Start A Podcast Like A Pro Using Exclusive Canadian Market Strategies With Carl Richards Of Podcast Solutions Made Simple

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

Hey everyone, welcome back to the Binge Factor. I'm Tracy Hazzard and I have a podcaster who's also a producer today and they always have great insights and I love my conversation with Carl Richards, our guest today. Sweet. We can talk about the differences in some of the Canadian market issues and the US Market issues and really talk about, you know, the common problems that are going on with people starting podcasts, keeping motivated for podcasts, and what's generally going on in the industry. Carl Richards has the Podcast Solutions Made simple podcast and business. He spent more than 25 years behind the microphone, on radio, on stage, entertaining, influencing audiences worldwide. He's a three times bestselling author, TEDx speaker and emcee. He's the host of two podcasts and is the founder and CEO of Podcast Solutions Made Simple. He helps coaches, consultants and subject matter experts become the go to expert and elevate their credibility by launching world class podcasts. He lives in Ontario, Canada, where he enjoys camping and boating in the Thousand Islands and he's got a great perspective on how the Canadian market's a little different. And we discussed this before the interview, so you didn't get to hear that part because I didn't turn on the recording for that we discussed. There's a little bit of difference. The Canadian listening audience isn't only smaller just because Canada's smaller, it's smaller in that their there hasn't just been quite the same embracement of podcasting from a broader audience of creators. And that's been a really interesting tell. They've not embraced it at the same pace and rate that we have here in the US So thinking about that, is your audience all going to be Canadians? But if not, and you're a Canadian podcaster and you want to get into the US audience might be ideal because there's not as many of you. So this is something that someone like Carl Richards can really give us insights into. So let's talk Podcast Solutions Made simple and let's talk to Carl Richards.

Carl, welcome to the show. I'm so Excited to have podcast solutions made simple for us to discuss here. Because you know what? I think that we don't think of podcasting as a solution that often in the industry, we don't talk about it that way.

No, we don't. We don't even talk about it quite often, actually. I think that's one of the challenges. We talk about everything else, but. But podcasting seems to be rearing its head. And I almost said ugly head, but it's actually ugly at all. It just seems ugly if you're not sure of what's going on in this space. But it seems to be creeping into conversations a lot more, as you know, Tracy, in the last few years, it's really coming to the fold. But there is an easy way to go about it, and it can be a solution for the right business owner or coach or consultant or something like that. Who really wants to look at doing something different for their marketing or promotional strategy that maybe was relying on a lot of conventional systems up until then, and now they're looking at something different.

Well, yeah, when it starts to head into mainstream and you start seeing on regular. I always think back to, like, when podcasting becomes, like, the cool job to have on a sitcom.

Right.

Like, it's the cool job to have on a sitcom. And then recently I just saw, I think it was the second season of the Lincoln Lawyer where the podcaster is the bad guy. And of course, I kept saying to my partner and husband, I kept saying, there's no way he made that much money podcasting. Like, nobody makes that. I was like, not for that show.

Not typically.

Not typically. I was like, that's not realistic. But anyway. But you. When, you know, when it hits that mainstream stream that you're starting to get into that tipping point of where. Where it really is a part of the conversation, and people then start looking, going, maybe I should start a podcast. And that's where you sort of step right into them. And that's really the focus of your show, is making sure that they understand that. That it's a bigger program than just podcasting.

Exactly. I mean, anyone can start a podcast. If you can fog a mirror, you can have a podcast. I think the difference, though, is for people who look at the space and go, I want a podcast, but I want it to do something, or I want it to have some value. I. To speak to my passion project or my hobby or my business, because that's obviously a lot of the people we work with are in. Are thinking of it from a business perspective. But at the end of the day, if you're getting your message out, that's the key. And that's one of the things we get right into, is what is your message, what's your purpose for being here? And if it's just to spew, okay, that's still a purpose. Is that something though, that is really going to bring you what you expect from the show? So there are many different things that we look at and that's one of the first questions we ask is what's the podcast going to be about and what's the purpose of it before we even dive into any of the other of what the show or what having a show means?

Well, and I think it's so hard for someone to get over their hang ups about it. There's a lot of myths around starting a podcast and you talk a lot about these five myths. So let's debunk them here and let's kind of get through them here and let's talk about what gets people stuck.

Yeah, you know what? And you've probably heard these before or stumbled on them or maybe even when you were getting started, had some of these yourself. But the first one is the money myth. And the money myth can be a few different ways. It's too expensive or not seeing the value in it. And it's because of the perception of what we think a podcast is going to cost and see, am I going to get my money's worth out of it? Am I going to get my money back from having a podcast where we need to think of what the value of that podcast will bring you? So when I'm working with business owners, I'll say, okay, well, what's the value of a client? Is it $50,000? Is it $100,000? Because I know that you can probably have a podcast for less than that. What's the value of that client by getting the word out about what it is that you do? So that's the myth number one is seeing the value in having a show and elevating your credibility and seeing you or having you be seen expert. And as soon as you start talking those terms, some people, they go, okay, yeah, I'm sold. Because I need to be seen as the expert and not be in the shadows hiding behind everybody else. I need to be upfront and out there.

Well, and I think that is also a myth. Like, there's a lot of people out there that putting out the message that it costs nothing to start a podcast, you just like, you know, use your iPhone and you don't have to make any investment. And that's also, I think, a huge mistake. Like it does a complete disservice to your expectations. You will not be able to professionally compete in most of your business categories unless you invest something in the show. Like you can't do nothing.

Absolutely. I mean, I remember seeing Sam Crowley, who's been had a podcast since podcasts were in diapers, and I remember going to one of his workshops in Toronto and he said, you know what? You can start a podcast for $0. Yes, you can. However, if you really want to excel in that space or if it's something you're going to do for business. I mean, I'm dating myself. Maybe you wouldn't print business cards for free on just eight and a half by lined paper because it wouldn't look right. Right. So the same reason why you'd want to invest a couple of dollars in professional services. Just like you do Tracy and I do, actually, that's what I do. But because you're going to get something out of it, that would be different. But the myth of it, you could just do it on $0. Yeah. It is a huge misconception. The second myth is also, I would say is the content myth. It's that what am I going to talk about? There's so much content out there already. What am I going to talk about? And I quite often will share with people. You already have the content. By the time people come to me and say, hey, I'd like a podcast. When they say, I don't know what to talk about though, I say, yeah, you do. It's your workshops, it's your webinars, it's your blogs, it's your all of those things that you've already created, your checklist, your PDFs, your ebook, whatever it is, that's where your content is coming from. So it's not about content creation, it's about content curation. So it's podcast ready.

Yeah. Right. And I find that that's often misaligned, like when I review a show here is that there's a misalignment between the audience that they think they have and the audience they're actually speaking to are not always align.

Well, that goes back to client avatar and knowing who your audience is. And for some people, when they do come into the space, they're not really sure. They're like throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks. But really, once you identify, okay, yes, this is my client and I'm speaking to, for example, for me it took me a long time to figure out who my client is. And when I say subject matter experts, it's because I know that those are the people who are most likely to step into the podcasting realm. If I was looking for hobbyists, my language to hobbyists would be different.

Yeah, we have to align it.

And if I narrowed it down and said instead of just hobbyists, which is also a very broad term, if I said gardeners. Okay, well, now we're getting really specific. And your messaging is there, but that really helps you in positioning your content when you know exactly who you're talking to. But it keeps people stuck because they just don't know, because they hear podcasts and they go, oh, I don't know if I can sound like that. Which is another myth. That's the third one. It's the competition myth. There's a lot of them out there already, and I don't know if I'm good enough as Tracy Hazard, as Carl Richards, as Joe Rogan, as you name them. And you know what? There's more than enough space for other people to come into this podcasting playing field. And there is also a huge variety of personality styles of shows, all of those things. So the fact that you don't think that you have a space here is ludicrous, really, when you think about it.

Well, no, especially when there's only 300,000 active shows in the English speaking. So out of the 3 million, there's only 300,000 active. So it says something that there's definitely.

A space for you, 100%. We talk about the tech myth as well. That's the fourth one.

We get that one a lot.

Oh, my goodness, what am I going to do? What's a pod? What? It really confuses people when you start talking technical things. And that's why I say, you know what, we'll take care of that. You just need to know that there is a tech side to this. And if that's not in your wheelhouse, that's what we do. But understanding that there is tech to it, there is some techie things that you might need to do. But it's just like the reason why I don't fix my own car is because firstly, my spouse would run outside saying, what are you doing? It's number one.

I'm afraid to get in the car now.

Exactly. I'm also. I'm not a car guy. I'm not a guy that can lift the hood and go, oh, it's this. Which would be weird because I have a Tesla. Now, there's no hood to lift. It's a front of whatever they call it. But it's the same thing. You wouldn't just think to fix your car if you didn't know how to do it. You take to the expert, which is what we say to people, say, you know what, we'll help you in the tech space. And the other one is no surprise here. Tracy. It's time. I don't have time to have a podcast. I don't have time to do this. And it's not whether or not you have time to have a podcast, it's whether or not you have managed your time accordingly. One of my clients said it very, very succinctly. She said it wasn't, how am I going to find the time to do this? That was her. Her stopgap. It's like, how am I going to find the time to do this? When she switched the language and said, who am I going to find to do this or help me do this? All of a sudden, the world changed for her. So really re understanding that, yes, it will take some time, but it will say, take you the same amount of time to schedule a blog post or do a Facebook Live or do any of those other things that we do as it does to do a podcast. So why not save yourself some time and curate your content and do all of them succinctly.

Well, and that's where I like to start. I like to start with, what am I spending my time on right now and how can I use that for podcasting instead? Like, that's how I always look at it. And so we just got off our live coaching call that we do for our clients every single week on Wednesdays that we're recording this on. And I just finished it. And we use that for our podcast. But I was going to do it anyway because I need to nurture my community. So why not repurpose it and use it for the podcast? So you finding ways to fit that in, I think is much better strategy, because then you're actually looking at, I'm actually saving time. I'm actually saving money.

It actually goes better back to content as well. When we talk about content creation versus content curation, yeah, we can create a ton of content, or we could take content we've already created and curated into something else. If you've written a blog post, okay, well, now that becomes the framework for my podcast. You talk about this class that you run, that becomes now the framework for something else. Are you going to switch it up here and there, you might. Or it might be exactly the same. I've seen people do that before where they'll record a class and that becomes their episode depending on what genre they're in for their show. So there's all different ways to look at it. And once you've got gotten past that, it's a matter of just saying. And I know we've heard this before in so many different things, but I'm going to do this. And just doing it, taking that first step is probably the hardest thing to do.

Well, let's talk about your show that way. And you. What was that one you had to get over to start your show?

So I have two podcasts, actually. I have the one that I launched that got me into the podcasting space, and that was the Speaking of Speaking podcast. And I think the big thing there with, for me was. And it took me a long time. I was first heard about podcasting in 2012, and at that time I was doing speaker training. And I remember saying to a colleague who said, you should have a podcast. It'd be great for you as a speaker. I remember saying, what's a podcast? And why would a speaker trainer, Again, this is 2012. Why would a speaker trainer want to have a show? As a speaker trainer, I'm helping people get on stages, not getting on something that seems like some crazy version of radio. I'm trying to get them on a physical stage. Why would I want to get them on a podcast? Why would I want to talk about that? So it took me almost seven years to wrap my head around that concept. Once I did that, and actually it was. Was also being at Sam Crowley's event where I realized, okay, yes, I can do this and I can have a podcast that. I realized that. So it wasn't even the tech myth. It was convincing me that this is something, this is a real thing.

Which was harder in the early days. Look, I mean, when we started our first show in 2014, and people were the same way. They were like, you have a podcast? Why? Because our podcast was on 3D printing, which seemed like a visual media. Like, why is it being done in podcasting? And it was very successful. So, yeah, it was. In the early days, it was a lot harder to grasp the power of podcasting. Now we kind of get the opposite. It's now it's like everyone and their brother has a podcast. So why should I? Like, that's the other why that comes into it. Why is it a value still?

And yeah, so I didn't Have a specific myth, I think I spent 25 years in radio broadcasting, so I wasn't mike shy. I knew how to create content, I knew how to edit content. And as far as the technical side of podcasting goes, understanding how do you take it from a recording to actually getting it on some of the playback sites, the Apples, the Spotify's and all of those, I didn't know how to do that. I had no clue how to do that. So that was a technical hurdle for me. But I think as I said, it was more the proof of concept. Why should I have a show? What's the value to me as a business owner? And I'll say what a lot of people have probably said. You probably heard this before. If I had started my podcast back in 2012 or 13 or 14 when somebody said you should do a podcast, I'd be so much further ahead. But there's no right or wrong time to start. Just start. But it was that proof of concept, I think that was really the hold back for me.

I start a new podcast every single year to just see what it's like for clients and understand what it's going for. And you're absolutely right. My old shows could still outdo my current shows. There's no way around it. They have a momentum that is hard to beat. But it is still a better purpose that you're starting from. And I think that's really. I love that that was one of the things that you focus on with your clients is starting with that. Why are you doing this? What's its purpose? What's the outcome that you're going to achieve from this? Because you can't get to that. Why without that really understanding that as the crux of what show should you create stems off of that. Nothing should be done until you've solved that question for yourself. And sometimes it is an experiment. I'm good with that. Like my show was an experiment when I first started. It was a successful one and in five months I knew it was was working. But you just don't always know who my audience is going to be. Maybe you're going to be wrong in your selection and but you might be surprised by the. That's what I love about podcasting, the flexibility of it. Flex with it, right, change it.

It's okay to be wrong and it's also okay to be right. That's the other cool thing. It's okay to be right and wrong almost at the same time. It's interesting though, because I will have prospects who will come to me. And they'll say, well, my coach said I need a podcast. I'm like, okay, well, I get that a lot. We can talk about this. But is your coach the person that's helped you with your client avatar? Do you know who your client avatar is? Do you know what the purpose of your show is going to be? Do you know who your target audience is going to be? And these vernacular that we talked about in radio all the time, who is your target aud audience? What does your listener look like? And when I was going up through the ranks in my early years in broadcasting, it was almost like, I don't want to talk about that. I just want to get on the radio and have some fun.

I just want to do it and.

Who you're talking to. Right. So you need to understand when you're getting into that space, yes, you can make mistakes and yes, it's going to be exciting. As you do that or as you indicated, test it out. You see if it's going to work. Dip your toe in the water or jump in head first or feet first, whichever is easier. Probably feet first.

Yeah, let's do that.

Let's do feet first just to see if it's going to work. But it's okay to do that. But you should be doing it because this is something that you're seeing as value, not somebody saying, you should do a podcast or a coach saying, you know, I think it's time for you to do a podcast. When. If your coach doesn't have a podcast, I would say, okay, coach, you're telling me I need a podcast. Why don't you have.

And this is the thing, this is what I always say. I can't record for you. So unless your coach is going to record for you, it has to still be right for you. At the end of the day, I can motivate myself to record. I don't know what's wrong with you. Like, you've got to figure that out for yourself. It's. You've got to have your own motivation system.

100%.

Yeah. It's just not going to change. Well, let's talk a little bit about this, because, I mean, a lot of the industry, I mean, they dip their toe in. I mean, I'm being nice about it. You and I both know there's a gigantic pod fade rate. It's at 89% right now. I just pulled the numbers in the last week, it's at 89%. And the average pod fade show doesn't make it to 15 episodes.

Yeah, those are phenomenal numbers. I didn't know they were that bad.

It's gotten worse. Like a year ago, it was different.

So, yeah, I actually tell people that about 40% of shows out there are not active anymore. But it's. I think pod fade happens because I think some of us approach the podcasting space, and I think this is one of the biggest challenges. We approach the podcasting space and we see it as a short game, not a long game, or we see it as a get rich quick or get recognition quick solution. And anyone that's been around long enough will tell you podcasting is the opposite. It's a long game. If you want to see your show grow, you want to see. I'll say numbers, but, you know, you want to have more listeners. You might not see that in your first 10 to 15 episodes. It might take you 30, 40, 50 episodes before you see larger numbers. I don't know if we're going to talk about this or not, but podcasting in The United States vs podcasting in Canada and other parts of the world is a completely different game. Even though it's global, it's a completely different game. But a lot of us think that, well, if a guy like. And we also compare. So if we say, well, a guy like Joe Rogan can get however many 11 billion listeners as Carl Richards, I must be able to get half of that. We forget that Joe Rogan, not to give him all the love and publicity on your show, but he's the guy that used to make us eat goofy stuff and run up 100% steep cliffs and call that fear factor.

And he had an audience to start with. That's what I keep trying to say to.

He had an audience.

He already had them. He moved them into podcasting. Like, is the difference? Are you going to do that?

Exactly. And that's why when people say, well, I want to start a show, I'll say, one of the. Part of. One of the discussions we'll have is, what's your audience size now? What's the size of your email list? What's your Facebook, what's your LinkedIn, what's your Instagram? And it's not to dissuade someone from being in the space, but it's to see, do you have an audience already that you can talk to, that you can build on on. You need to be able to build on that audience. Somebody like, I'll pick another name. Oprah Winfrey. As soon as she wakes up in the morning, she's making money. She doesn't even have to get out of bed. She's making money, so. And I don't know how many podcasts she's on or has. I know she's on a few of them, but that's because she's already built that celebrity. She's been through those trenches already. So that's why I think there's a certain amount of pod fade, is because we go in there thinking, I have a podcast. Bring me the listeners. It doesn't work that way.

I also want to highlight this, Carl, because this is where you essentially fill that gap that's tremendous. Is that we think podcasting is so easy, so we're gonna go into it and not consult the pros. We just listened to that coach who said we should start it. So we like, oh, okay, we'll watch a couple of videos, and we'll just start it ourselves. And what we're getting is that there is a base of knowledge underneath there. There's a base of knowledge of what works and what doesn't. So it's great that we're working on the conceptual side of why we're doing this and. And all of those things, but there's still all these technical things underneath it that if we don't do them too, it doesn't work, and we don't get pros. And to help us enough, I see it so often. I watch a great show, and I'm like, well, if you had done this, this, and this, then maybe people would have found your show and you wouldn't have had a pod fade. Like, and they were five dumb things you could have done in five minutes. Like, it's not difficult, but we never ask the pro.

Is rare that people will ask the pros. I'm on a mission to change that.

I was hoping you were. That's why I was throwing you this question.

I come from a very different angle, too, because there are a number of people out there, podcaster and even people who run podcasting agencies like mine, who don't have a broadcast background. So I have a broadcast background. I have a very keen ear, and I. I mean, more ear. I spent more time in radio than in television. I have so much experience in that space. I know what sounds good. I know how something should sound. I know how an interview should flow. So it doesn't sound like an interview. It sounds like you're just having coffee across the kitchen table with a friend. That's a skill. Skill that takes not just a couple of recordings to perfect. It takes years, and in some case, you might never get it. I'm not saying don't do a podcast if you're not a skilled interviewer, but there's a certain skill behind it about having those conversations, and that doesn't happen overnight. And I think a lot of podcasters get frustrated because maybe they'll listen back and go, oh, I sound horrible. I used to do that when I was a young broadcaster. I'd listen to myself and say, I hate the way I sound. Most people hate the way they sound, and most people hate the way they look. You have to get over that piece.

You will get over it, trust me. Like, you will eventually get over it.

You do, exactly.

But here's what I see happen so often. So I would agree with you. There's a lot of people without a broadcast background, but there are also a lot of broadcasters without a tech background. And if you don't have a good combination of both, you better get a partner. You better get a good assistant in that process. And you mentioned your hosting company. And I'm going to say they're the worst ones out there. They're actually harming them from a technical standpoint. And so we have to be careful with who we're partnering up with as agencies, because the tech is actually critically important. Because no one discovers your show if you don't show up in the search engine, like, it's just not going to happen. So those are important things. But I think too often podcasters don't listen to their own show. And if you don't go back and see what the listening experience is, and that's something that I think happens here on my show a lot, is that I listen to the show and I listen to many of your shows in a row so that I can get a binge listener experience, so I can discover your binge factor, which I'm about to say here. But when I do that, I think sometimes it's an aha to the host back, that they were like, oh, I forgot that number one rule. I really should check out what the end product looks like. I should open up my own box and check it out and see what it's like to experience it from the outside. And that we fail to do that a lot.

It's so true. And I'll speak to it from. As a former broadcaster, I'll speak to it from that perspective too. Because for me, sitting in front of the microphone, creating content all the time, when I was doing the morning show, I'd have eight pieces of content to deliver every hour.

Eight. Eight.

That's not including the folks that would come in and do the news and the updated weather and all that stuff. I had eight of my own pieces of content to deliver every hour. I have a four hour morning show that's 16 pieces of content every show, five days a week, Monday to Friday. Do the math. You're not going to go back and listen to every single piece and assess it. So I refer to that as garbage in, garbage out. Because I would have people who would come to me when I worked in radio, they'd come up and say, I heard your show the other day. You were talking and I'd say say, okay, what day? They say, yeah, you were talking about such and such. And in some cases I would go, okay, because I'd forgotten because it's literally garbage.

I was like, how did it feel while I was doing it? That's a lot of what we do here. This is a lot of what we do. So how did it feel while I was doing this? And I don't go back in and I don't listen. But if you're not going to do that, then you need somebody outside who's a pro at that, who can come in with the good ears like you were talking about and check it out and see what the experience is like.

Like there's definitely a huge value to that. And if you as the host isn't going to do it, actually, to your point, Tracy, it might be easier if it's not you doing it. Either have a buddy or have a coach or, or somebody that can be the listener, that can give you the listener feedback as opposed to you brow beating yourself and saying, that wasn't good enough. Believe I said it like that. I can't believe I wiped my mouth like this.

On I'm always rubbing my nose, right?

I scratch my nose again. What's up with that? I rub my head too much. I move my glass, whatever it is. If you get a listener or a viewer, your spouse is probably a really good one.

You're doing that thing again, or a.

Kid or something like that. Somebody who will give you honest feedback.

This is the thing that I always used to say when I did a lot of product design and development in my career. And over time it's like it's so often you ask your friends and family what they think and that's a bad idea, actually. And sometimes asking your coach is also a bad idea because they're selling you something, so they're going to sell you more. So they're going to see an opportunity in that. But if you focus on making sure that you're checking with the ideal audience and what did they think, what did they receive it at, how did they hear it makes a huge difference. And that's what I think is going on great in your show here, is that, look, there's a lot of podcasting shows. There's a lot of how to podcast shows. There's a lot of. I mean, I think I've. In the last six months, I probably interviewed 20. So there's a lot of agency owners out there. But your binge factor on your show is that you're really not focusing on that. You're focusing on a key concept in each show. Might be way to market. Market might be a way to grow your email list. It might be you're focusing on a key concept that supports your podcasting ecosystem as a whole that they may not realize or understand is a part of podcasting. But if you have no email list, you don't have a podcaster, you're not going to ever mind your podcast and turn it into something like, it's not going to happen. An email list is essential, but giving a speech and lecture on that isn't going to help. And instead you're doing it with a great interview and a great conversation and you're getting across the essence of the importance of one of these items. And I think that that's a really great way to build content you can utilize and things that you can refer clients to, which is always a great process. You have a client has a problem, oh, I did an interview with so and so. Here it is. It's a really great substitute and solution process. I think that at the end of the day is really what makes the show more bingeable. Because once they listen to that one, they go, that was really great. Let me see what else he has. And then they go through the library, and that's how we get through our library. That creates a binge factor right there. And that's what Carl, which is doing so well on podcast solutions made simple.

Well, thank you, Tracy. I appreciate the feedback. And the binge factor is that we're calling it.

That's what we call it here, binge factor.

Okay, cool. That feedback. Because firstly, it's funny that you mentioned that, because I wanted to position the show that way, that it wasn't just about. Here's how you do this for your podcast. Not just to be about instructional. I think maybe at one point I thought about that and there might be episodes that do fall into that category. But I think for most of them, like you said, I'm thinking about it outside of the box, outside of the here's how you do this. The tutorial, the instructional type, more of the conversational. Conversational and also concepts that help people understand the space that much more. That makes sense.

No, and I think that's good. That's a focus and it's something that you probably have naturally shifted without realizing it. Like you said, you started a couple of those how to and you were like, they just didn't land right. They didn't feel great to you. And the next thing you know, you've moved on to it. That's kind of a natural, professional way to approach it. That wasn't right. That wasn't what I wanted. And then you do something, you get feedback and you go, I'll do more of that.

So like with the podcast I started back in 2019, that was all about speaker training. That's exactly what it was. It was that tutorial tips to standing on stage, tips to gesturing, which is hard to explain for audio.

Oh, no, I took that into the past, into the future.

Yeah. And I think at some point it shifted from being speaker training tips and tricks to overall communication strategies. And there's many different things that fit into that. And during the pandemic, we explored many different things that fit into that variety. So it's interesting that I shifted it for one podcast, and as I shifted it for that one, it almost inherently became the platform for another one.

Right? Yeah. So what do you think the biggest challenge, I'm going to say keeping your clients motivated, keeping them engaged, keeping them involved in their podcast. What are some tactics that you utilize with them?

The biggest one is I encourage them to revisit their show. Like really lift the hood of their show and say, hey, let's take a look at it. Let's not just look at how many people are listening. That's a metric. And we can always look at that as a measure of success. But let's look at what we're doing. Let's look at the content we're putting out there. Because if we're only doing, for example, if we're only doing one kind of content, if we're only doing interviews, is that watering down the content? If we're only looking at it as an interview based podcast, what are you missing out on potentially? So we're always looking at what can we do to elevate the content? Are there features within the show that we can use to elevate the content? Are there things such as emails from listeners that you want to embrace? I mean, I know it sounds because we've done it for so long, but for the right Podcast. Podcast, it might work. I'm not saying it works for all, but it might work for the Right Podcast. Are there other things or other elements that you want to bring to the show that maybe you hadn't thought about yet?

Yeah, I'm not a big fan of the download measurement. I think it's like getting on the scale every day. It can be very demoralizing. It's not a good idea. But there's some good data in there and some good things to analyze and think about and talk about. Lifting the hood. I like that. I really like that concept. What are some things that do you look at when you're analyzing someone's show for them?

When we analyze somebody's show, firstly we'll look at the quality of the content. Is it content that somebody can listen to? So when I'm listening, when I'm doing an audit, call it an audit for a show, I'll listen. I'll say, yep, this is a great show and here's what I like about it. Or I'll make comments about what is not sitting well. If it's not speaking to me, if it's not conversational enough, if it's too much fact and not enough time for me to absorb the information, we'll certainly look at that. But we'll also look at other things like are you sharing information that is could be getting you in trouble? For example? Example, we've done audits where people in real estate have been giving financial advice. I'm like, that's a no, no. Because that could get you in some pretty hot water with the right associations and agencies, you know what I mean? But then we'll also look at what's. Again, we look at the goal. What's. We consistently revisit that goal.

I think that's the problem. Right?

Yeah.

If you look at a podcast and you say, and you're comparing all of them the same way, and there are a lot of these cookie cutter professional agency services out of there, a lot of them apply the same advice to everyone. And it doesn't work if your goal is something different. If your whole goal was to mine your guests, to have them become agency clients, it's a totally different set of advice than if you're mining your listeners to become agency clients.

Exactly. 100%. And no two shows are the same either. So what I'm going to share with the client, who's a real estate investor, who's speaking to a very specific audience, will be different from the client I'm speaking to, who's a business coach, will be different from the client I'm speaking to, who is an oncologist, will be different from the person who I'm speaking to, who is a gin thusiast and becoming an expert in that field. And yes, we do have a podcast like that, by the way.

There are actually quite a few.

So they're all different, though, and the goals will be different. So what I say might work for the gin podcast, might not work for the real estate investing podcast or the business podcast or the oncology podcast. And by the way, those aren't the names of the shows. I'm just giving you examples. Examples. Because they are all different. All different.

So, Carl, what's next for you? Your show, Your agency?

Oh, my goodness, we're busy. We can always be busier. By the way, doors are open. Come on in. Fire sale. No, I'm just kidding. There's never a fire sale. But no, we're having fun. And we would really like to continue to get the word out, not just about what it is that we do, but about the power of this platform, the power that the podcasting. I'll say medium because it pretty much is a medium. The power that it brings not only can bring an audience audience and how it can shift ideas, but how it can shift you internally, your thoughts, your beliefs, but how can also shift your business, your branding, your credibility in that space. So we want to continue to get that message out, which is one of the reasons why I you'd figure the guy that has podcasts has been on a lot of podcasts other than his. No. So that's the goal is to continuously get that message out and share that with people. And for those who want to convert themselves to clients or see themselves doing this and they need some help, we're more than happy to have a conversation with them about that too.

Wonderful. Well, Carl, I am so glad you representing above the border here and in Canada, because we do need more Canadian podcasters. I totally agree with that. And I think to find the success that USA businesses have, they need to compete as well. And I love to see that being coming from someone who lived just across the border in Canada twice. I lived over in Rochester and in Chautauqua, so just across the border over there on that eastern side. But I love the. That that's that you're focusing on that because there really is More of a necessity to make sure that you're standing out, that you're rising above, that you're getting that purpose in there. So thank you for bringing podcasting into a new realm and into a new level.

Well, thank you. And Rochester, we're literally right across the river.

I know.

Literally, I could. Well, I can't look across the river and see where you live, but it's that close. There's a little bit of road. Road to get there, but there's a little bit.

Yeah. So.

You know, we actually interviewed someone on this show. I'll have to make an introduction for you to Rochester Business Daily. Rochester Business show, something like that. And right there. So you guys should definitely interview each other. That would be fun. So great. Well, thank you, Carl. So appreciate you.

Thank you, Tracy, for so much for having me on.

So I love when we can talk a little industry insider stuff and just get the insights on what's working, what's not. And it was so gracious of Carl to share his five myths. Money, content, competition, tech, and time are some of the biggest problems that podcasters have getting started. They're these myths they have about how the industry works or how podcasting works, and they're really not all true. And I think that that's really interesting that he's kind of dialed it into that. His area where he really excels at helping them overcome that gives him a great mock for how. Who he's going to coach, how he's going to coach, and how he's going to keep them motivated and moving and overcoming those obstacles on their way to podcasting and business marketing, because it's one in the same. Same. I also really liked the aha. About a broadcasting background being very valuable. And while I don't disagree with that, I do disagree with it being predominant. And we have so many coaches out there that that's the only thing that they're really good at, that they're really good at helping you develop a show concept or learning how to get confidence behind the mic. You need someone like Carl Richards, like other people that we've interviewed on this show, where they have a broader background, where they can fill the tech gap, they can fill the marketing gap, the business gap. And because of his experience. Experience. Carl's experience, specifically in being a speaker on stages and selling business and selling from the stage. Right. That's a different model that translates directly with podcasting. Much more so than just being behind the mic and being a radio guy. Those things matter when you're choosing a coach. When you're choosing a producer. When you're choosing who's going to guide you and help you, you need to make sure both things are going on. But I also think you want to be really careful with who you choose as your coach for this because as he said and we said, pros matter. Make sure you're choosing a pro that can really add value to the things that you need, hold you accountable in the areas that you need to hold accountable, but also walk the walk. Carl is producing an active podcast. There are so many producers out there who don't produce a podcast, who aren't in it, doing it. They're not marketing their business through podcasting. He's doing that, I'm doing that. There's lots of people out there doing that. Go and find one of those. Because if they're not currently doing it, they don't know how hard, hard it is. They don't know how difficult it is. And if you want to market your business via podcasting, you need that perspective. It's really important to have a perspective of how it is today because if we went back to 2012, 2014, all those years, it was a lot easier and also a lot harder. So there were differences back then. There's a lot more technology changes, a lot more differences today. You want someone who's keeping up with that. So I was so glad to meet Carl Richards, glad we met through podmatch, because that is like my magic platform for getting to meet really cool, interesting people around the world.

The world.

And really getting to hear what his thoughts on the podcast industry is and on how podcast solutions can help your business. Hope you got that as well. So I'm Tracy Hazard. I'm always here every week with another great podcaster who's got some insights into the industry, insights into their podcasting journey, insights into marketing, growing listeners, growing guest, whatever it is that their mission is, what their purpose is. I'm hoping that what you're finding is some gems in this process, some high level tips. I also want to share with you that we've been doing some experimentation. We're doing some new experimentation over on YouTube and we're doing some experimentation in partnership with what we call POD shares. And so we're really combining our forces and doing some things to help promote podcasters out there. So I definitely want you to check out our YouTube and see what we're doing over there because lots of things are changing right now. So go check that out and you can find us anywhere on social media, any. And@thebingefactor.com thanks everyone for listening. I'm Tracie Hazzard. Back to you next time with another bingeable podcast host.

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 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.