Episode 93
Podcasting without social media with Amelia Hruby
How would you promote your podcast without social media?
In fact, if we think more broadly about this; how would you promote your personal brand or business without social media?
This might leave you scratching your head. We have become so used to relying on social media to help promote ourselves and it feels hard to get off the train..
But as we all know, we don’t “own” these platforms. Well, unless you're Mark Zuckerberg or Elon Musk perhaps. But if you’re a normal person, you’re playing to the algorithm. You’re doing what you’re told to do, and you’re probably seeing decent enough results.
Or maybe you’re not.
It depends on how you define “results.
If you weren’t seeing results, you’d get off social media right?
Well, that sounds good in theory, but it doesn’t happen as often as we might like.
As podcasters, social media has been found to be quite an effective tool. A recent study done by Edison Research found that 76% of Gen Z say they discover podcasts through clips on social media.
So if we don’t use social media, how do we promote our podcasts?
I recently had the pleasure of chatting with the supremely talented Amelia Hruby.
Amelia is the founder and executive producer at Softer Sounds, a feminist podcast studio based in the USA. Her background stretches into academia, community organising, and broadcasting. And Amelia is an advocate for getting off social media.
Her podcast, "Off The Grid," explores the theme of leaving social media while still maintaining an online presence, offering a refreshing take on digital wellness and creative marketing strategies. If you’re intrigued by this notion, I encourage you to go and give this show a listen. Her voice is also an absolute dream to listen to.
Podcasting is not just about sharing stories; it's about cultivating connections, sparking conversations, and embracing the beauty of human expression. Amelia's journey exemplifies the transformative power of creativity, resilience, and passion in the world of podcasting.
WHERE TO FIND AMELIA:
Free Leaving Social Media Toolkit
BAMBY MEDIA LINKS:
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Aputure Amaran 200d LED Video Light
Pre-Amp/Mixers we recommend
Transcript
Today we are chatting to Amelia
Speaker:Hruby, who is kind of like a U.
Speaker:S.
Speaker:me.
Speaker:Like she has a company very
Speaker:similar to ours, based in the USA.
Speaker:And I really wanted to chat to her
Speaker:because she is a different character.
Speaker:Amelia has a podcast studio called Softer
Speaker:Sounds, which I just, I love already.
Speaker:Her voice, by the way, is
Speaker:beautiful to listen to.
Speaker:She has a podcast of her own.
Speaker:She's also a writer, educator,
Speaker:and has a PhD in philosophy.
Speaker:Over the past decade, she's
Speaker:been a university professor, a
Speaker:community organizer, a radio DJ.
Speaker:Now she is the founder and
Speaker:executive producer at Softer Sounds.
Speaker:a feminist podcast studio
Speaker:that supports women and non
Speaker:binary small business owners.
Speaker:She's also the host of
Speaker:the Off The Grid podcast.
Speaker:This podcast has such a quirky, cool,
Speaker:fun theme song as well, which was kind
Speaker:of what drew me to it in the first place.
Speaker:I just thought it was really cool.
Speaker:I hadn't heard anything like that
Speaker:and it was made for her show, which
Speaker:I'm all for having something that's
Speaker:really branded and just for you.
Speaker:The thing that really sets
Speaker:Amelia apart is she's building
Speaker:her business off social media.
Speaker:She used to have Instagram and all
Speaker:the things, and now she doesn't.
Speaker:And I wanted to chat to her a little
Speaker:bit about that, you know, talking about
Speaker:how you can still build without having
Speaker:a social media following, how you
Speaker:can still connect with your audience.
Speaker:Podcasting Obviously is
Speaker:a great way to do that.
Speaker:And so we do touch on that social media
Speaker:element, but more broadly, we're talking
Speaker:about podcasting and the world of it.
Speaker:And I think that you'll really
Speaker:enjoy this episode because she
Speaker:has a wealth of knowledge because
Speaker:she's been doing it a while and
Speaker:because she's an industry expert.
Speaker:So someone just like me in a
Speaker:different country, we talk a lot
Speaker:about the industry and I hope
Speaker:that you enjoy the conversation.
Speaker:Let's get Amelia on.
Speaker:Amelia, thanks so much
Speaker:for being here today.
Speaker:I have a question for
Speaker:you right off the bat.
Speaker:You have such a beautiful voice.
Speaker:So I've been listening to you now for a
Speaker:while since we first connected, uh, and I
Speaker:knew I was going to have you on my show.
Speaker:I've been listening to your content and
Speaker:have just been been in love with how
Speaker:good you sound, you just sound nice.
Speaker:You've got a really nice tone.
Speaker:What's your background
Speaker:from that point of view?
Speaker:Like, are you a singer or did you do
Speaker:theater or tell me a bit about that.
Speaker:Well, I received that compliment
Speaker:and appreciate it fully.
Speaker:And I have no vocal background
Speaker:other than being a human who talks
Speaker:so I did not sing growing up I was
Speaker:never in theater, but I did come to
Speaker:podcasting through community radio.
Speaker:So I was on the mic at the radio
Speaker:station and I definitely picked up
Speaker:some of the radio voice cadence.
Speaker:It was not a commercial station.
Speaker:It was not in the US like
Speaker:an NPR public radio station.
Speaker:It was just a nice little like group of
Speaker:Chicago folks who loved music, but I had
Speaker:an on air show every Tuesday morning for
Speaker:two years before I moved into podcasting.
Speaker:And I think I just got comfortable
Speaker:on the mic, which is such a big step
Speaker:that people underestimate being able
Speaker:to speak comfortably and confidently.
Speaker:Like it's such a skill.
Speaker:It absolutely is.
Speaker:And I think that was one of the
Speaker:things that first drew me to,
Speaker:cause I don't have a lot of people
Speaker:on the pump up your pod podcast.
Speaker:It's mostly a show about.
Speaker:Um, helping podcasters be better at their
Speaker:craft and tips and all that sort of jazz.
Speaker:But when I came to you, I just felt
Speaker:like you knew what you were doing.
Speaker:And I think that that is something
Speaker:that is going to be really
Speaker:valuable in this conversation.
Speaker:So yeah, I just wanted to give you
Speaker:props for having a beautiful voice
Speaker:that you know how to control and just
Speaker:for context as well for people, what
Speaker:are you using to record with there?
Speaker:And I would.
Speaker:What microphone is that?
Speaker:And you have, it's an XLR.
Speaker:What is it plugged into?
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:So I have a Shure SM58 mic,
Speaker:which is a vocal performance mic.
Speaker:So that's going to be the one you
Speaker:see like at concerts is this mic.
Speaker:And then I have it plugged
Speaker:into a Zoom H5 recorder.
Speaker:That's acting as the audio interface.
Speaker:And that's just plugged right into
Speaker:my computer for the recording.
Speaker:So I actually got this kit because
Speaker:I, my first podcast after the radio
Speaker:station was doing field interviews.
Speaker:I was traveling around the
Speaker:U S interviewing feminist
Speaker:activists and artists.
Speaker:And so I needed an audio kit
Speaker:that was super portable, and that
Speaker:I could really like transport
Speaker:and set up in any environment.
Speaker:I did interviews on picnic
Speaker:tables, in random offices,
Speaker:I did one in somebody's car.
Speaker:So that's kind of how
Speaker:I landed on this setup.
Speaker:And then I've just stuck with it
Speaker:even as I've moved to primarily
Speaker:recording in my home office now.
Speaker:I
Speaker:love that because the Shure SM58 is
Speaker:probably the most It's a podcast used
Speaker:microphone from a live perspective.
Speaker:It is a really sturdy mic.
Speaker:It's inexpensive.
Speaker:You've got like a nice extra kind of
Speaker:pop filter on top, like a nice foam
Speaker:thing for people that are only listening
Speaker:to the podcast, but you can hear how.
Speaker:Clear Amelia is she's right close
Speaker:to the microphone and I'll put links
Speaker:to those things so that you know
Speaker:What we mean by the zoom h5 as well.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Okay, great All right, so that's good
Speaker:to know how to achieve the Amelia sound
Speaker:I want to talk to you today about your
Speaker:show off the grid which you launched
Speaker:on the 3rd of March 2022 so it's not
Speaker:a super old show Why did you decide
Speaker:to launch that show at that time?
Speaker:Off the Grid is a show about leaving
Speaker:social media without losing all
Speaker:your clients, as I like to say.
Speaker:But it's a show for artists, business
Speaker:owners, creative people who want
Speaker:to step back or away from social
Speaker:media and still share their work
Speaker:and still grow an audience online.
Speaker:So that's the work I'm invested in.
Speaker:And I launched the show Just about
Speaker:a year after I left social media,
Speaker:so I had a whole decade long journey
Speaker:growing an Instagram platform
Speaker:working as a micro influencer.
Speaker:I got a book deal, I sold a
Speaker:book, and by the end of those
Speaker:10 years, I was really burnt out
Speaker:on sharing my work on Instagram.
Speaker:I was really frustrated by the
Speaker:algorithm, and I decided to step back.
Speaker:away entirely.
Speaker:So I archived my accounts.
Speaker:And a few months later, I launched
Speaker:softer sounds, which is my podcast
Speaker:studio that I now run full time.
Speaker:And in that process, people
Speaker:just kept asking me, how
Speaker:did you leave social media?
Speaker:Like, how did you do it?
Speaker:Like I, Always joke that between summer
Speaker:2020 and summer 2021, I finished my PhD,
Speaker:I moved states, I got married, I adopted
Speaker:dogs, I did all these huge life events.
Speaker:And the only thing people wanted to
Speaker:know about was how I left social media.
Speaker:Like it was the one thing they couldn't.
Speaker:Imagine.
Speaker:So I launched off the grid
Speaker:because people just kept asking.
Speaker:And having been off social for about
Speaker:a year at that point, I felt like I
Speaker:really had some things to say about why
Speaker:I left and how I left and the success
Speaker:I was finding on the other side of it.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:And it's so powerful because
Speaker:social media is so ingrained.
Speaker:Now, and everyone uses it and everyone
Speaker:is on it all the time and it's so
Speaker:frustrating to have to do it, you know,
Speaker:so for us, well, for me personally, I
Speaker:didn't get on Instagram or any social
Speaker:media really until clients requested
Speaker:that I do so probably three years ago,
Speaker:I think maybe now, and that was a huge
Speaker:deal for me because probably like you,
Speaker:it just felt like I don't need this.
Speaker:You know, this is an extra
Speaker:thing I have to manage.
Speaker:And then from there it's like LinkedIn
Speaker:and it's all these other platforms and
Speaker:TikTok, and there's always a new thing
Speaker:and Facebook and all the things, right?
Speaker:And when you think about traditionally,
Speaker:we didn't always have these tools
Speaker:and people still had very big,
Speaker:businesses that they would perfectly
Speaker:find it running without social media.
Speaker:So I think your podcast is really
Speaker:interesting because it is making people
Speaker:think about the way they consume and the
Speaker:way they spread their work in a really
Speaker:different way to what we are told.
Speaker:At this stage, so if that kind of
Speaker:thing interests you as a listener, as
Speaker:a watcher, I would definitely recommend
Speaker:going and checking out Amelia's podcast,
Speaker:because it's just refreshing from here.
Speaker:I then want to know, how do you
Speaker:think you have changed or your
Speaker:business, probably both since
Speaker:starting the off the grid podcast?
Speaker:Wow.
Speaker:I mean, so much has
Speaker:changed since it began.
Speaker:A big shift that I have seen both
Speaker:personally and professionally is
Speaker:that when I left social media, I
Speaker:was really prepared to, like, be
Speaker:forgotten by everyone and have to
Speaker:fight so hard to ever find clients.
Speaker:Like, I had all these stories in my
Speaker:head that without social media, no
Speaker:one would ever find me and it would
Speaker:be really hard to attract new clients.
Speaker:And, uh, Those were all false.
Speaker:It wasn't actually true for me at all.
Speaker:But I think that it's been really
Speaker:interesting to see that off the grid
Speaker:has by far been the most successful
Speaker:creative project that I've launched.
Speaker:It's like my fourth podcast.
Speaker:It's the most successful of those.
Speaker:It's more successful than my book.
Speaker:It's more successful than anything
Speaker:I was selling or teaching when
Speaker:I was still on social media.
Speaker:And I think a lot of that comes from
Speaker:really stepping Off the beaten path
Speaker:and into, like, my own lane, as I
Speaker:like to think of it, doing something
Speaker:people don't think you can do, and
Speaker:showing that you can do it, and then
Speaker:laying out those, like, narratives
Speaker:that were going through my mind
Speaker:and unpacking how they were untrue.
Speaker:And also doing that in a really
Speaker:practical way, like I don't bring
Speaker:a lot of magical thinking you can
Speaker:manifest anything vibe to this.
Speaker:I try to be really gently tough
Speaker:on all of us in some ways, like,
Speaker:like I always say on the podcast.
Speaker:You don't have to be on social media,
Speaker:but you do have to market your work.
Speaker:It doesn't get you out of marketing.
Speaker:When I left social media, I had to
Speaker:shut down the business I had and start
Speaker:a totally new one that worked better.
Speaker:You know, I was running like a
Speaker:small courses and products company.
Speaker:I was making a few thousand
Speaker:dollars a year doing it.
Speaker:And I was like, this will not
Speaker:survive off of social media.
Speaker:There's no way.
Speaker:And so I launched a
Speaker:B2B services business.
Speaker:And now It's thriving, like it provides
Speaker:my full time income and takes care
Speaker:of me and my family and my tiny
Speaker:little team and it's fantastic, but
Speaker:I think to get back to your question,
Speaker:like what I really noticed that has
Speaker:changed is so many stories within
Speaker:myself about what's possible for me.
Speaker:So much more self trust that I have now.
Speaker:I find that social media
Speaker:just eroded my self trust.
Speaker:I thought I had to see what 20 other
Speaker:people were doing anytime I wanted
Speaker:to do anything and now I just do
Speaker:what I want to do and it's fine.
Speaker:Those things together, like more
Speaker:possibility and more self trust
Speaker:have just made my work so much
Speaker:better and so much more magnetic.
Speaker:Like people are so much more interested
Speaker:in what I'm doing, I think, because
Speaker:they can sense that I really believe
Speaker:in possibility, and I work toward it,
Speaker:and I give myself permission to do
Speaker:and have the things that I desire.
Speaker:And that's really what draws
Speaker:people in to the podcast, to
Speaker:the business, and toward me.
Speaker:And as such, I have had no trouble
Speaker:finding clients or growing an audience
Speaker:or doing any of those things I
Speaker:struggled with so much before I left
Speaker:social media and launched off the
Speaker:grid.
Speaker:This is a very powerful point
Speaker:for people to take away.
Speaker:In the podcasting space, there
Speaker:is a degree of creativity that
Speaker:you need, I think, to actually
Speaker:be successful in this space.
Speaker:You can't just spout the same thing
Speaker:that everyone else talks about.
Speaker:It has to have your creative flair in
Speaker:it to really land with the audience
Speaker:that you're trying to attract.
Speaker:And what Amelia has said there really
Speaker:rings true to that because When has
Speaker:she stepped away from the comparisons
Speaker:that she's seen on social media, the
Speaker:shoulds, stuff that happens when you're
Speaker:looking and consuming content, and
Speaker:also the time suck that it creates.
Speaker:When you step away from all of
Speaker:that, And you, let's say you don't
Speaker:completely get off social media, but
Speaker:you limit yourself to 30 minutes a day.
Speaker:How much stuff will you get
Speaker:done with all that extra time?
Speaker:And for creativity to flow, you
Speaker:need to be able to give yourself
Speaker:space for that creativity to flow.
Speaker:Just sit with that for a minute,
Speaker:listeners, people watching.
Speaker:Do you allow yourself time and
Speaker:space to think creatively about
Speaker:the pursuit of podcasting to get
Speaker:a better result for yourself and
Speaker:for those you're trying to reach?
Speaker:From a content perspective then,
Speaker:for you, how do you decide what
Speaker:episodes you actually want to release?
Speaker:Like, do you do research into that?
Speaker:Are you on a whim?
Speaker:Do you pre plan?
Speaker:Are you batching content?
Speaker:Where does your Ideation come from?
Speaker:I collect ideas all the time.
Speaker:I am always keeping my
Speaker:list of random thoughts.
Speaker:I have a very long running list.
Speaker:I am a notion user.
Speaker:So I have a whole
Speaker:dashboard for my podcast.
Speaker:I have a whole section of that dashboard.
Speaker:That's just for ideas.
Speaker:And that's where I put, you know,
Speaker:people I see online that maybe I want
Speaker:to talk to and links to their work.
Speaker:I put ideas of my own that I have.
Speaker:I also put questions
Speaker:from listeners there.
Speaker:And I really do try to stay in touch
Speaker:with what my listeners are asking me.
Speaker:I try to be really, really responsive
Speaker:because I do believe the show stems
Speaker:from like my creative spark and
Speaker:I am Shepherding and guiding the
Speaker:show, but it's also not about me.
Speaker:The end of the day, the show
Speaker:is of service to the community
Speaker:that listens to and supports it.
Speaker:And so I pay a lot of attention to
Speaker:the episodes they like the most, the
Speaker:responses I get to emails, the voice
Speaker:messages I get from listeners, and
Speaker:also like my friends who listen, I
Speaker:pay attention to like, what are the
Speaker:episodes that get them to actually
Speaker:text me and be like, I need to
Speaker:talk to you about this, right?
Speaker:And so I can go deeper
Speaker:in those directions.
Speaker:All of that is happening.
Speaker:I'm just like collecting
Speaker:this very long list of ideas.
Speaker:And then I kind of shape
Speaker:the season as I go.
Speaker:So generally, I do batch, but
Speaker:I batch in like three or four
Speaker:episodes, like small, small.
Speaker:chunks of episodes.
Speaker:So when I go to launch a season, I
Speaker:generally have three to five episodes
Speaker:completed, and they are ready
Speaker:scheduled to go out with the launch.
Speaker:And then I'm kind of paying
Speaker:attention to the feedback I'm
Speaker:getting those first couple weeks.
Speaker:And then I plan the next
Speaker:batch of four to six episodes.
Speaker:I also Like to do interviews, because my
Speaker:voice is not the only important one on
Speaker:this topic, especially lots of people,
Speaker:especially now are leaving social media.
Speaker:And I just provide so much
Speaker:marketing advice on the show.
Speaker:I'm not an expert in
Speaker:every marketing channel.
Speaker:So I need other people to
Speaker:come tell me what they know.
Speaker:So I tend to plan those interviews
Speaker:in advance, invite people on and then
Speaker:kind of schedule them to like the
Speaker:actual episode to go live depending
Speaker:on the other content I produce.
Speaker:I record the interviews
Speaker:as people schedule them.
Speaker:But for solo episodes, I tend to
Speaker:also batch record those like I
Speaker:will kind of have a topic idea.
Speaker:I will sit with it for days or weeks,
Speaker:even like letting it kind of digest
Speaker:and then I'll write an outline.
Speaker:And then I get on the mic and I record,
Speaker:sometimes I'll record the same episode
Speaker:two or three times, I have a really
Speaker:high standard of quality for myself.
Speaker:And I can always tell if it doesn't
Speaker:flow, it's not going to be good.
Speaker:Like if I can't, if I'm stopping and
Speaker:starting too much, if I don't get
Speaker:excited, if I'm not like laughing
Speaker:at myself, which I do all the time
Speaker:on the podcast, it's been pointed
Speaker:out to me, I laugh at myself a lot.
Speaker:If I'm not feeling that Energy while
Speaker:I'm recording, that means the listeners
Speaker:aren't going to feel it either.
Speaker:So if I do a whole recording and
Speaker:it like falls flat, I'll redo it.
Speaker:I'll scrap the episode.
Speaker:I also listen back to all
Speaker:of my solo episodes at least
Speaker:twice before they go live.
Speaker:And I recut and I adjust
Speaker:with the interviews.
Speaker:I have somebody on my team, edit them.
Speaker:And then I listen and recut as needed.
Speaker:Like it's a really involved process.
Speaker:Which I guess I've never explained
Speaker:anywhere until this moment right here.
Speaker:But I think that that's
Speaker:been a shift as well.
Speaker:Like in season one, when I was just
Speaker:getting started, I was like recording,
Speaker:releasing, it was very loose.
Speaker:I was just letting it live.
Speaker:But now that the listener base
Speaker:has grown, I feel like my finger
Speaker:is much closer to the pulse.
Speaker:And I'm always trying
Speaker:to elevate my craft.
Speaker:And I'm always trying to get
Speaker:better and sound better and
Speaker:serve the listeners better.
Speaker:It's
Speaker:like you feel More responsible.
Speaker:I think when it gets a little bit
Speaker:bigger, you just feel like you've
Speaker:got more people listening and you
Speaker:want to make sure that it's landing.
Speaker:Not that you shouldn't always have a
Speaker:high standard for yourself, but certainly
Speaker:in the first season of anything or the
Speaker:first, let's say, you know, 50 episodes
Speaker:or 40 episodes, you kind of still
Speaker:finding your feet a little bit too.
Speaker:And I think it's fine.
Speaker:Like it's good to still
Speaker:be figuring it out.
Speaker:If you're not figuring it
Speaker:out, then what are you doing?
Speaker:So I definitely agree with that.
Speaker:I also really liked that point
Speaker:where you're talking about how you
Speaker:listen back to what you've done.
Speaker:And in fact, I have a podcast
Speaker:episode coming out next week,
Speaker:which will be launched by the
Speaker:time we have this conversation,
Speaker:where I say that specifically.
Speaker:Where, especially if you're editing
Speaker:your own stuff, like if you're a DIY
Speaker:podcaster, and it's not something
Speaker:that you're great at, perhaps even,
Speaker:a lot of the time DIY podcasters
Speaker:get too involved in cutting out
Speaker:the ums and the awkwardness and the
Speaker:little things, but they're not going
Speaker:big picture on, is this boring?
Speaker:Am I enjoying listening to this?
Speaker:And if I'm not, why would someone
Speaker:else be enjoying listening?
Speaker:Like I delivered the content.
Speaker:So editing, going back and
Speaker:listening to your work is so
Speaker:important for creative growth.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:I think so many people get stuck at that.
Speaker:Like, I don't want to listen to
Speaker:myself or like, they get that sort
Speaker:of creeping feeling up their spine
Speaker:when they listen to their own voice.
Speaker:But I'm a big believer that it's really
Speaker:important to sit with and then kind
Speaker:of process and push through that.
Speaker:It's okay to recognize it.
Speaker:It happens to everyone, but you
Speaker:can learn to love your voice.
Speaker:And I think if you want to be
Speaker:a successful podcaster, you
Speaker:should because you're right.
Speaker:You should be listening to yourself.
Speaker:It's doesn't feel like work
Speaker:to listen back to the show.
Speaker:You know, I edit the episodes,
Speaker:most of them myself, and then
Speaker:I just put it on my phone.
Speaker:I go for a walk and I listen.
Speaker:And I noticed like, where did I zone out?
Speaker:Where did I stop?
Speaker:Yeah, all those things.
Speaker:Where did I zone out
Speaker:from what I was saying?
Speaker:Did I re engage myself fast enough with
Speaker:a joke or a change of topic or something?
Speaker:Like, that's how I get better.
Speaker:That's how I improve.
Speaker:And I think the episodes
Speaker:are so much better.
Speaker:We just crossed 50 episodes of
Speaker:Off the Grid, and they're way
Speaker:better than the first episode.
Speaker:But even from episode one, I
Speaker:was very focused on what are
Speaker:the takeaways for the listener?
Speaker:And how can I be really clear?
Speaker:And that actually comes from
Speaker:my background in teaching.
Speaker:I taught at a university for five years.
Speaker:And so I'm really accustomed to this
Speaker:teaching and public speaking skill,
Speaker:where what you do is you tell everybody
Speaker:what you're going to tell them, you
Speaker:tell it to them, and then you recap it.
Speaker:It works so well in podcasting and
Speaker:so Many podcasters don't do it, and
Speaker:we should all be doing it, everyone.
Speaker:I'm sorry.
Speaker:Everyone should be doing that on their
Speaker:podcast, unless it's a fiction show.
Speaker:That's a separate thing.
Speaker:But like, if you're just chatting,
Speaker:or you're on a solo episode,
Speaker:you should be doing that.
Speaker:Tell it, say it, recap it.
Speaker:So
Speaker:good.
Speaker:And I completely agree.
Speaker:Okay, so shifting gears then
Speaker:now, what aspects of your
Speaker:podcast do you not enjoy doing?
Speaker:This is a great question.
Speaker:When it comes to my own show, I kind
Speaker:of like most of them, all of them.
Speaker:I don't love promoting episodes.
Speaker:I don't like making promotional graphics.
Speaker:And a great part of not being on
Speaker:social media is I don't have to.
Speaker:They don't go anywhere, so
Speaker:I don't make them anymore.
Speaker:I do make a little tile for guests on
Speaker:guest episodes if they want to share
Speaker:it, but it's been a real relief to
Speaker:like release that from the process.
Speaker:We do it for clients at the studio,
Speaker:but I don't do it for my own show.
Speaker:I share the show through email,
Speaker:and then it's grown through word of
Speaker:mouth and through mentions by people
Speaker:with much bigger followings than me.
Speaker:So that's probably my least
Speaker:favorite part, but I really love
Speaker:everything from the idea phase
Speaker:through the publishing stage.
Speaker:Some of the promotional stuff,
Speaker:maybe not so much, but I also love
Speaker:what like talking to listeners and
Speaker:like when they circle back and they
Speaker:find it and they land in my inbox.
Speaker:I love that piece as well.
Speaker:If we're talking about what I don't
Speaker:like doing for clients, the list
Speaker:is much longer, but that's that's
Speaker:separate than my own personal show.
Speaker:Well, that's
Speaker:really good, actually.
Speaker:Like What you've done there is you've
Speaker:kind of minimized what you don't like
Speaker:anyway from the podcast to just focus on
Speaker:all the things that you do enjoy doing.
Speaker:And I guess maybe the takeaway
Speaker:there for people who are on social
Speaker:media who do have podcasts and do
Speaker:need to promote and all the things.
Speaker:But don't like doing aspects of
Speaker:your show, no matter what it is.
Speaker:Editing, promoting,
Speaker:doing graphics, whatever.
Speaker:Outsource it, as soon as you physically
Speaker:can, because when you outsource,
Speaker:that will like, allow you to get a
Speaker:bit of that creative freedom back,
Speaker:because you're not thinking about
Speaker:the stuff that you hate doing.
Speaker:And then doing it because you
Speaker:know, you have to, if you don't
Speaker:have the budget to outsource, you
Speaker:can get support in other ways.
Speaker:Like support can be a step between
Speaker:doing it yourself and outsourcing.
Speaker:What I mean by that is like
Speaker:getting an accountability buddy.
Speaker:hiring someone just to do your
Speaker:content planning with you if you can't
Speaker:afford for them to take over way more
Speaker:of the process, you know, finding
Speaker:someone who will make those graphics,
Speaker:if that's your sticking point, or
Speaker:setting a time where you and your
Speaker:best podcaster friend are going to
Speaker:make graphics together every month.
Speaker:Like, I work with a lot of people
Speaker:who are more like DIY wires and just
Speaker:getting started and don't quite have
Speaker:the budget for full outsourcing.
Speaker:And I think There are just so
Speaker:many ways to be creative and how
Speaker:you bring in support as well.
Speaker:And that's what's going to
Speaker:help your show keep growing so
Speaker:you can afford to outsource.
Speaker:Yeah, you've got to have
Speaker:something that's holding you
Speaker:accountable to keep going for sure.
Speaker:What about this conversation around
Speaker:video podcasting versus audio podcasting?
Speaker:Where do you sit on that fence?
Speaker:Where are you at with it?
Speaker:I'd love to know.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:So I am an audio podcaster, for sure.
Speaker:For season one of Off the Grid,
Speaker:it is all on video as well.
Speaker:I was like, really riding a wave.
Speaker:And I just did one take
Speaker:of all the episodes.
Speaker:And those one takes went
Speaker:live, which was kind of wild.
Speaker:They're actually very good.
Speaker:But now I need a little more time
Speaker:to like, pause and think about it.
Speaker:As I record, I think I talk about
Speaker:some more complex things now.
Speaker:But I love when other people
Speaker:make video podcasts, but I just
Speaker:video editing is not for me.
Speaker:It is truly.
Speaker:I have no interest in it.
Speaker:It's possible that we'll bring somebody
Speaker:on at the studio to start doing that work
Speaker:for other people, but I will never be
Speaker:video editing video podcasting myself.
Speaker:Well, I certainly cheer on other
Speaker:people going down that path.
Speaker:Yes,
Speaker:good.
Speaker:And keeping to the zone that you enjoy,
Speaker:I think, is the main point there as well.
Speaker:It's fine to want to do all the things,
Speaker:but then you've got to think about, well,
Speaker:how am I going to do all the things?
Speaker:Do I even want to do all the things?
Speaker:And why did I get into
Speaker:podcasting in the first place?
Speaker:Was it to be on video?
Speaker:Probably not.
Speaker:It was probably to enjoy
Speaker:the audio experience.
Speaker:I like the mystery that the
Speaker:audio experience provides.
Speaker:So you don't know what
Speaker:they look like necessarily.
Speaker:You don't know where they are.
Speaker:You don't know anything.
Speaker:And it allows you to just go into
Speaker:your own little world and imagine it's
Speaker:kind of like reading a book in the
Speaker:same way that you can just imagine.
Speaker:So audio for me will
Speaker:always be my first love.
Speaker:Video just feels like it's.
Speaker:Necessary, I think, in a lot of
Speaker:ways at this point, depending on
Speaker:the audience you're trying to reach.
Speaker:Your top three favorite podcasts
Speaker:that you listen to at the moment,
Speaker:lay them on me.
Speaker:Yes.
Speaker:So I'm really into the BBC's
Speaker:podcast, Witch, which came out this
Speaker:year about the history of witches.
Speaker:I have just started it for spooky
Speaker:season in October and loved that one.
Speaker:Love the podcast Normal Gossip,
Speaker:which is a show about gossip, like
Speaker:the random stories we like soak
Speaker:up and eat up in our daily lives.
Speaker:Like that weird thing your neighbor's
Speaker:doing that you've never figured out, but
Speaker:like, you need to tell somebody about it.
Speaker:Like, they really bring that through
Speaker:and I love the stories they tell.
Speaker:I'm always behind.
Speaker:I like savor the episodes
Speaker:like a treat for me.
Speaker:It's like a podcast dessert.
Speaker:I love it so much.
Speaker:And then We just wrapped production on
Speaker:a new show the studio has been working
Speaker:on called glow in the dark, which is
Speaker:hosted by a serious XM host Tracy G.
Speaker:And it's just really great
Speaker:conversations about wellness about
Speaker:spirituality about friendship hosted
Speaker:by Tracy and her best friend Girdley.
Speaker:And it's just like kind of from this
Speaker:perspective of being like badass
Speaker:black women who live in New York.
Speaker:And I really enjoyed
Speaker:working on that show.
Speaker:So that's another one that's
Speaker:been like top of mind recently.
Speaker:Oh, okay.
Speaker:I'm going to put all these ones in
Speaker:the show notes and on our website and
Speaker:everything so that you can go and listen
Speaker:to those if they sound good to you.
Speaker:Normal gossip to me sounds really fun.
Speaker:And I love the spooky stuff as well.
Speaker:Yeah, they're both those are both shows
Speaker:I listen to and like, I learned from
Speaker:their craft, you know, like sometimes
Speaker:it's hard to find time to listen to
Speaker:podcasts when I'm producing and editing
Speaker:so much, but I really try to make
Speaker:time to hear other shows because I
Speaker:can't get better if I'm not learning
Speaker:from what other people are doing.
Speaker:So valuable.
Speaker:That's so true.
Speaker:That's so good.
Speaker:I really enjoyed this
Speaker:conversation, Amelia.
Speaker:I think that you are just a joy,
Speaker:really, as far as when I listen to what
Speaker:you're providing, the fact that you're
Speaker:doing it in a non conventional way at
Speaker:this point, I just think it's great.
Speaker:And I look forward to
Speaker:seeing where you go next.
Speaker:I am a subscriber to the, certainly
Speaker:to the show, a follower of the show.
Speaker:And if this has been a good
Speaker:conversation for you to listen to.
Speaker:Please go and check out Amelia as
Speaker:well and just be with me on the
Speaker:fact that her voice is so beautiful.
Speaker:You could probably just do
Speaker:the ABCs on every episode.
Speaker:Just say ABCDFG and just really nicely
Speaker:ASMR style and I would just love it.
Speaker:You don't even have to do anything else.
Speaker:That's very sweet.
Speaker:I have considered my next
Speaker:career maybe will be in ASMR.
Speaker:These are thoughts I've had.
Speaker:Just whispering.
Speaker:Exactly.
Speaker:It's great.
Speaker:Thanks so much for joining us.
Speaker:And yeah, that's
Speaker:it.
Speaker:Thanks for having me.
