Podcasting & Finding Your Voice With Harry Duran

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Podcasting and Finding Your Voice

In this episode, Harry Duran and I discuss how to effectively find and amplify your voice in podcasting.

By listening to this episode you will learn how to effectively manage and share your podcasts with the right audience. In addition, you’ll also find methods to use in finding your own unique voice.

0:01
Hello, everyone, I’m here today with Harry. And I don’t want to mess up the saying of his last name. Is it like Duran Duran like?

0:12
Well, welcome to the show. Today we are going to be talking with him. He is an expert when it comes to podcasting, marketing your podcasts. He’s had his own podcast for quite a while. And so why don’t you fill us in on your background, and we’ll go from there.

Harry’s Story & Background

0:29
Thank you so much for the opportunity here to share my story with your audience. I think one of the best ways to start is to think about all the ways I’ve been influenced, I like to joke around sometimes that for the majority of my life, I’ve been listening to other people’s voices. And I remember early on, I was influenced by my father who would play like these thinking Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill like these inspirational, I think they were tapes at the time. So I’m surely dating myself, I may have even been vinyl.

0:57
But he would bring us down to the living room. And he would play these because he wanted us to, like, you know, do better and and have entrepreneurial vision, which I didn’t have at the time, and sort of wish I’d paid more attention to that back then. His dream was for me to like, go to college, go to Harvard. Unfortunately, it never happened. Because I got an opportunity in the nine to five world. And when I got my first job, he was sort of like the second voice, I was listening to this new boss that I had. And you know, the moment that you get to wear a suit to work, you think you’ve made it right, you’re like, Okay, I get to work. nine to five, I’m wearing a suit.

The Point of the Pinnacle

So obviously, this is the pinnacle. And then once I hit like a six figure salary, my boss again was like you realize only like 10% of people ever make it to like six figure salaries. So I was just feeling like I was on this right path. But there was still like entrepreneurial voices inside my head. And so I would leave and come back and try different things. At one point i.com craze 1999 I think if anyone any one of your listeners can remember like pets.com and the craziness around the.com craze, so I actually left my job cashed in my 401k, I took an unpaid position with a Latino portal startup.

2:05
To try that out. This is like 99 1999. Unfortunately, that didn’t pan out. And so I had to come back to work with my in the nine to five. And what I call now my corporate godfather was helping me get a job and stay in that world. Then the next thing I did was around 2001, I left to go to Atlanta to work in construction and of all things. So I’m just trying to sort of paint the journey of like, I was trying these different things and trying these other opportunities, because I’m like, maybe I can go support that person. Or maybe I can go help that person. And that was in construction like I literally like was climbing scaffolds had hardhat and was learning how to like read blueprints. And then but you know, what they say about working with family ended up like with my tail between my legs to go back live with my parents at age 34 at traveled back to New York.

The Background

So I just want to tell that bit of a background story because I know a lot of your listeners, and maybe you can relate to the fact that you’re I spent a lot of time listening to other people’s voices, as opposed to not listening to my own about like what it is that I want to do what it is that makes me happy. And so I started working on a mobile app. I’m a huge fan of electronic music. So I created a mobile app called no your DJ. And I thought I was going to interview globetrotting DJs.

At the time this was now 2012 2013. I realized how quickly that was that there was going to be I went to a conference called New Media Expo in Las Vegas. And I pivoted, I saw some other podcasters there, Pat Flynn, Amy Porterfield speaking, and I said, What if I created a show where I interview other podcasters sort of like inside the Actor’s Studio, and if you remember that TV show, but for podcasters and so podcast junkies was born. And that’s been going strong since 2014 235. Or so episodes, our long interviews and they use video for the conversation.

And then a year into that I hired a business coach because I realized there was a lot I did not know about digital marketing about building your own business about being an entrepreneur.

The Growth

4:02
And I paid a business coach to help me and then a year later I started full cast, which is our done for you podcast production agency.

4:09
Wow, what a ride. So I love that the message of following your own voice. And I think that’s especially important. Even if you are an entrepreneur, I find that listening to other voices is super helpful. But it can also be if you let it you know go too far. And you just are constantly comparing yourself or thinking you need to do a certain thing a certain way just because you keep hearing that it can cause you to get distracted, it can cause you to feel confused and overwhelmed. So I think it’s really, I actually have a old old song called don’t need your approval. And it’s about doing what you want to do ultimately. And however I will say that podcasts and I love that you’re passionate about podcasts too.

Lessons Learned

5:00
I, I am so grateful for them, I feel that they’ve taught me more than any other educational resource I’ve ever experienced, including college. And I have, because I’m, it’s, it’s so me, it’s like I, I am an auditory learner. I learned best when people are kind of interacting. So something about podcasts, we have something that can make you millions of dollars that can improve your life that can make you happy that can teach you pretty much anything you want at our fingertips. And it just blows my mind that more people don’t listen to them, take them seriously and implement what they learn from podcasts. So I want to go back to you had the genius idea to interview podcasters Um, so tell me a little bit about and you said you have a done for you podcast agency, what does that mean?

The Learning Curve

6:00
So what was interesting,

6:03
Hailey, and obviously you have a lot of entrepreneurs listening.

6:08
I didn’t know what I didn’t know. And obviously, I use the example of Narnia like when they when you come out of the closet new this whole new world and that was me, like coming into the digital marketing world. I started just consuming voraciously all this content and watching a lot of speakers and I saw someone by the name of Jim Rohn. He had this quote, and he’s Jim Rohn is someone that’s inspired and taught like Tony Robbins, he’s popular in the 80s. He says you’re the average of the five people you spend the most time with.

The Entrepreneurial Circle

6:36
And I was like, Whoa, I don’t have like an entrepreneurial circle. I had a lot of people nine to fivers. Right. You know, and, and no one that can tell me how to build a business. And I started meeting in this group, like people that were building six figure seven figure businesses and it was totally blew my mind. I was like, oh, okay, I just, I felt like I was swimming in deep end. But I think it was important for me to understand, like how to do that. So that’s where, and what I was learning from the podcast as well.

And I think the power, what I was learning as I was having these interviews with, with established podcasters is that they were they were all specialists in their specific niche. But they all had a unique voice. I tell I give the example sometimes like, you could give the same show to five different hosts. You’ll get five completely different shows, even if it’s the same exact topic, because, you know, Hailey, you have experience.

Growing up, where you live geographically, like your family history, your specific passions, the energy and the enthusiasm, you have your personality type, like when you mix all those together, you’re going to come up with a show that’s going to attract a certain kind of person. And quite honestly, I tell clients as well, like, your show should actually repel people as quickly as they attract them.

What is Your Podcasting Personality?

Because you don’t want to be vanilla, you want to have your personality shine through and let your passion come through and what you do. And to your point earlier about the power of podcasting, it is an intimate medium. I mean, they’re consumed, um, I have earbuds on now.

And that’s how most people consume podcasts. It’s, it sounds a bit cliche, but you are actually speaking into the ear of the person. I always say that when you’re in a podcast conversation, there’s three people involved. There’s the host, there’s the guest, and then there’s the listener. And it’s really important, I always make the distinction that the listener is singular, because a lot of podcasts when they get started, they’re like, Hey, you guys, I’m so happy. You’re all listening to me. And we think we’re on stage and we’re talking to a big room. But in reality, people are consuming it. One person at a time is consuming your podcast.

And so you the listener who’s listening to Hailey, and I speak right now, like I’m speaking to you, like, Hailey, I know appreciate you being listening to her show. And you taking the time to listen to this, but this message is directed to you. So just things like that make the medium, super powerful, super personal. It’s why I’m really passionate about it.

Consider the Listener

8:52
Absolutely, I have to go back to a good tip. I learned from Paul Mumford, who was also a guest on the podcast, where and I don’t follow it because I keep forgetting. But he says never in your videos and stuff. Just say you, it’s not you guys. It’s not you all. It’s somebody on their phone by themselves watching you. And and that’s your one audience member. I also think it helps with the nerves when you think of that one person, your ideal client who it’s met, made for and speaking directly to that person. You brought up a good point that podcasting could be so intimate because you’re literally in somebody’s ear, teaching them you’re with them on a walk, or you’re with them while they’re cleaning their house are here with them in their car. And it’s so powerful. So when it comes to

9:38
podcasting, and what you what you do, what are some ways like, I think, Well, actually, I want to bring up one more point you said, you have your own unique voice. And I work with a lot of coaches and wellness professionals and people who think I’m not unique enough or who wants to listen to me or what do I have to say kind of

Be Authentic

10:00
This imposter syndrome. And the truth is you guys, there’s gonna be you guys I just did it. Um, the truth is you little listener,

10:11
that there are people who will not jive with somebody who’s like, I think about. Let’s go to the example of

10:21
business people. Okay, there’s like Mel Robbins. And there’s Grant Cardone. Yeah, Mel Robbins doesn’t pretend to be like Grant Cardone and hustle, hustle, let them talk really fast. And while they’re not direct competitors, I’m just kind of giving you an example of the spectrum. You just want to amplify who you are. You don’t have to turn on this on camera persona, where all of a sudden you’re loud and you’re excited. If that’s not you, if you’re like a very calm

10:48
person, you show up, you bring that on camera and the people who will resonate with that are meant to be in your audience. So what would you say to people who feel like this imposter syndrome?

What is Your Unique Voice?

Like Yeah, okay, you say have a unique voice, but I feel kind of embarrassed.

11:05
imposter syndrome never goes away. I still have it. I’ve heard Oprah Winfrey talk about still having it’s something that’s going to keep, it’s something you just have to work through and understand that every single podcaster does not like the sound of their voice and this and their first episode, like, I don’t care if you talk to Pat Flynn, or you may have, I’m sure you’ve experienced this, I experienced it. Hailey’s just, you cringe at the sound of like your first recordings, you’re just like, Oh, my God, I’m so awkward. Like, I don’t know what I’m saying. But it’s just reps and you and your 10th one is going to sound better in your first your 15th is going to sound better in your 10th.

But you have to over time, find your voice, find a tone, you may mimic other podcasters in the beginning, if you’re doing an interview based show, you’re going to have your list of questions, I did it as well. And then I realized like I had an interview with john Lee Dumas, I only had half an hour. You know, we started a little late, and I was like, there’s no way I’m gonna be able to get through these questions, I just want to talk to him like a real person.

Impostor Syndrome in Podcasting

So, you know, for those of you that are feeling impostor syndrome, if I took you out of the podcast context, and I said, Let’s go sit down in the lobby of a hotel, or let’s go to a bar, and just, it’s just you and your guest on a stool. You know, just sitting having a conversation, I imagine, you’re naturally curious. And you just ask questions coming from that place, because then you really figure out like, the best podcast interviews for me are ones where the host has a genuine curiosity.

They let the person talk. They’re comfortable with silence. From an editing perspective, you can tell when a podcast host is talking more than their guests, because you see the WAV file and you’re like, Okay, like, they should probably let them let the guest talk more. So just lean into your own curiosity in the beginning, if you’re not feeling comfortable with your voice, or feeling comfortable that you have anything to say, because the questions that you ask a guest, like I said earlier are going to be very, very different from five other hosts who have the same guest.

Because they’re going to be things that they’re attracted to, whether it’s travel, whether it’s a hobby that they have, or they’re like a stamp collector, they’re going to mention something you’re gonna be like, Oh, you know, I like that.

What is Your Guide for Podcasting?

Like when people mentioned electronic music or something like that I light up because I’m like, I used to be a DJ, I did it on vinyl. So I pull that thread. But realize that, you know, you just have a different life experience. And so just in the beginning, you’re going to have some things that are going to be a guide for you like the question. So you have a framework, but don’t feel tied to them.

13:33
And just come at it from a natural place of natural curiosity. And again, the imposter syndrome never goes away. But you have an expertise, and you have something you want to teach. And if you are a coach, and as you mentioned, you have life coaches, wellness coaches here.

Consider Your Credentials and Expertise

13:49
Your training and your experience, and your credentials, got you to a point where you’re at now where you’re helping people. And I always say you don’t have to, like help be everything for everyone. And you’re not trying to get people like to the 26 mile marathon, like they literally just need from you the next step. You’re trying to get them to the place

14:10
where they want to go as far as the next step, and not the step that you yourself haven’t taken, like you’re not gonna be able to show anyone that, but they just want to know, hey, that place where you’re at now, how did you get there? So I think, you know, sometimes the imposter syndrome comes from thinking, I haven’t achieved all these great things that all my peers have. And it’s fine. And the people that you’re helping specifically, they just want to know how you got to where you’re at now. So just that’s something that hopefully keep in mind. That’s helpful from creating, whether it’s podcast content or blog content or your live videos or whatever else you’re doing on social.

14:46
You nailed a really good point there when it comes to imposter syndrome, coming at it with curiosity, rather than thinking it’s true, I don’t have enough experience. I’m not enough. That’s the truth. I’ve only been doing this for

Time and Consistency

15:00
Three months? Why not ask yourself? Well, what if I could put out one podcast? What if somebody is three steps behind me? On the other hand, what if I can gain confidence by taking action every day? What if, like, come at it with questions? And is this truly? Is this really true? Or am I just telling myself something and looking for evidence as to why it’s real, because at the same time, you can look for evidence, like it doesn’t have to be real, or why it’s not real. So that tip, right, there is really good.

15:31
Yeah, and I think it’s something that you have to be reminded of, there’s a post that I shared on LinkedIn recently, the difference between amateurs and professionals and it’s something that I’ve been coming to and is actually written in 2017. And I’ll share with you and you can put it in the show notes for the listeners. But it’s it’s really interesting, because, you know, just some of the I pull up the article real quick, but it says amateurs have a goal professionals have a process. Amateurs don’t have any idea what improves the odds of achieving good outcomes professionals do.

Focus on the Outcome

16:07
Amateurs focus on being right professionals focus on getting the best outcome. And so these these ways of thinking that have been helpful for me, like every morning when I get up, and I’m like, do I take that extra step? Or do I finished my day with that one task, or just, I’m gonna have time tomorrow, I should push it off. Then I asked myself, What would a professional do. And it’s been really, really powerful and helpful for me, because I want to hold myself to that standard. And for those that are out of their comfort zone and saying, I don’t have anything to say, or I don’t know what to write, I’m going to challenge you and say, you may just not want to do the work that’s involved and realize that there’s reps involved. So I would say what would a professional do a professional would put out their first draft, even if it’s, if it’s not good, you know, or record that first episode, even if no one’s gonna hear it.

Because just because you record an audio doesn’t mean you’re gonna publish it. So just find all the things and distinguish whether from those things that were you you’re actually making an excuse as to why you’re not taking the next step. Yes, I love that. And I think the other thing you pointed out earlier was that if you feel like

17:16
you don’t know enough, or there’s so much more you need to accomplish. It is show it we get so blindsided by not realizing how much that we know, that’s not common knowledge by our ideal client. Like there are things where I feel like I’ve said it 2 million times. I feel like it’s common sense.

Consider the Point

I feel like, you know, doesn’t everybody know this? And then I’ll share it or somebody will ask a question. And I’m like, Whoa, I didn’t even realize this training that I had thought I was going to talk about X, Y, and Z. Really, all they needed to know was x that are that thing that I thought was like they already know this this Yeah. Because we try to be so unique and groundbreaking, and like I have to drop so much knowledge. But the truth is, sometimes people need the simple things you learned through an experience.

The basics, exactly. Yeah. And even if people cringe at your basics, that doesn’t mean I there’s a quote, I can’t remember what it is. But it’s like, common, just because something’s common sense doesn’t mean it’s common practice. So if you are not implementing something, you don’t really know it. You might you’re gonna keep hearing it, but you’re Are you implementing it. So I think you brought up a good point there.

A Real Game Changer

Now I want to go back because as somebody on the show, who’s been an entrepreneur, number one, and number two, how to business coach yourself, what were some of the biggest aha moments you realize went with digital marketing that

18:52
that were huge lessons or really changed the game for you.

18:56
I think it’s, I want to stress the importance of having a coach because when I had a coach and I left, I thankfully had a decent salary. And I was paying a coach 1500 dollars a month, like and I know for people that had coming into this world. For me, that was sticker shock, Hailey, because I was just like, wait, I give you this money. And then I’m like, What do you put in? What are you putting in my hand back? Nothing. But I’m just like, wait a minute. But what I realized and it was like an aha moment like I was paying for his intellectual property for like the training and for the the ability for him to get me somewhere faster. There’s an African proverb that says if you want to go, go

19:37
go alone. yesterday. Yeah.

From Amateur to Expert

19:41
Go fast. go alone. If you want to go far. Go with the team. Yeah, that’s me yesterday. Yeah. So it was important. And then the other one that I love, I’m probably butchering this one as well, but it says a

19:56
an amateur

19:59
is

20:00
picks, picks expensive, but but working with a professional is priceless or something something like that same person.

Consider the Skillset

20:12
I just was talking about that two weeks ago. Yeah. If you want it to be expensive go with an amateur. If you want it to what was the second half? Get? get done or do it right. Do it right. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. I think about creating something that helps people out. I think that was an interesting takeaway for me as I was entering the world of digital marketing, and this realization that there’s there’s four types of tasks, those are incompetent, those are competent, those are excellent at and then your genius. And then as I was like developing this offer, I was like, well, incompetent, competent, my coaches, like you know, you get those off your plate as fast as possible.

Think of housekeeping, for example, if someone has someone to come clean your house, the excellent is really interesting, because as entrepreneurs, people that have skill sets, professional training, they’re things that we do really well. But they’re not like your genius, and there’s a difference. So for me, it was like, web design, I could do a little bit of HTML, a little CSS. And then one day I’m on my website, I’m spending hours trying to fix something in the sidebar of a graphic. And I just broke down, I just reached out to a friend of mine, I was like, hey, you’re a web guy. Can you fix this? Hailey, he fixed it. I think it was like, in five minutes. It was ridiculous. I was just like,

The Big A-Ha

Ah, that’s genius. That’s what you do better than anyone else. And I was like, I got it just clicked for me. Then I realized, okay, this is the big aha, like, take your annual revenue, break it down and figure out what your hourly time is worth, what’s an hour of your time worth.

And if you could pay someone less than that, to do a task, you know, nine times out of 10, you should probably do it. Because that’s, you know, pay a genius to do their tasks. And then you focus on your genius. And the genius, really, the definition is that one thing that you do, almost better than anyone, because it’s what you were made for what you’re passionate about, and your mix of life and its professional experiences. Have you just like, it’s the type of stuff that lights you up when you’re doing it.

The Value of Time

22:07
100% that’s one of the biggest lessons I think I’ve learned this year is that I really do value my time more now than like, and I do think you need to, you need to calculate your hourly, right, I think that you just shared a really good tip there. And if somebody can do something, even in five minutes, that’s so worth paying for, because they got to get your time would be you would have still been working on that graphic for hours. And what’s interesting is that maybe I paid him for the hour, I wasn’t paying him for the hour, I was paying him for his 20 years of professional training that got him to the point where he can solve something for me in five minutes, which is an important distinction.

Right? And well, what what you said about paying a coach, what are they going to give back to me, I think that’s such a common outlook. And at the same time, though, you really are everything you buy, when it’s a professional you’re working with, you’re paying for their insights, you’re paying for their 20 years experience, you’re paying for them thinking about you and your problems and all that all the time and being able to solve them very quickly. So it’s less about the well, what exactly am I gonna get back? It’s more about what’s the insight, experience, trial and error they’ve gone through, etc, that I’m going to now be able to benefit from because of that, because of hiring them.

What is the Value?

Yeah, what’s the value in what they’re giving you? And it’s not really like a time for money thing? Because I know a lot of coaches in the beginning, they’re like, well, how much should my hourly rate be? And what should I be charging them? And they’re really conscious of like, you know, I’m charging, let’s say I’m charging $300 an hour or something like that. But I got to give them an hour because they’re gonna feel that they’re not getting enough return. But your objective should be

23:59
in outcomes? Like, what’s the pain point of like your student?

24:05
whoever you’re helping out, like, what is it that they need, they don’t need an hour of your time, they need a problem fixed. And so the quicker you can diagnose that problem for them and fix it, then they’re going to feel like the value was worth it, whatever the time is, whether it’s 15 minutes, or whether it’s an hour. So I think as coaches it’s important to dial in and be really good at diagnosing people’s problems and learning how to ask the types of questions that say, Okay, what were you working with before? What have you tried, what worked? What didn’t work?

Learning Style

24:43
You know, what’s your learning style? And where have you failed before? Have you worked with a coach before and just kind of all these little things to figure out okay, who am I dealing with and and how do I best get them the solution that they need?

Consider the Solutions

24:57
Exactly. And at the end of the day,

25:00
People who just grow the most in their business are the ones who are bringing the most solutions value, etc, to their audience. In their equation, they’re equal, the more relevant Prop, the problems are that you are solving, the more business success you’re going to have. So when it comes to marketing, and digital marketing, when you got into your podcast, what were some ways that what are some marketing tips, you have to promote podcasts or whatever somebody is working? Yeah.

The Best Practices of SEO

25:37
So it’s really important and some of the guidance we give clients when they’re first starting,

25:42
use SEO best practices that people have done from for ages, with blogging, those also apply to podcast. So even the very, very beginning, like the name of a show, don’t get too cute. You know, the two guys in the basement podcast. Or you know, wine and champagne, like you see some of these shows, and like, those are fun. But if you’re serious about using and leveraging a podcast to grow, to build your authority, to build thought leadership, to actually be an extension of your marketing funnel within your business, when people see and hear the show, they should have an immediate reaction as to whether that’s something that can help them or not.

And one example I give is my partner’s photographer, she she’s been a photographer for 10 years, she now she has a program she coaches, other photographers and how to build a business, we have launched our show, it’s called photo business help. It’s pretty straightforward. And what it does, I have a new client who’s started and sold an investment company now is teaching others how to

26:42
handle their investments better.

The Importance of Investing

It’s called understanding investing. So you know, we’re just thinking, especially if you’re getting started with a million podcasts now in the app plus in the podcast directory, it’s even harder to for people to get noticed and, and to make a name for themselves. Don’t be too worried about putting your photo on the podcast, because no one knows who you are in the beginning. So really put all the attention on what the show is the name of the show. And in the beginning, like as you’re starting the promotional aspects, do a build up, don’t just wait for my shows up. Now I’m going to tell everyone about it. If you’re a coach, now, if you’ve been doing any sort of work online, you have a little bit of a community built up and I would leverage those.

27:26
I’m reminded of growing I grew up in New York City number mining of like when rap artists would have albums out, they’d have a street team and they just like be plastering, like light poles with like the album cover. And it’s that sort of street team guerilla marketing mentality like early on. If you’ve got a Facebook group, if you got a LinkedIn follow and feel following if you if you got people on Instagram to follow you, or just your friends and family, you started an email list, whatever it is, like, leave no stone unturned in the beginning and say, Hey, I’m starting a podcast. Here’s a poll these four names, which one do you think, again? get people talking about it?

From Listeners to Prospects to Clients

Hey, I just created a first version of the cover art, what do you think, and as you start to build them, they’re feel like they’re coming along the journey with you. Especially if you’re coaching already, you probably have you have clients that you work with, you have prospects to work with, get their feedback early on, and do everything you can to start building a buzz about what it is you’re doing. And then the very first episode, your record as a podcaster is known as Episode 08. Otherwise known as your episode trailer, it’s a five to 10 minute episode, and it’s who you are, why you started the show, why the show’s important who it’s for.

And then if you know what some of the early episodes gonna be tease out some of that content, if it’s going to be some people some names that people recognize in your space tease that out as well. Let people know what the frequency of the show is going to be. And when they can expect the next the first episode to drop.

The reason that episode is important is because Apple needs at least one piece of audio when you submit a show. And once that shows in the apple directory, you can tell everyone that the show is live. It’ll just show up as a podcast trailer, but people can start subscribing. And that’s one of the most important metrics for a new podcast is

Metrics Matters

29:07
Apple doesn’t really give away their secret sauce about what drives the charts. But just from speaking to fellow podcasters. And doing this long enough. One of the metrics that is important is number of subscribers within the 24 hour period. So try to move all that attention that you’re getting and try to have it focused on one day do a listening party, you can do you can use these event tools in these platforms, LinkedIn events, Facebook events, like create an event. And it’s not a physical event. Everyone knows now whenever they see an event invite because of COVID it’s going to be virtual anyway. Like no one’s thinking that you’re doing in person stuff right now but just create a listening party. So just use the power of these platforms as much as you can. And then I really like the idea of grabbing a domain name specific for the show. So even if you’re going to have

29:53
liquid example of a partner show photo business app photo business help.com she was able to get that as well.

Branding Basics

30:00
Look at add the word podcast. So if you’re doing SEO Marketing Podcast calm, for example, as an example, but also look at the domains dot show and.fm. These don’t have to be like your final website. But you can also use the redirect redirect feature of a URL. So what you want to think in mind Hailey is that when people listen to your show and your URL, it should be super, super clear how to spell it, and where to go. JOHN Lee Dumas famous example he had Entrepreneur on Fire when he got started. But then he realized how hard it was to spell entrepreneur. And people were not getting to the right domain. So he quickly grabbed yo feiyr.com.

So just again, branding, one on one best practices, like when people listen. And then as you’re building, those first episodes, all be thinking about from day one. Where do I want to send people, because the show shouldn’t it’s not an entertainment show. And I imagine for most of your listeners, it’s, it’s something that they want to use as an extension and to build awareness in their business. So send people specifically to I like the idea of a lead magnet. You want to take them away from the podcast, and then grab their email.

The Importance of Lead Magnets

And the easiest way to do that is with a lead magnet, a lead magnet should be super simple. I imagine your listener is very common with this concept. But it’s a one page PDF is the best thing. No one is really has time to read ebooks anymore. And people are sending ebooks out. I can’t tell you how many ebooks I have sitting in my Dropbox folders that I’m going to get to at some point. But I don’t have the time.

So a very effectively, lead magnet can be consumed within five, five minutes. It’s one page or one page PDF, you can create it in Canva. But what it should do is show that you have authority in the space. And then let people take the next step with you. So for me, I tell people about a group coaching program have called the dojo or I just haven’t booked a 15 minute triage call. And then on that call, I can then see if they’re a fit or not, you don’t want to book them straight into a sales call. Because you’d want to get a lot of sales calls for people that may or may not be a fit.

Connection Calls

So that’s why I like the use of a triage calls a 10 or 15 minute, sort of like a diagnosing call where you’re actually seeing if they’re fit for you, not the other way around. So those are some helpful tips. We can dive deeper on any of those.

32:17
Absolutely, yeah, I call him an intro call our goals call something like that. So I think what you said about

32:28
there was a lot of things in that. First, make sure that when you are putting out a podcast or any launch you’re doing whatsoever in your business, this can apply to your coaching programs, too. You kind of want to have a trailer a teaser? And what do we do when a movie is coming out? You put out ads, you put the posters up around, you know, it’s on a billboard, you’re getting people where they go to press conferences and movie premieres. They’re telling people what to expect, what’s it about who’s the stars in it, etc.

Setting Expectations for Your Podcast

Then I love how you said so you can do the same thing with your program set expectations, give teasers, get people excited about it, then you put out the podcast, and you don’t you do set a date, you want to get those subscribers within the 24 hours. And You also want to set the expectations for the podcast tell the audience, okay, this is gonna be every Tuesday or whatever, then you keep consistent with putting out new podcasts. You give calls to action in the podcast to take somebody to the next step with you, which is your lead magnet or call with you something like that.

One of the things that I wanted to ask you a little bit about so I because I did this so wrong. My first podcast. First of all, my show used to be a whole different name and a whole different.

Podcast Cover

Yeah, and I haven’t delete I just changed the name and the title on the cover. That’s perfect. Yeah, well, no, it’s not. Well, the interesting thing about that Hailey, and I just, I don’t want to discourage people from thinking, well, I may want to change it later. It isn’t ideal. But you were building up a listenership at that point. And you had people already subscribed to the feed. So there’s no point in just saying, Oh, I’m not going to start new feed. Now I’m going to tell people about another show. So just educate people and say, Hey, I’m changing gears used to be about baking. Now, it’s about motorcycles.

34:18
You know what to do? Yeah, but it may not be that extreme. But your listener is.

34:25
I think it’s a reminder that they came for you. And I think you may have found this as well. Like you may have changed the topic dramatically, but they were coming for you Hailey. At the end of the day and and some of those listeners, you know, wanted to just keep hearing from you regardless of what you were talking about. So just important to you don’t have to get it right. This is what I’m saying. In the beginning and totally Well, I’m glad you said that because it’s true that I did not promote. I did not have trailers. I put one out there. She’s like, Alright, here we go. Had a like a two year hiatus in there. Now. Just kidding. It was more like six months where I start podcasting. Like where were my listeners. Where’s everybody?

35:00
I’m here.

Planning Your Podcasting Content

35:01
I will say 20. I don’t know when in 2019, but maybe not. Maybe we’ll just be safe and say, 2020, I have been the most consistent. I’ve ever been with my podcast that comes out every Friday. And we have good guests. And it’s been way better this year. But it’s all about priorities. Right. So anyways, Harry, um, let’s go back to talking about guests. And, you know, what should somebody do to once they have the podcast? It’s out, and they’re talking about it every week? How can they really make this a win and something that I’m doing well, on the charts.

35:42
I really like the idea of planning your content and being strategic about what you want to talk about. When we set up shows for clients, we use a tool called air table. It’s sort of like Google Sheets. But it’s Google sheets on steroids, because it’s a relational database. It’s a free, it’s a free tool. The reason that’s important is because you can change different views. You can show a grid view, which is like Google Sheets, or you can switch it to Canvas, which is like Trello, which is nice, because then you can just move cards around.

The Client Commitment

The reason we do that is because we want clients to have a commitment. You know, they’re typically six month or 12 month engagement. But I want them to like list out the 26 episodes, even if they just have a word. Or even if they just have a number for now. Like literally just thinking about that visual of like, where I’m headed. Like, you know, because if, if you don’t know where you’re going, you know, how will you know when you get there. So you have to really think about like, what do I want to think about and talk about. And then you can start to think about themes. I imagine your listener is very good at teaching their content.

So take whatever you have, and have that as the pillars of what you can talk about on your podcast. I like to use the accordion methodology. Like if I have my six pillars of what we talk about when we launch a show. It’s plan position, the beginning parts of a show, then it’s promotion, and publishing and then profiting.

So there’s different aspects of that, that I talk about, depending how much time I have. But if on the PDF, it has all the six pillars, they’re just bullet points. If I’m given an hour on a webinar, I can cover those six. And I can go through a couple of minutes on each, or I’ll pick one and deep dive on that. So think about that, as you’re thinking about building out the content for your show. And then also if you if you have guests, think about guests that you you your objectives to make them look good. I have a mantra that says treat your guests like gold, like your goal should be to build a lifelong relationship with that person, it may or may not happen.

Podcasting Connections

Sometimes they just last an hour, which is the conversation. But I’ve got friends that I’ve met on my podcast that I’m still friends with, you know, six years later, because I’m just I come with that intention of adding value and making them shine and making them sound as good as possible.

And then doing as much work as possible once the episode is live to promote it to as many people saying, Hey, I had this great guest. And so be really conscience conscious about the content you’re creating, but have a plan. Because if you don’t know what you’re going to talk about, then you’re just start rambling. If you’re just teaching content, I like to use the analogy of an espresso shot of content, like maybe 20 or 30 minutes. It should be really like powerful and really get to the heart of what you’re an expert at. And then he could always tell people, if you’d want to learn more about that topic than I, you know, sign up for my course. Sign up for my webinar.

The Next Step

Have them take the next step with you. But just I think that the major takeaway Hailey is to be intentional about the content you’re creating, and think about how it fits and mapping it out. You may want to do a three part series on keto, if you’re a health coach, right?

And so take advantage of that and say, okay, and this is episode, this is part two of our three part series on keto, in case you missed the last episode, which is part one, you probably want to pause this, go back to that episode and go listen to that, because it’s important that you listen to these in sequence.

Open Loops and Callbacks

So it’s important to take people on a journey and remind them I like the idea of open loops and callbacks. So if you think about serialized TV like Game of Thrones, like when they first start there, like previously on Game of Thrones, you can do the same thing with a podcast in case you missed last week’s episode had a great conversation with Hailey Rowe. We’re deep diving and all things like entrepreneurship and podcasting, make sure you check that out. Episode 235 like and then so that’s the the callback. The open loop is at the end, where you tease out the next episode. So tune in next week, I’m going to have a great conversation with Oprah Winfrey, we’re going to talk about you know, interviewing guests and why that’s so great. Because you never know, like, someone may like

39:41
have name recognition, or it may be a topic they want to talk about. Or if you’re doing a multi part series, they’re going to be like, Oh, I want to listen to the next one. So that’s important. So you’re always promoting a previous episode in the next episode and every show. And then I like this idea of what I call rolling out the welcome mat.

About Harry Duran

Harry Duran is the Founder of FullCast, which is a full-service, done-for-you podcast production and marketing consultancy. He helps high-performing entrepreneurs extend their reach via podcasting. Duran also empowers others to amplify their authority through the power of a podcast. As a speaker, he also challenges leaders to understand the importance of finding their unique voice.

Resources

• Podcast Pitch Checklist
• Podcast Pitch Academy
• Complimentary Business Consult
• Health Coach Nation: Marketing, Business, & Mindset for Health Coaches

You can find Harry on his website here.

Find Harry on Social Media: Facebook