Why A Carefully Structured Podcast Can Make High Power Media Attraction With Reena Friedman Watts Of Better Call Daddy

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

Hey everyone. Welcome to the Binge Factor. I'm Tracy Hazzard and I had so much fun with today's interview. Rena Friedman Watts, she blew me away. She's so much fun. The show blew me away. It's so much fun. Better called Daddy. I love the name of the show and I think it's really ambitious and yet she pulls it off in such a beautiful way. It's so carefully structured and a structured show is really hard to do. A structured podcast is really difficult. And she pulls it off tremendously, which just goes to her fabulous, fabulous media chops. And she's got her dad on the show and she tackles these like, I don't know, interesting topics I'm going to say that I'm not so sure I'd be ready to talk to my dad about. And then she has a conversation with her dad, Wayne Friedman, at the end of the show and gets his take on things. And, you know, I think it's really beautiful. But I'm going to let her tell you about why she decided to do it because I think that story is wonderful in and of itself. So this is an episode you are going to want to dive into. Let me tell you just a little bit more about Rena. There's not much Rena Friedman Watts hasn't done in her professional life. She's scoured the NPR Newswire for stories. She's come through hundreds of small claims cases. She's worked on reality TV shows like the Jerry Springer Show, Court TV and Nanny 911. She's worked in radio. She's planned mega events for the telecom and finance industries. She secured sponsors and MC'd. She she's booked sensational and hard to get guests even on her own show, such as Howard Schultz, Barbara Corcoran, Ken Coleman, Derek Sivers on Kathy Heller's Don't Keep youp Day Job podcast and boosted the downloads from 4 million to nearly 15 million. She has a God given talent for connecting people and building communities and she bestows her magic in the most selfless and genuine way. Ideas for how People can achieve the fantastic flow out of her head as effortlessly as. As breath flows into her lungs. And she is going to give that to you here today. She coaches entrepreneurs on how to get unstuck, find their first clients, and she gets blurbs from influencers for their bestselling books. And she even helps them grow communities of their own. She's a great interviewer, a story junkie, and she's always scratching that itch. On our highly anticipated next episode of Better Call Daddy, she's telling stories that haven't been told and sprinkling them with wisdom from one of her most trusted advisors, her dad. So let's hear from Rena about why she started this show.

Reena, I love the format of your show. I've been having so much fun researching, listening to it. You know, sometimes I like, I have to tell you, this week I've been packed with recordings. So I had to listen to five different shows this week because I'm sort of banking up for some time off. And yours was the most fun I've had listening. And so I listened to way more episodes than I had time for just because I was having fun. Your dad is hilarious. So better call daddy. Totally fun show. How'd you come up with the concept?

My dad is my best friend. That's really how I came up with it. And I'm like, who is not going to back out on me because I've actually been a co host of another show, which is a little bit of a get to know you process. Right. Because you share responsibilities. And my dad is somebody that I can always count on. I mean, I have pushed him pretty far. He has to listen to all of these episodes too. Right? So I'm like, dad, you know, I want to bank some episodes. I need you to react to, like, three or four of them at one go. And I don't have to twist his arm too much. Like, he's got my back.

Well, you know, I love that you have such a unique feature concept. It's just so unique. I haven't seen it or heard anything quite like that before. And I have to tell you, my dad's my best friend, too. I mean, I just. My dad and I just have great conversations together, and I wish I had thought of it, like, that's how good your show is. I wish I had thought of it so I could spend time with my dad because my dad loves to give his opinion on everything. So, yeah, such a great time. And so your dad, did you have to, like, push him to agree or Was he just so eager to do it?

He was totally eager to do it. And he's been pushing me for years to come up with my own idea. I like you. Kind of worked behind the scenes of a lot of great people. For. For years, I've worked for influencers, I've produced events, I've co hosted a show, I've worked in radio, I've worked in tv, and I've done a lot of behind the scenes. And I was like, what better way for me to demonstrate my marketing abilities, my casting abilities, my running a team and putting something together from start to finish than to do something like this?

Well, it's a pro show and I don't, you know, sometimes I'll be highlighting people here and I'll be like, you know, I try to highlight and be nice about it and really highlight the great aspect of it, but there isn't a part of your show that is not a pro show. Every part of it. And I'm super impressed by that. And it takes a lot to impress me after all the shows I've heard. So great job on that. And the thing that impressed me the most and what I want to talk about is your guesting. So I want to dive into our three things right away because I want to hit on that. You're, as you called it, casting, which I love because you are. That's what you're curating a show, you're featuring someone. They need to be a cast. And so you're casting great guests. And how. Because you've been work behind the scenes. What are some pro tips for how you do that?

Yeah, so one thing. This is actually like a secret tip that has worked really well for me, and it involves stalking. I watch people's Instagram lives and I wait. I might take like 20 pictures of them and wait for them to get, like, the perfect shot of them smiling or, like, looking animated. And I will take notes from, like, things that they are saying, and then I will put that in the text of the screenshot. Then I will at sign them and share that in my story to see if they then look at my story and if I can start a conversation like that about what they care about.

Oh, my gosh, that's a fantastic tip. A lot of work, mind you. So it shows you what dedication and work you're putting into your show. But so great if you really want the attention of someone. So I was interviewing a couple of people on the show, Secret Life of Weddings, and they had stalked Kevin James so that they could get him on their show on Twitter. And it worked. So, you know, so this does work, Rena, and such a great idea and such a great tip on how to do that. But, you know, you're choosing interesting people too. So there's gotta be a sort of method to your madness about who you're inviting on the show. You have quite the variety. And I have to say from, I mean, I don't know that I'd want to talk to my dad about all these people that you're having on the show, but they're really interesting. So tell the audience a little bit about, you know, why you're so intrigued and why you choose the people you choose.

Well, I do like to push boundaries a little bit. So I want to talk to my dad about things that we've never had a conversation about. What's really interesting is my last guest had seen a post that I did about a 40 year old virgin that came on my show anonymously. And he was like, that's a great story. And then I looked up who said that because he had never interacted with me before. And then I noticed that this guy was a sperm donor to 21 children. I was like, oh, talking about a great story. You've got one I want you to come on. And he was like, let's do it. I was like, when somebody like that says, let's do it, you make that happen like the next day. And I did that because sometimes people react and then you lose track of them. So if it's something, something like a 40 year old virgin or a sperm donor to 21 people, you make room.

Yeah, absolutely not sticking to your, like, oh, well, I'm booked out till December.

Yeah. So that's one tip right there. If you get somebody that's very hard to reach or very unique, you make room. And as far as, like, I mean, when I send people their thumbnail, when I send them the audiogram, I'm like, hey, I loved your story. My dad loved you. Who do you know that's controversial? Who do you think would be a good guest on this show? I asked every email, so any guests that I've loved, I ask for referrals. And yeah, I mean, I'm constantly getting reached out to from the controversial guests now that I've had. But I do that today from the sperm donor again. I had some guy reach out to me that's like, hey, I've been on his show. I'm the London version of that. And he had a Muslim name. I was like, never had a Muslim on, especially one that gives sperm. I'm like, there you go.

This sounds like something interesting in there, right?

Yes.

And a story I can talk to my dad about. I love that. That's so. You know, in a way, it's kind of, you know, you have a lot of fun with your dad in that show, so, you know, you're like, let's see if I can shock him with the sex addict or dominatrix. Let's see if it'll work. And it doesn't. Your dad's unflappable.

Oh, it did, actually. The sperm donor got him worked up. And what else is funny is some of the questions I always say, is there anything that you'd like to ask my dad? You know, it can be something unrelated to your story, or it can be the meaning of life. It can be something that you weren't ever able to ask your dad. So one of my guests, I think, like, talked about products that they used in bed. And my dad's like, I actually tried that. I was like, okay, dad, that's not.

What I want to know.

That was, like, a little too far. I even, like, messaged my editor. I was like, that little detail about what my dad just shared that he tried from one of my guests. Yeah. No.

Although it probably made a better show if you left it in. So your editor was probably like, no, I don't want to cut it.

She was like, I put it aside. Unless you want to use it for a promo. Oh, and that's another thing, too, that I have now pivoted to, like, if there's something that happens, like, sidebar, because I always make sure I'm recording, like, from the beginning of the conversation till the very end, because the good stuff always happens behind the scenes. I might use it for a promo and then not include it in the show if it doesn't go with the rest of the story. So I interviewed this guy Dragon, and he said that his wife is chicken and his daughter his. No. Yeah, his daughter is chicken and. No, his daughter is ducky, and the wife is chicken. And I was like, oh, cool, you have a daddy's girl, too. Let's have her intro you. But the rest of his story didn't really mention the daughter at all, but she's really cute, really sassy. They're going through adoption process right now, and she was game. So I was like, that's a perfect promo. But, like, I'm not going to include it in the story.

Right, right. You do do great promos. We'll talk about that in a little bit. So let's talk engagement and with your listenership now, I check out everybody's social media, and your social media is just fantastic. But your Instagram is really good, and you get engagement, you're getting comments. What are you doing that's different? That's really working for you, because I think that's a big struggle for a lot of podcasters. So they put an episode out there, but no one's listened to it yet, so the engagement is difficult.

Well, I have a Facebook group that I started about a year ago, and honestly, I pretty much know every single person in there. I've only got, like 650 people, but I post in there daily, and I respond to every single person, and I care about the people in that group. So that's like my tribe. So those people follow me on LinkedIn, they follow me on Instagram, they follow me on Facebook, and I engage with them everywhere.

So it's your tribe really helping out your other social channels, too, from one place. That's so great. I was just talking to my coaching call today from my clients, and we were just talking about that, that, you know, if that you need to, in a sense, juice your social media, get some of your tribe to help you out and give them something. Give them a free coaching lesson, whatever it is that they need, give them something in exchange for it. You'd be surprised how far that goes. And you're doing that. You're getting that anyway because you're serving your community so well.

Yes, it really is about that. And in the beginning of starting a Facebook group, I mean, I really didn't know what I was doing, but I had worked for an influencer who. I saw her doing that, and I was like, I could be totally unedited. I can bounce oddball ideas off of a little group of people. And then those ideas, the ones that are the most engaged, I can do a show about. So I literally ask questions like, what are your thoughts on this subject? What are your thoughts on this one? Sometimes, out of 650 people, I'll get over 100 comments. I'm like, well, there's a hot topic.

Well, you also must have talkers in your group, right? Like, people are willing to, like, comment. So you've got the right audience. There's a really good synergy between your show and the people you're cultivating on social media that there's such a good.

Match for it, too, I think so. Although, you know, you talk about monetizing and growing and having systems in place. So much of what I've done has been winging it.

Yeah, well, let's talk about that, because that's the third question that we get to, like, monetization, return on investment. You're putting in a lot of time. And I want to talk about, like, the time you're putting in as a separate section, because I'd like to talk about your workflow and your process, because I think people can learn from that. Because I can hear, I mean, the result of it. I can hear the work that went into it.

So.

I know, but, you know, are you thinking about how you want to monetize it? I mean, you obviously haven't yet. There's no ads in it, and I don't see a ton of, like, you know, a business model, except that you have, you know, you're an expert and you have services that you provide, but I don't hear it, like, being offered on the show.

Yeah. So I haven't really done that. Here's the thing, though. So in the beginning, I was, like, reaching out to sponsors that I had relationships with because I had put on events and I have booked speakers, and I know brands that pay for play. You know what I mean?

Right.

So I reached out to Manscaped because I knew one of the VPs there and was like, hey, I know you're a controversial brand. I'm going to do a controversial show. Here's some of the guests that I have lined up. Some of them are pretty big, big following. Do you want to take a risk on me, like, relaunch? And I told them, I was like, I have a Jeffrey Epstein survivor. I have Evan Carmichael for episode one. You know, here's some of the relationships that I have. Here's the direction of the show, and they went for it, and they sponsored my first 10 episodes. But as you know, if you have no downloads and you have no following and you're just building, like, the amount that they pay you, it doesn't cover costs. Right. Like, I have a professional editor, so it really did cover costs for, like, the first time, but I didn't make anything from it. So then I was like, but here's the thing. Having a sponsor pre launch then led to another sponsor that sponsored 25 episodes. She was a client of mine, though. Right. But she was like, oh, that's cool. You have a sponsor. She was like, you just did really good work for me. I'll sponsor 25 of them. So that actually got me started, and I was thinking, oh, that might be a good model. But here's the thing. Instead of going that route, which barely just covers costs, like, you want to make money that you know can replace your salary. Right?

Right.

Yeah.

You want to make it worth the while.

Yeah, yeah. So you're like 500 bucks here, 100 bucks here, 100 bucks here. You're like, oh, that's. That's not really worth it. So then I decided to start helping other people with their shows, kind of like what you do. And I was like, I can help you from start to finish, like, tell you the equipment that you need, help you find guests, because I'm really good at that. Pre interview, your guests, script the guests, be on the call with you, supervise the edit, quality, control the edit, and give it to you in a nice, pretty package. Well, let me tell you, that pays a lot more, right?

I bet it does. Absolutely. Yeah. You can build million dollar businesses that way.

So. So, yeah, I'm doing that now for three or four shows, and that's totally paying for my podcast and all the fun I'm having.

And it's very aligned with what you did before.

Right.

So. But you've used your podcast as the showcase for how good it can be, and you set the bar really high.

Thank you.

Yeah.

And then I can have all the fun I want and be as unfiltered and as crazy as I want with the guests and the topics, because it has nothing to do with their show. I love it.

That's really great. Such a great idea. So let's talk a little bit about your workflow, because there's a lot of work in here, as we've mentioned before. Let's talk about the workflow. Like, what is the kind of workflow? Because if you're doing all these services for your clients and you're doing it for yourself, I mean, this is daunting to a lot of people and more work than I even recommend for some of my clients. Like, we don't recommend it being that complex sometimes. But what is your workflow?

Oh, my goodness. So for the better call Daddy show. Like, what does it look like from start to finish? So, yeah, I find a sperm donor that has a good story, and I see if he can record in an evening and spend an hour doing that. Then I send the episode to my editor. She cuts it down between 30 minutes to an hour. I mean, I've had very few that I don't cut down. It has to be a really good guess to not get snipped. And then I send the edited version to my dad. He listens to it, and then he and I have a five to ten minute conversation that's cut down. And then I record the intro after the whole audio version is done. Then we create one audio file, a couple thumbnails. I had a couple of interns that were helping with the summaries that is ending because they're going back to school. So I need another intern. That's really great, actually, to have kind of some young millennials add their voice to the description.

Yeah, I had like two or three interns. I'm very sad that they're going back to school or have graduated. They've been with me for a while, so I had them work on the summary. If they don't do it, I do it. Another thing that I know that you do is you turn them into a blog post. If I had, if I didn't have, you know, three to four other shows that I was working on, I would definitely want to add that because I know that that could help me grow my audience as well as an email list. I haven't really focused on that because I myself don't like receiving.

I'm not an email girl either. I mean, don't get me wrong, I spend a ton of time on email, which is why I'm not a fan of emails.

So those are ways in which I know that I could grow. And actually I do that for my clients. So for one of my clients, again, like, I book his guests, I pre interview them, I decide who is worth being on the show. I then write the script, you know, book the shoot date. It's a three camera in person shoot. So it's a video series and an audio series. Then I manage the web team. So somebody else writes the summary, someone else posts it to YouTube, someone else posts it to all the podcasters. So I don't have to do that piece for them, I'm just managing it. But since I do it for myself, I know how to manage.

Right, exactly. You know, how it should flow. So now when you interview your own guests, do you do a pre interview with them or because you already found them, you kind of have an idea of their story, so you don't need to do that.

Okay, that's a great question. Depending on who. If somebody's been on a bunch of other shows and I can do that research myself, I'll do that. I actually, in the beginning, I didn't do as much research as I do now, but I have noticed, like you listen to my show before this, the more research you do, the deeper in the conversation, you can go. So I actually like to listen to two or three other places that person has spoken so that.

Right. You can pick a different angle that interests you. That maybe somebody, because they didn't want to go for the controversy, left hanging.

Right.

So you can go. Like, you mentioned this, and I want to now know what that means.

I had a guest recently that her and I. I'm just a huge fan of hers, and she's all over the place. Oh, and she dropped a bomb, like, 50 minutes in. I literally messaged her afterwards and was like, we have to do a follow up. I was like, I need a part two with you.

You left it at the end.

Yeah. So there's been a couple of those. Yeah, Like a couple guests that are just phenomenal that I'm like, we got to do too. Because there's so many layers, like, but very rare.

Yeah, yeah. So good. Well, you have pivoted your show a little bit over time. Like, I see it shifts a little bit and how you do it. And you have a great way of inter interviewing. It's like you're kind of like dropping what you want to talk about. Then you let them talk. It's not really actually a question. It's like, tell us the story. And then they go. So you have, I mean, in your picking of guests, you know, people who are going to tell a good story anyway, but you let them run with it, which I really admire. But then you've added some twists. Like, your kids all of a sudden got involved on the intros and outros. You have the most fun intro and outro. I have to say, it was fun before your kids joined, but I really like your kids on there, too.

Thank you. Yeah, my dad in the beginning was always like, we need a song. We need a song. I'm like, what should that song be, Daddy?

Well, this is the other thing. It's like, you know, it's always my favorite thing that I love about podcasts. It's like when I sit there and I listen to it and some story happens and I go, oh, my God, that's me. So right from your trailer, your dad says, well, I. I had a song for you. And when you all go out and listen to Rena's show, better Call Daddy, you're gonna hear this on it where there's actually a song that he used to sing her when she was little that he put her name in the words. Well, my dad used to sing songs to us, and he didn't know the words. Like, he Just didn't like they were made up words. So we think that the words to oh, Christmas tree is I long to eat your branches, which is not. And so my children do not know the real words because as you go through grandchildren, it kind of lives on. But my dad's the same way. And so instant rapport happens. That's a really cool thing. And I think that that's really what you're doing that in essence, for you is your binge factor there. Because it is this rapport you're building with your audience, the rapport you have with your dad, and the rapport you're building with this guest who's trusting you with some controversial and very tough stories to tell. Sometimes that is just an incredible dynamic that makes me connect with you on a deeper level than I do on a lot of other shows, which just hit the surface.

Oh, my God, that's so sweet of you. Wow. I'm like, I need to, like, play back what you just said and put that on my website.

Well, don't worry, because that's the clip we save for you and we give you in your video meme. So that's what you'll get from us. That's how I do it here. So usually your binge factor, unless there was something else and I actually make notes while I'm talking to you, is like, if there's something, like you said something really great, you know, at some point, and I'm like, oh, she said to record all the way through your whole conversation because you never know what you might want to use. You might want to use it for promo. That's a great tip. I'm going to have that clip used as your tip of the day kind of thing. The binge factor that I analyze for you is for you to use on your channel. And so that's kind of how we look at a show in terms of making sure that we're serving our guests in the process.

I love that. Another thing that I feel like has kind of evolved from the show is like, I interviewed the CEO of Yum Brands and Taco Bell, and then when I shared that on LinkedIn, his daughter liked the post. So then I reached out to her and was like, hey, is that your daddy? I would love to connect with you. And what I've done on several of my episodes is like, if a guest is like, my wife is named Chicken and she's a sex therapist, I'm like, well, obviously I need to connect with her too. And that's another layer. So I've interviewed wives, I've interviewed kids, I've interviewed people that were mentioned in the story. A girl that I went to college with, I interviewed her, she was one of my first guests. We caught up after 20 years. Then she ends up six months later after having three kids by three different guys marrying some guy that was her boyfriend in fourth grade who just got out of prison. I'm like, I obviously need to interview him now too.

Right? And see, this is what you do really well and why it's also kind of. It's got a structure of binge ability. Because I don't want to first off, I don't want to miss what's going to be on next because I know it's going to be crazy and I want to hear what's coming next. Right. So that's just in there. That's kind of the bingeable process, like just a feature the way you do it. But you're also creating this crossing back to older episodes. So you're creating this cross functional, kind of like, oh, I got to listen to this show. And then I'm going to jump around to that show because I heard about this. There's. And so, you know, and then I was like, wow, there's a bunch of ones on this subject. Let me jump around here and see what it is. So we may not go in a linear order in your show, which does typically happen on what I would call the edutainment style shows because yours is just more topic based and totally interesting.

Right. Story based.

We might jump around more. But we're going to get through it because you're leading us through it and that's a really great model.

Thank you. Yeah. Another thing that I had a question about that I didn't really know how to categorize myself in the beginning was like, because I wanted to do some film interviews. Like I watched Indian Matchmaking with my daughter and I was like, how cool would it be if I got some of those reality stars to come on and tell me what wasn't filmed? And so I ended up doing like a week long takeover of Indian Matchmaking. I'll be honest. I literally reached out to everyone on the show and four of them agreed to come on. And then I just made a week out of that. But it was really cool because me and my daughter watched the series and then she wanted to intro some of them and some of them connected with me on Facebook and you know, now one of them's coming out with a book. So maybe she said no six months ago, but now she has something to promote so she'll say yes now. And her co stars were already on so that's given me some credibility. So I categorized myself in the beginning as film interviews. But I'm wondering like, has any shows ever like recategorize themselves and like, do you think that that would affect my numbers? Like I feel like I'm rating pretty.

Dec. You're flipping it now. You're asking me the questions. Yes, absolutely. You can re change your category at any time. You don't get that like you know, when you're in the beginning you have an eight week boost of being in the new and noteworthy section and your category does matter of where you want to rank and where you want to be. And I think film interviews was a logical place for you at the beginning. But as a show matures you may very well want to change it because you want to focus on where the audience is and what you're discovering and you just want to be in the category where they are. And there's Also I think 50 new categories or something on Apple that weren't there. I mean they were there last year when you started your show. But for some of us who started a show five years ago, these options weren't there for us. And you can pick as many as you want too to add to. So you can change your main category, that's what we call it, your main category. And you can move film interviews to your secondary and subcategories below that. So you can choose a bunch of them to go into. I think there's one that's on like social commentary or you know, that kind of area. And I think that's the one that's right for you. I don't remember exactly what it's called, but something, it's got the word social in it. That's what I remember about it. And I think that one would be the right category for your main category. And there aren't a ton of shows in there. So that's also better for you from a ranking standpoint over time.

I feel like the film interview one I've been ranking pretty decently and, and that's why I was like, should I?

Nothing will change because even if you move it to your secondary category, you're still ranking in it.

So that's really interesting. Yeah, it's not like Amazon books. So the Amazon book rating, like what you choose as your top, you're stuck in it and you move out of it and you're in trouble doesn't work like that on Apple. Thank goodness.

Okay. Yeah, that's good to know. That's funny. I actually helped my daughter publish a book this summer with one of the guests that was on my show. You know, Covid really changed a lot of things for people. And so there was this entrepreneur, and she wanted to teach kids a love for reading and writing because when she was bullied, she really turned to books. And so I was like, hey, my kids are stuck at home. I have four kids. Like, I would be supporting an entrepreneur and this would be great for my kids. So I ended up paying for tutoring for my 8 and 10 year old for a year, and my daughter really took to it. I had her on the show and ended up getting her like three or four more clients talking about how my kids really loved her and for her to tell that story about bul bullying and starting this business around tutoring kids to have a love for reading and expressing themselves. And my daughter ended up writing a book. So I used my cartoonist from Better Call Daddy that did the art for my show, which is really fun.

Thank you. Yeah, it's one of the better colorful artists out there. So all of you need to go check that out. That's why I want you to go to your app and search for a Better Call Daddy because it's so bright and colorful and you have a great cartoonist who you let sign, which is really nice. So you gave her him credit. I don't know who it is, but.

Yeah, it was another mompreneur. She got laid off during the pandemic, and I was able to support her, support this other lady entrepreneur friend. And so, yeah, and then I got to learn, like how to self publish a book and how to format one and what all went into that. So my daughter had something to be proud of. I got to support two entrepreneurs. And, you know, of course everybody in the family and some friends bought the book.

So all around, we'll have to check out the book. We'll put the link for the book in the blog post for this episode. So if you want to check out what Rena's daughter wrote, that would be awesome. What's the book called?

Yeah, Scarlet, the singer who couldn't hear music. And what else is really cool about that is the CEO of Yum and Taco Bell who was on my show is like a champion for women, a champion for diversity inclusion. And I was like, I can send him a personalized gift that he can read to his grandkids now. So, yeah, I gave him that as a thank you and. Yeah, just other people that have brought up diversity and inclusion. I feel like it's a nice way to support her. And then it's very personalized. Thank you.

Yeah, that's so great. And it sounds like you're having so much fun getting the whole family involved, not just Daddy.

Yes, my daughter and also now my 8 year old son.

Like they, Yeah, I thought I heard, I thought I heard his voice creeping in the outro there.

And even my teenager, he just turned 13, who, he doesn't really, you know, want to be associated with mommy right now. Like a few of the guests have sparked his interest. So I just interviewed an NFL player and then Zion Clark who is hopefully going to go to the Paralympics in 2024. And you know, my son is like starting to want to work out and be strong and into fitness. So of course he wanted to ask those two a few questions. I was like, ooh, perfect opportunity. Let's get them on.

That's so great. Yeah, you know, might as well round it out. So let's talk a little bit about, you know, the, what you're seeing for your clients. Because I think this is a big struggle for a lot of people who want to start a show is like, there's so much work in it. They have big aspirations for how it will run, you know, and there's not, not everybody needs that sort of like heavy detail hand holding on the whole process, but some people really do. How do you know if that's right for you?

Oh, my goodness. I would say most people need hand holding.

Yeah, I agree.

To be honest, you know, I just had somebody this past week reach out and he's like, I have a great idea. I have tons of clients. I have so many interviews I want to do. I'm like, okay, have you trademarked that idea? Have you bought a mic? Do you know how to have a hardwired connection? Do you know the hosting platforms? Like, there's so much to think about. This just even from the very beginning, like, I don't even think I trademarked my show until I was like six months in. And I was like, serious, like, you know, I was putting some money into this. Right, right.

And I don't recommend everybody. I mean, Tom and I have tons of trademarks and patents between the two of us. And we don't recommend you do it at the beginning either. Do it once you're sure you can copyright right away. Super cheap, cost you 50 books. Like nothing, nothing to do that. So you can definitely do that.

So, like this guy Works with, you know, many CEOs of many big companies and he wants to talk about possibly some secrets and classified things. So I was like, one, you know, you're probably going to have to get like, script approvals.

Yeah, you're going to have to get legal approvals on that one. Yeah, right.

And you know what? Look, I work on a healthcare show now that, like, you wouldn't even know that I'm associated with it whatsoever. Right. I have a prep call with them. We go through all the questions, all the questions have to go through compliance. All the questions have to be approved down to the intros, the outros, the sponsored message, everything. And some people need that level of detail. Other people. I had another CEO who was actually interviewed on a show that I was working on and he was like, I work in healthcare. I really want to inspire my team internally. But I also want to share these video segments on my LinkedIn. So I want to use it for internal communications and I also want to use it for brand building. I'm like, awesome idea. You can do that in two to three minute segments. You don't need 30 minute segments. Nobody has an attention span.

Yeah, yeah, sometimes it's not. The format needs to change based on what they have. And your show was shorter in the beginning, got a little bit longer. And I think it's a really good format that it got longer. Like, I think, you know, 17, 18 minutes was a little short. And as you get to the 30 to 50 minute ones, those are so much better because you have that time to get into the depth it's right for your audience. But, you know, I always joke that marketers have the attention span of a gnat. So if you're, you know, trying to get attention from marketers, don't do a 30 minute show. It's not going to make sense.

That's really funny that you noticed that, because in the beginning too, me and my editor were getting to know each other and one thing I liked about her was the quickness. But I got feedback from my audience. They're like, we want you to go deeper. Like what? That was like a promo.

Yeah, that's exactly what my audience said to us in the beginning, too. We want the episode should be longer. A lot of people took the advice. The advice that was out there early on in the podcasting industry and still prevails today, even though it's totally debunked, but is that it should be the length of a commute. Well, I mean, how many of us commute nowadays? I walk Downstairs. And my show would not be long enough. So it's not going to be the right format anymore. So 20 minutes is just not the right size anymore. And a lot of people listen to one and a half times speed, two times speed. And so the shows get shortened up anyway, by the way, I mean, I do have to admit that I listen to ipod fast, as they call it, and listen to shows on one and a half times. I don't do double, double speed. But your dad has such an awesome voice at regular speed. But one and a half, it's still so good.

Oh, that's so sweet.

Like, like that doesn't happen to everybody. But his dad, he has such a great voice at one and a half still.

So I'm going to tell you a secret too, about my dad. He needs a microphone.

But, you know, I do what works for him. When we started the podcast, my dad didn't even know how to get on Zoom.

Yep.

And I've had to tell him about background noise. And, you know, he goes once a month to help with his mother in Florida. And I'm like, dad, you gotta shut off her tv. You gotta go in a quiet place. So earbuds work for him and Zoom works for him. If it were up to me, like with one of my clients, I use Riverside fm. It's a much better sound quality.

But yeah, it's not for everybody because I have a demographic that if I send them to Riverside, they'd be like, so overwhelmed. But Zoom is fine. They're comfortable there. They've gotten. Especially in the last year, almost everybody's gotten used to it. So. Yeah, I agree. Before that it was Skype. And Skype was always iffy. Like, I was so glad to get rid of Skype when it was done and move on to Zoom as a minimum.

So I used Skype too, when I was co hosting a show. Oh, my goodness.

Yeah, it was really. Sometimes it was not good. And you had to remember to have a backup recorder and then turn that on. And that was not fun. How many times did I forget that? So, yeah, yeah, I'm really grateful to Skype now. But Riverside is a great option if you want to go for the higher quality sound level and you want to. It just can be difficult with some guests too. That's the one reason why we don't make it a normal part of our. What we teach our clients. And because you get some guests on there. Like, I imagine, you know, you had Stephen Covey as your hundredth episode, which is great. I mean, this Is like, all Generations should be appealing to, like, his advice and what he. What he talks about. But it might not be easy for him to handle Riverside. Right. Like, it just might not be his thing. And it would be a shame if you had him on your show and he got flustered and then couldn't deliver such a great show, which he did.

So I read every page of that book before I interviewed him. I loved him. And after that interview, actually, I was like, I think I need to lean more into people who are love their dads. So that has actually come from that interview.

I love that. That's so great. Yeah, I can see that. Because you do have kind of a thread running through, because in your more recent episodes, especially of people who are raving about their dads, too, so.

Or have a big struggle with their dads, the daddy issue thing, or the following in daddy's footsteps. Like I said, feel like that hasn't been so tapped into. Even David Meltzer said that to me. He was like, you stole my idea for the greatest podcast. He was like, daddy parent issues.

He was like, yeah, that makes a lot of sense.

Yeah.

You know, it's so funny. My dad always said that he thought we weren't listening, right? Like, when we were kids, that we thought we weren't listening. And then every so often, something will come out of my mouth in front of him and he'll go, oh, my God, you did listen to me. You now say that I'm like, yes. So him getting to listen to my podcast is his way of understanding that I actually did listen to all those years I pretended like I ignored him. So I think, you know, with your son there, he may be pretending to ignore you now that he's 13, but you never know. It's gonna turn around.

Aww. I hope you're right. And I also heard you mention that when you started the blogging, your dad read those too.

Yeah. So it's a running joke that when I wrote my. Because I had a. I had a whole blog before. Blogging was, like, really popular. It was like I had a blog about going green, like, sustainability. And my dad was the only person who read it. And the thing was, is that he worked in the oil industry. So, like, everything I wrote was, like, diametrically opposed to what earned us a living. Right. You know what. What made us. Allowed me to go to college. Right? And he was like. He was like, you got to stop writing this stuff. But he was the only one who read it. That's what I discovered. I didn't know how to blog and promote the blog. That's what I discovered was the hard part. I could write, I just couldn't. Spending all that time getting people when blogging wasn't such a big thing was so hard. And the podcast just made. All of a sudden my blogs are getting shared, copied. It was just amazing how my world changed by adding the podcast component to my blog. It was just that simple.

And I feel like today, like you said, you can listen on one and a half speed. You can listen while you're running. I mean, you know, it's no longer the commute for me. 20 minutes is all I can exercise. 20 to 30 minutes. That's a podcast, right? So. But getting to know people that way, it feels so personal. I think it's essential, honestly, for thought leaders now.

I absolutely agree with you. Well, reena, advice for aspiring podcasters who just haven't quite made the leap yet. What do you. What do you say?

This will give you opportunities that you've never even thought imaginable. By having a platform, you have a reason to reach out and have a conversation with people you admire. So I don't see any reason why not to. Technology makes it so easy. There are cost affordable ways to do will make you a better speaker. It will give you confidence. It will help you connect with new people. Do it.

Yeah. Thank you so much. That's amazing. And I cannot thank you enough for putting such a great example of a podcast out on the market. You know, I know it's so much work and so I just want to give you lots of love about that because and credit for the incredible hard work that you're putting into this show because that's not always the case. Just like there's a lot of junk books out there, there are a lot of junk podcasts out there. And so when I find one that's such a quality, I just want to shout it from the rooftops. And thank you for g me that opportunity to do that with yours. So better call daddy. Please thank your dad, Wayne, for being a part of the show because, you know, he makes it so great. The wrap up at the end is just really great with his voice and his view on the world is really interesting. So thank him from me.

I'm like, do you and your daddy want to be on?

I think we might have to have both of us, right?

Yeah, that would be so much fun. Do you. Has your dad ever been on a podcast?

You know, my dad's more of a kind of behind the scenes writer. Like he's happy to tell you stories and talk to you, but no, he doesn't never want, like, I try to get him to say, if I got one of my daughters to interview you, dad, so you could tell like all family stories. And we just recorded it. He was like, no, like he didn't.

Want to do that.

It's so funny.

Yeah, my mom's parents are like that. I would love to include my grandparents. Actually. Coming up, my dad found a tape of his father that has since passed and it had a lesson on there that's pretty audible. And so I interviewed my 93 year old grandmother and we're going to put that on the tail end. My dad's dad. And we're gonna do like a whole family episode. I wish I could do that on both sides of my family. I feel like one thing that I love about my show is intergenerational play. It is.

And I'm so glad you're doing that because that's actually if I could make a suggestion of something that I want. Like, I mean, you've covered lots of topics. You have stirring. I would never interfere and say anything, but I'd love to have all of your family, like, I'd love to have find out more about your kids and you know that they're just, they have such cute energy and so. And we get little snippets of them. But I just love, I think you should do a whole episode on it. So I'm so glad you're going to do that.

Oh, thank you. I know. I feel like my daughter would play into that, like maybe have her interview me. But one that would be really hard is like, like my mom. I wish I could my mom talk her into it.

I can hardly get my mom to come on zoom with the kids on camera when we couldn't see them every day. Right. So yeah, she wouldn't do that. Well, Rena, I so appreciate you. I'm so glad you're a part of the podcasting community. Great job on your show. Better Call Daddy. Rena Friedman Watts, thank you so much.

Thank you so much for having me.

I just love this episode. I had so much fun with Rena. It was really great to get to know the way she structured the thought she put in the process she put through in starting Better Call Daddy. The connection she's made with her dad over time inspired me. I picked up the phone after our interview and immediately called my dad and said, you know, hey, dad, would you have been interested if I'd come to you and asked if you wanted to do a podcast with me. And I could hear my mom in the background and my mom goes, not me, don't ask me. I thought that was classic. And my dad was like, I don't know. He said, you know, I'm not really sure I'd be all that interested in talking about the kinds of things that you talk about on your show. And I was like, well, yeah, and how to structure a totally different show for us to communicate about. He goes, yeah, maybe I'd do it. Maybe I'd do it once or twice. Anyway, I think it's really brave of her and ambitious of her to get her whole family involved in the show in some way, shape or form. And it has turned into a really fun show. Eye opening fun, you know, just worth listening to. You know, every time it pops up on my good pods that she's got a new episode, I gotta go in and check it out because I gotta hear what, who she's gonna interview next, what they're gonna say. And, you know, the fact that her uncle, unslappable father never reacts but gives his very serious advice about everything is just beautiful. And I just absolutely love them. I really hope I get to meet them in person sometime soon because I would love to have some dinner with Rena and Wayne. They are, you know, Rena and Wayne, if you are listening, I totally want to have you over. So if you were in California, you give me a call and we're going to have dinner together at my house. Totally want to hang out with them. And isn't that the beauty of a really great podcast? When you find someone that you want to hang out with, you're going to listen to every word they say. You're going to go check out all their episodes. It makes it more fun and you're getting educated and learning something and being exposed to something new. She has done a beautiful job and she has demonstrated her skill of which she has to the nth degree. So if someone wanted to hire her, they can really see that her podcast is a showcase. And so many that I see out there selling services and other things, their podcast is like, you know, a stepchild. It just isn't working. It isn't doing what they would do for a client. So it's not a great showpiece and hers really is. So. Rena Friedman Watts. Better call daddy. Fabulous show. You're going to want to check out all the links and be able to connect up to the show through the bingefactor.com thanks everyone for listening and thank you for checking out all the podcasts, going and subscribing and checking them out. Over time, I hear from all of our podcasters that there's a little boost after coming on this show, which means that all of you are out there checking them out. So thank you for that. I appreciate you. And I'll be back next time with another successful podcaster and an interview on things that you might be able to.

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