. You think about, like, all right, you see your guests getting uncomfortable by these gnats falling on their face, and you're like, all right, now what? I wanted to maybe ask him another question now maybe I shouldn't ask them another question because they look uncomfortable.

Let's get this done. Yeah.

Now it's time to wrap it up. So it got to a point where we were doing the majority of the interview sitting down, and we actually had to do the interview standing up because it gave us a little bit more freedom from the shift around.

Shake a little.

Yeah, there's a funny video of that. We'll show you them shaking off some bugs. So make sure you check social media. Make sure you check the post@thebingefactor.com. and we'll make sure that you see that because it's pretty funny. But, you know, this is a thing that I found there is that first off, you guys weren't divas about it at all. You were just like, this is great. We're out here. This is where we. Our location. Because our option was record outside or record inside with this massive echo. And so that wasn't going to be good for your show because then your listeners would be like, I can't take it and I can't listen to this anymore. But I was really impressed by all the guests. None of them complained. We didn't get a single complaint. I was like, I mean, you know, it's not like it was the location and they had a bug infestation. It was like all of Miami had a bug infestation. And so, you know, but they were so gracious about it. They were so good humored. I was really impressed by that.

Yeah. And, you know, Tracy, just to add to that, I think it was a testament to the people that were there, you know, and I think it just. It just gives credit to the. All those people that were there that were giving back and talking and were on the panels and were part of the podcast were just like. Despite all of that, they were just like, yeah. So gracious with wanting to come on and talk and share their story. So, yeah, definitely kudos to them.

They were true.

Yeah. So you had some great interviews there. But I mean, who have you interviewed that really, like, touched you personally? That really made you feel, wow, this is why I do this show.

Well, for me, we've had a friend of mine, Ricky Miller. He is the CEO of a vodka company called Carbonati. But his stories of he was dealing with cancer at the time where he was beginning his company, so he would go to chemo and then get out and go to a business meeting. And just his resilience and then his stick to it. Iveness really resonated with me personally. So we've had a lot of guests with just truly inspiring stories, but that was the one that just really sticks out to me the most.

Yeah. You know, it's interesting when you get into 60 plus episodes and a majority of them are people you've interviewed, it's so hard to say one because there's so many gems that you get out of everyone because everyone has a unique story. And that's the really cool part about it, is that people that are listening can really kind of resonate with people's stories on their journey to Getting to this destination that at. At that point when you talk to them and, you know, you can really resonate to going through the struggles and so on. So everybody has different circumstances, but there's so many different things you can pick out from their story that are just so, like, empowering and just really, really a ton of value.

You know, it's interesting that you chose in sort of your plan of how you were going to interview to dive into the. I'm going to call it the hardships. Right. The things that crush you, as you put it in your description, that says something about the two of you. So has that been your own experience that it is overcoming those things that might crush you that make success?

Yeah. The one thing that stands out for me, Tracy, is I think a lot of in today's day and age, everyone sees the destination, right. Whether it's on social media or whatever it is, everyone sees where they're at now or this picture of where they're at now, but they don't see the journey. And we just talked about this in a podcast. We did. There's so much value behind that journey that you never really see. I think that's one of the things that really stands out for us, and we're on that journey. And that's another difference between our podcast and maybe a lot of others, is that you have a lot of people that have success in their industries and have had a following and they're telling their stories based on their success as an entrepreneur, as an athlete or whatever. We're in the process of going through it now, so we're sharing these vulnerable learning experiences with our audience because our audience is learning at the same time we're learning. So it's a really unique perspective that we kind of have with this podcast.

Yeah, I think that's really great. Asante, what about you? Did you feel that that hardship kind of was something that you really felt built into a success factor?

Yeah, for sure. I've more so from retiring from football. That in and of itself was a huge hardship. And it's funny that the podcast that I came on just to kind of just talk about my football journey has been the new vehicle for how I'm trying to get to a new level of success.

Yeah, that's great that you found it. So it's therapeutic and success finding in its own process. I love that. You know, I think this is something that was really eye opening to me at the event, was that. And it happens a lot here that I get a lot of podcasters who Say to me, oh, I just need to get this one celebrity guest on my show and my show is gonna make it. And I kind of go sit back and I try to. Try to hold my tongue and go, yeah, you don't really understand how celebrities work.

Cause it doesn't matter how high profile they are, they don't always share stuff. And, you know, it doesn't. It's not always this, you know, this just. I'm going to go viral and this is just going to all work out for me. I think that that's the same thing that I became aware of as I was sitting in and listening to some of the panels at the event, that we don't really understand the issues that are going on when you retire from a sport, when you've been a local hero, but not a national one. And there's a lot of challenges and things that we just assume that, oh, gosh, Asante, you must have had a charmed life because you were a football star. Right. And that's not the case. That struggle's real.

Yeah. And most athletes end up going through it. And what I noticed through my own personal experience was that the transition is the most difficult part of being athlete. And it's the one aspect of it that's never really made. No one ever really talks about it, and you just find out on your own, and everyone deals with it in a different manner. So what I love most about our podcast is that we get insight into other people's transitions and there's, like we said, there's value in the journey, but figuring out how one person was successful in one arena, and then what was their next step to get to this new level of success? And what was their pivot and what was that? What triggered that moment for them?

Help you find your own in the process. I like that, Craig. It's an interesting match between the two of you, but I've seen this actually again and again because I belong to this organization called fuel, which has a lot has to do with anyone who services sports industry in general. And I see military and law enforcement tying together with sports figures all the time, especially in their retirement. And I think there's got to be some similarities of what you go through. Is it because you had team, you had different support, and now you're kind of out on your own, and it feels, yeah, 100%.

It all comes back to that whole community thing, is like you have a community that you serve, and whether you're an athlete or you're in law enforcement, you have that Community. It's about giving back, and it's about that brotherhood and being part of a team. And I think that's one thing that we can. You know, it's interesting. We talk about this all the time. It's like we're very different. But the more that we do these podcasts and the more that we talk to people, we realize we're very similar in a lot of what we do. And a lot of our backgrounds, whether it be athletics or law enforcement, are very similar journeys. And some people go through transition. Especially when you retire from law enforcement, it's difficult to do something that you've always thought you were going to do and then now transition to another part of your life. And the one word that is very comparable to both is identity. It's like you have an identity. Whether you identify yourself as an athlete or as a police officer, you've been part of that identity for such a long time. It's hard to see yourself in a different space.

Time to identify as podcasters. Right?

Yeah.

This is our new. This is our new space. Well, trust me, there's a big community here, so we've got a lot of that going on. That's part of why, how we met. There's a podcaster network going on. There is new podcast events popping up everywhere. There was just one in la. There'll be one in Orlando in a couple of weeks, and there's one in Dallas in the summer. So there's lots of that going on. So now you have a new community to tie into and lessons learned. So I'd love to know some things that you found either really difficult about launching and setting up your show and. Or recording. What did you find the most surprising challenge for you?

Wow, that's a really good question. The most surprising challenge, you know, it's kind of like it's when you don't know, when you're learning something new, it's very hard to gauge whether or not you're moving in the right direction. It's like when you're starting something new and you haven't done this before, you kind of try to look for any resources to try to tell you whether or not you're moving in the right direction. And sometimes that's really good, and sometimes that can be really bad, depending on the source of information and what you're getting. And I think that has been probably the most challenge. I think the most challenging to think is growing the podcasts. You know, it's just like being able to figure out what it's going to do, to grow, and to hopefully extend your reach. And that's been a lot more difficult than I ever thought it was ever going to be.

Well, you're not alone. I think that's probably the most common problem, and it's why everyone's out there reaching out and finding other things. But, you know, we talk a lot about what I call vanity metrics, that you've got the metrics out there to say, I have this many listeners, Woohoo, look at me. But actually, that's not the sign of a great show. That's not the sign of great conversion. And most people don't realize that. And it only comes from, from having done this again and again that I can see that you, of course, are in your bubble of only having one show, so you don't have that same experience, but your show is growing. It's just growing slower than you expect, and that's frustrating.

Yeah.

And you know what? As a new podcaster, when you're out there doing research, you see people post numbers about how many downloads they get, and you see, you hear about things like, for new podcasters, maybe the new and noteworthy part of Apple podcasts, or, or like these goals to achieve. And, you know, it's kind of hard if you're an aggressive person and you want to just be out there and you want to crush it immediately, like from a positive perspective, like, you want to go out there and be the best podcast that you can possibly be. You know, you, it's. You want to do everything you can do possible. But it's hard sometimes to swallow that pill of, like, it's going to take time and it's kind of consistent, repetitive effort, you know, over and over again. And it's just like, you know, I have this metaphor, Traci. We talk about planting seeds and having a garden. You're not going to plant seeds and put it in the garden. The next morning, you're going to walk in and see a tree planted there. It just takes time of planting seeds and watering them and getting the direct sunlight and doing it over and over again. You're not going to see a lot of that growth that's taking place underneath. Eventually you're going to start seeing growth, but the growth is small. You're not going to see a tree. You're going to see little buds. And then eventually it gets to grow and grow and grow and then develop strong roots.

You know, I have a really good friend, Michelle Young, and she's still trying to get her podcast launched, but she says also that even the best gardeners have a bad season. So it doesn't matter how good you are at that. It's always up to God, up to nature, up to, you know what, up to the universe. Right. For it to be a great season. Because more than just you planting the seeds go into that. There's weather, there's weather patterns, there's global warming, whatever it might be is going to happen and it can change the outcome. That's really important to remember that you don't take it totally personally at the end of the day because there's a lot that's out of your control.

Yeah, absolutely.

Well, New and Noteworthy is a really good example. Do not worry if you did not get on New and Noteworthy because it's not a measure of a great show. I've seen shows that are fantastically at the top of the list and New and Noteworthy, and a month later, no one's listening to it.

Yeah.

So it's not a sign. It's a sign of a great marketer. Maybe it's a sign of something you did really right out of the gate, but it's not a sign of a great show long term. And it doesn't lead to having something that people that's worth listening to at the end of the day.

Yeah. And I think for people who are podcasters out there listening and yeah. Not to get caught up in all of that stuff, you know, and just focus on really. It all comes one consistent thing, Tracy, about all the people we interview. It all comes down to your why. It's like why you do what you do. And you know what? When you're worried about whether or not be consistent with this or whether it's going to last, if you go back to your why, that will keep you moving in the direction you want to go with your podcast.

Had you ever thought about binge listeners before? Haven't had it ever occurred to you that they might binge on your show?

No.

No. Yeah.

No.

Well, think about it this way, Asante that, let's say someone else just retires and remembers your show because so and so, you know, somebody was on a. Was on it and he starts listening and he starts realizing that listening to your journey and the different thing takeaways you're mentioning in each episode and the things that the questions that you're asking and the way that you're growing is a way for him to learn at a faster pace. So he goes back to the beginning of your shows and listens to all of them. Think about how many people you could help that way. Same thing for you, Craig. Right.

And you know what's interesting too is that I'm glad you mentioned that because like our show, if you go back to like the beginning, it really is like a roadmap. It's a roadmap of growth. Like if you think about it, it's like you start off in the beginning just learning and your show progresses, you get more fine tuned, you learn, you talk to different people and then there's a difference between episode number one and episode number 60 something. But it's actually kind of just paints a picture for people looking at it saying, wow, look, I'm seeing these guys go through this transition. Like I'm going, I could go through this transition. It's okay to not be really sharp at something in the beginning that's expected. And it's nice to see these incremental growth, even though it may be behind the scenes. It's pretty cool.

Yeah, it is.

Yeah. And then for me personally, my growth was all in real time because we were doing a lot of episodes like back to back, just me and Craig talking. So I've gone back and listened just to remember where I was at that point in my life. So it's just the growth is always just steady and incremental. But as long as you're keep pushing forward, looking for more growth, then you'll eventually find the success you're looking for.

So I actually tell you that those are some of my favorite episodes, listening to the two of you talk. So definitely don't take that away from your repertoire of things that you do now and again. I mean, I understand that you're interviewing people and you're learning and that's part of the process. But also, you two recapping together is an awesome mix.

Yeah, those are really our favorites because we get to be and not that we're not ourselves when we interview. It's a little bit more of a professional facilitator. Yeah, we're facilitating, but when we're just talking, you know, and having a good time, you could definitely, as a listener, I think you could see our personalities and it definitely comes out in the podcast.

Yeah, I love that. I love that. I think this is the thing. We don't always set out to make a bingeable show, but when we have one, that's when we have a higher likelihood for success long term because it means that new people can find our show, they'll listen to more episodes. And that's actually where a lot of the growth comes. So it's not just that hot celebrity who comes in and it goes viral because they shared it on TikTok or whatever. But, you know, that's where the long term, steady growth happens, and that's where you end up with a really wonderful show that's of great value, not just to you, not just to your guests, but to the listeners as well.

Yeah. And I believe. I think we both believe in that. It's just, it's more important of really kind of developing those really good roots. And it's not about the viral thing. It's. And again, it's not about the benefit thing we talked about in the beginning as far as us. It's really about just the service and giving back and. Yeah, it's just great. And being a student for ourselves because we learn every time.

Yeah.

Living in that place of learning. Well, let's talk about some learnings because that's a key factor here. We like to go over on the binge factor. We like to really talk about what it takes to do some of these five things that really make a show. And so let's talk about the five things. What are some of the best ways you guys have found to book great guest?

Well, a lot of the times we're using our personal network. We will get invited to something and we'll meet a person who has an interesting story, and then we'll invite them onto the podcast. And then from there we'll ask, hey, do you know anyone else that would you think would be a fit to come join us? And then from there, a lot of our guests have been booked organically, but then we got to a point where we started having people reach out to us, which was a new situation. So.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, 100%. And another, I think a really good tip, too, is really over deliver for your guests. I mean, you know, it's not about, you know, what they can do for you. It's really I look at is what can I do for them, you know, and they really become a part of our podcast family. I always tell them that I'm like, welcome to the White Tiger family. Because you've been on the podcast, now you're part of it. But, like, whatever we could do, whether it's a promotional thing and so on and so forth. And you know what, there's going to be some guests that really kind of promote your podcast, and they're going to be some that maybe just don't do it as much because of their schedules and they're busy and so on, but it's okay. It's just like, it's not about that. It's about really giving back to your guests. And really, it returns itself tenfold.

Absolutely. Well, great. Well, what about some best ways to increase listeners? Have you found a listener outreach that's working for you yet?

You know, I think the big thing too is the network, is your net worth is such a huge thing. Because with the people that you interview and you're getting connected with their audience and then they're sharing your podcast with their audience, and then their audience is enjoying what you're doing and then they're sharing, it's just like it branches out like the branches on a tree. I mean, just you start with one and it just parlays into a lot of other things. So, yeah, definitely have your guests share, whether it be on social media or through their own podcast or their own thing. Just give you a shout out and share what you're doing.

How do you encourage engagement with that community that you're building?

You know, a lot of what we do is social media based. You know, we do a lot of stuff with social media, reach out. And we're very personal when it comes to the platforms that we use. And I think that has been a really good way to connect with the people that find our show and. Or the people that have been like our loyal followers.

Because you're really there. You're not a team.

Like, we're really here.

We're.

We answer your questions and, you know, we really do care and want to give back. Because again, and that's one other thing too, is really thanking, making an intentional point because you mean it, to thank your listeners, like, thank them for their time. That's a resource they can't get back. You know, they're dedicating that hour, whatever it is, half hour for their commute or whatever it is, they're not getting that 30 minutes back. And we feel very honored to be able to get that from our listeners. And we're going to do whatever we can take to give, you know, say thanks.

Yeah.

Oh, that's so good. What about producing in a professional way? Did you set out to have a production plan? Did you use special equipment? And is there anything that you did that you said, I really want to do this in an intentional way?

You know what, All I could say is that I have a master's degree from Google University, so I'm really good at researching stuff on YouTube and to be honest, I mean, winging it for like the first good portion of episodes and just like any probably new podcaster, you try to find a resource that seems pretty genuine and valuable and you research a bunch of different because you cannot not find them. They're all over the place. If you want, as far as equipment and technology and programs to use and you just learn and you just do and you learn from the next experience. And that's really kind of like the best advice I could give as far as the technology side of this thing.

Yeah, the equipment has definitely grown and changed.

Yeah.

So you started with something and then you shifted over time yourself.

Yeah, yeah, I bought some stuff, I sold some stuff. We've upgraded year. We've got some things on the, on the back burner we want to upgrade to. So, yeah, it's always a constant process.

You know what, it's so funny. We have a whole bunch of episodes we've done on equipment and there is a set of podcasters who come in and they overbuy and they don't realize that the professional equipment in the wrong environment doesn't work well. And so they really should have just gone for the cheap thing to begin with and it would have been actually better for them. And so there is that kind of thing over time, is that you really got to know what your show is, what your environment is, get used to that, and then upgrade the equipment to the right thing.

Yeah. And you know, one thing, Tracy, one I've learned, is that the most expensive equipment is not necessarily the best equipment. You know what I mean? I think it's easy to do some research and to see other big podcasters out there using certain microphones and certain things, thinking it's going to best suit you. And that is not the case, at least in my experience. I found that you can get some really good quality out of some maybe not as expensive equipment and microphones and whatnot, and really produce a show. I mean, the value is in the content. You do obviously want to make sure that the audio sounds correct, and it's just, it's pleasurable to listen to from an audio perspective, but you don't need to go out and buy like the top of the line stuff. And the overbuying thing I could totally see.

Yeah, it happens. Well, what about ways to monetize? I mean, you didn't start out with a business plan, but you're in it almost a year. Are you thinking about what that looks like for you?

Feel like this has been a new focus, as after like the Miami trip, it's been like, okay, how can we really grow this in a way to where we can just keep maximizing our reach. And now we're finally getting into that.

And you know what's interesting too, is that because we started this with not like a business mindset in mind as far as, like funneling people to a certain program or a certain thing, it's kind of weird to actually think about making money podcasting. But you know what, when you think about the time and effort, and that's a lot of things people don't see is there's a lot of behind the scenes stuff when it comes to posting stuff, whether it's editing podcasts, it takes a ton of ton of time. And when you don't know what you're doing, it takes double the time, right? So it's really, really hard. So the monetizing thing has almost become almost like a necessity to keep the wheel turning. And we've definitely have more of a focus on that now, but we're really still newbies in the game.

And I think it's also a consideration at your stage is like, do you go for the advertising model? Do you do something that's more event focused on your own or some of your own programs, as you put it? Does that interest you? It's a decision, yeah.

It's a lot more difficult than I think many people would think. It's hard because it's hard to want to ask your listeners for stuff you're so used to giving. It's hard sometimes to ask. And we often find we're two guys that don't like to ask for anything. You know, it's like, it's hard to ask for favors. It's hard to ask, you know, people for things. And it's. It's hard enough sometimes to get people at the end or the beginning of a podcast to say, hey, can you subscribe? Can you leave a review? Can you rate our podcast? Can you share it with someone that you know would get some value out of this? And that sometimes is hard. But, you know, I think for anyone that's listening that's a podcaster and you're thinking about monetizing, do not feel guilty that you want to monetize or that you want to bring some value back to your podcast. If you could take whatever you're getting out of it and funnel it back in to create more value, then I say go for it.

I love that you guys were mentioning being on social and being you guys on social. What are your favorite social channels? Where are you? Where can we find you?

Instagram is definitely the main point of focus for us. That's. It's been the most fun way to reach out to people, and it's engaging. And everyone's on Instagram.

Yeah. And you guys are also on TikTok.

Yes, yes, on TikTok.

That's an unusual choice. What made you guys decide?

But you want to tell that story?

I want to hear that story.

So I have this infatuation with Gary V. Just like everybody else does, right. So Asante and I are here in Southern California, and we went to Complex Con, which is in Long beach, and for those sneaker heads and streetwear guys and gals out there, you know what Complex Con is. So we were there as fans, but Gary Vee was there, and he was representing K. Swiss in his sneaker line. And we had an opportunity to talk to Gary, and Asante had this unbelievable sit down with Gary, which was unbelievably awesome. And we got a chance to talk. And Gary's a big proponent of TikTok, and I love his content, and I take away the nuggets that he gives out and like, listen, we want to expand. We want to try to reach out to as many people as possible. How can we do it? And TikTok was an avenue to do that.

Well, and see, that's the thing. Gary masters a program and moves on to the next thing that's hot. Right. And he's always on that tipping point of what's hot. And also he's such an influencer that he also can make it hotter. Right? So that's also something in and of itself. But this is one of the little things that you guys mentioned. Instagram. Instagram TV is highly underutilized and especially by podcasters and videocasters. Gary Vee is one of the few who's constantly there, and he has translated that into huge sales for his. Well, I'm a little critical of his sneakers. I think they're kind of ugly, but that's. I'm a designer and I've been like. So I've been known to call us sneakers out as ugly sneakers. But, you know, and I would say that to his face. I mean, I've met him before. It's not like. But, you know, but it is. It's the case. It's like, it's not my cup of tea, but there are lots of people on Instagram who want to buy them, and they've done that because he's been able to parlay all of the content he creates there. And he's one of the few who utilizes stories really well. Instagram tv, really well. Some of those things that are a little harder to grasp and understand than just like my posting a picture up.

Yeah, yeah. And, you know, as a podcaster, too, you almost. You kind of think, like, I have this audio content, like, what else am I going to do with this audio content? Like, where am I going to. And you could utilize it in so many different ways. And that was part of, like, the learning process, is realizing that you could repurpose this stuff. I think Gary is, like, totally a proponent of repurposing your content, and you can repurpose it as a podcaster in so many different ways, whether it be transcribing your episodes or putting them up on different platforms and. And using Instagram stories now TikTok and other stuff. So, yeah, it's. It's been great.

Wow. Well, good. So what's next for you guys? Where is White Tiger going to be next year?

Oh, next year we will definitely be back at. We'll be doing more events. We're starting to do live shows coming up in the next few weeks.

Oh, I like that.

Also, we'll be at a coffee shop soon.

Yeah, yeah, it's. We got a collaboration that we're doing with Phil's Coffee here in. In Costa Mesa, California.

I know Phil's. That's awesome.

We're going to be appearing there one, because they're just great people there and we just love what they're doing at Phil's and. And the coffee, you know, just to really be honest, transparent. But yeah, they're just really cool with just spotlighting some really. Just cool local people doing some cool local things. So, yeah, we're part of that. And, you know, I mean, for us, I mean, I think the sky is really the limit. I think we just want to have our reach grow and we'd love to have our audience grow so we can impact more people, get more involved in the sports, you know, mindset success industries and just deliver. Deliver more value to people.

Good. Well, you guys are well on your way. Everyone listening out there, the binge factor is so proud to get to know the White Tiger podcast. Get to know Asante and Craig. This is just a couple of guys who are really building a great show from the ground up, cranking it out every day and crushing it in a good way. So everyone, you want to want to check out the blog post for this episode@thebingefactor.com not miss anything about the show, go subscribe to it on your favorite player out there because they're on all of them. And think about it. Think about how you can create a Binge factor just like they have. Think about how you can create one that's humble, that has great learnings, that's progressive. As you move through your show, that's what's going to attract the right listeners who are going to come and binge on you again and again and again. I'm Tracy Hazard from the Binge Factor, and I'll be back next time with another podcaster for you to learn from. Thanks.

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.