Scale Up Strategies: The Business Podcast for Coaches, Consultants, and Speakers
We're your hosts and Business Coaching experts Mary Fain Brandt and Laura Bashore
We’re sharing all our mistakes and insider tips from our 20+ years in business and
how we successfully scaled up our businesses without losing our minds or our husbands.
Sure you can piece it together and try to DIY your way to success
OR
you can listen to us every week and learn the shortcuts because we promise there
are some.
Scale Up Strategies: The Business Podcast for Coaches, Consultants, and Speakers
Launch and Grow Your Podcast with Special Guest Matthew Blades
Ever wondered how a to start your own podcast? Wondering if you have something of value to share? So did our guest, Matthew Blades, once at the pinnacle of a 27-year broadcasting career, he shares his personal journey of resilience and transformation.
Matthew's story unfolds into the creation of "Learn from People Who Lived It," a strong support network for those seeking growth and connection. Through our conversation, we highlight LinkedIn's unexpected role in forming meaningful relationships, including the serendipitous way we connected with Matthew.
Then we dive in to what you want to hear! How do we start a great podcast?
Transitioning from traditional careers to podcasting isn't just a job change—it's a personal evolution. We dig into the challenges that come with such a shift, sharing our own experiences of confronting fears and embracing the unknown. The conversation underscores the importance of adaptability and authenticity, reminding us that the path to success often demands letting go of perfection and embracing vulnerability.
Launching a podcast is more than just hitting record; it's about finding your voice and crafting compelling narratives. We share insights into overcoming voice insecurity and the art of engaging content delivery, offering practical advice for aspiring podcasters. From leveraging guest appearances to building community connections, we highlight strategies for growth that go beyond numbers. Through Matthew's journey and our shared experiences, we redefine podcast success as establishing authority and connection, rather than just amassing listeners. Tune in for a wealth of stories and insights meant to inspire and empower your entrepreneurial journey.
Connect with Guest Mathew Blades:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mathewblades
Podcast and more: https://bio.site/mathewblades
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Connect with Laura and Mary on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauraobashore/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/maryfainbrandt/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/scale-up-strategies-the-business-growth-podcast
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You're listening to Scale Up Strategies, the business growth podcast for coaches, consultants and speakers. We're your hosts and business coach experts Mary Fan Grant and Laura Bay Shore.
Laura Bashore:We're sharing all our insider tips from 20 plus years in business, including how we successfully scaled our businesses without losing our minds or our husbands.
Mary Fain Brandt:Sure, you can piece it together and try to DIY your way to success. Or you can listen to us every week and learn the shortcuts, because we promise they're really awesome.
Laura Bashore:So grab your favorite cup of coffee, tune in and let's start the show.
Mary Fain Brandt:Hey guys, can you feel it? Tune in and let's start the show. Hey guys, can you feel it? Fall is in the air. The other morning, I had my coffee on my patio. If you're asking or wondering why that's a big deal, is because I'm in Arizona and we've had over 60 days of a hundred degree weather, so getting a little break and be able to enjoy our beautiful patio is amazing. Although, laura, I couldn't do that this morning because I did a virtual presentation on LinkedIn for a new chamber, the Southwest Valley Chamber of Commerce here, and I know that you're heavily involved in chambers in San Diego.
Laura Bashore:Yes, yes, I'm on the board of directors for the North San Diego business chamber out here and you know we did. We hosted an outdoor event called RV Alive last week and thankfully we had just gotten a break in the weather here, so I wasn't just beat down by sun on my Sunday out there for like six hours, so that's nice, but it's been pretty hot in San Diego too, so I am actually looking forward to the fall, cause, like I don't pay what I pay for that kind of weather yeah.
Matthew Blades:Yeah.
Mary Fain Brandt:And over here we have Matthew blades. So, matthew, welcome to the show. I'm going to go ahead and read your bio because it's so interesting, and then I'll have you just kind of fill in anything that I might have missed. So Matthew and I connected on LinkedIn plug, our favorite platform. Laura and I love LinkedIn. It's magical, you guys, and there's several episodes. You know what, laura? Let's link back to our LinkedIn episode on this one.
Mary Fain Brandt:Okay, yes, ma'am We'll put that in the show notes. So for 27 years Matthew Blades entertained audiences in the broadcast industry. So, basically, he was on radio. You guys, he's an award-winning radio host and he cares deeply about people and nurturing the success of those around him. And it was through a relentless deep within nod. And it was through relentless deep within nod at though a relentless deep within nod at his core to do something more. And working hard didn't help him feel better. Um, I don't think working hard ever makes anybody feel better. It just adds to our anxiety and stress. So Matthew went a little deeper, into the hard places that fueled the emotional pain. And through that Matthew Blades emotional training, ideation and personal experience, I want to say that you launched or birthed this community. Learn from people who lived it. It's a show and a community that was born out of where you were at, matthew, and this really created that global digital outreach that engages the audience on a real, grounded and inspirational level. Boy, I was a little tongue-tied there, folks.
Matthew Blades:It's a lot of words. It's a lot of words.
Laura Bashore:I know, isn't that funny, like when we've been in these industries for so long. We're like, yes, yes, this all sounds so good, and then sometimes it's hard for people to read yeah, it's incredible to me sometimes basically, I used to do one thing.
Matthew Blades:I hit my rock bottom, I figured out why and I started doing new things. There you go.
Mary Fain Brandt:I love that true entrepreneurs yeah, you do new things to help others.
Matthew Blades:Yes, that's exclusively the plan now.
Mary Fain Brandt:I love it. I love it, and would we know the radio stations that you were on?
Matthew Blades:It would depend on where you live. I did a lot of local radio. I was lucky enough to be nationally syndicated twice in my career, but you know it would have been again if you were in that city you would know it, but if you weren't, not so much. I was never lucky enough to be on in California and I shouldn't say that I was never lucky enough to be on in San Diego. I was. I was on in Los Angeles for a long time, uh, but I I never. I never made it South to San Diego. But here in Phoenix I was on Mix 96.9 for about a dozen years. Before that I worked in Milwaukee. Before that I worked in Denver. Before that I worked in Washington DC and Kansas City and Erie, pennsylvania, and Midland, odessa, Texas, and Minneapolis, minnesota, and a couple of other places.
Mary Fain Brandt:So pretty much all over the United States.
Matthew Blades:All over the place, which was the greatest gig in the world. You know. You hear people in the military talk about this all the time. It's like they paid me to travel and I feel like my career did the same thing. I got paid to go see America and there's so much incredible learning that I just soaked in over the 28 years that I was in that career. Plus, I was lucky enough to work with the public daily, which was good and bad, and I was just able to soak in people, figure out people and really develop those interpersonal skills to become an effective communicator and, you know, ultimately be good at my, my career.
Laura Bashore:Well, yeah, I will say anyone who kind of pays attention to markets, those ones that you just shot off were some of the biggest radio media markets that you can be part of, so that kind of speaks to some of the expertise and what you're doing there. So I'll just point that out for those who are unaware. But I'd really like to know how then you had that more traditional broadcast background. How did you then transition and get started into being a podcast host?
Matthew Blades:Yeah. Well, there's a big story there and you kind of alluded to it, mary, in that bio about how I basically got to a place where that whole work harder thing that you guys were talking about just a second ago put me into a tailspin and I eventually ended up with physical symptoms like shingles and panic attacks and just a chronic back pain and all these other physical issues. And when the doctors did all the tests and came back in and told me I was physically fine, it was like, well, okay, then it's time probably to dive into the other areas of life spiritually, mentally. Let's check in with those health areas and see where we're at. So I ended up taking a deep dive into the spiritual and mental health and it was Saturday night.
Matthew Blades:I was in a retreat in Sedona and it came to me as clear as anything I've ever seen in my life before and it said you're going to walk away from your job on Monday and you're going to start a podcast and you're going to tell your story and because you do that, other people are going to want to tell their stories and then you're just going to build this catalog of podcasts where we have an opportunity to learn from people who've lived it, and the whole idea behind this is that you know, I'm not a doctor there's no letters after my name. I'm simply somebody who went to war and came out the other side and I feel like I learned something valuable enough to pass along to somebody else, and I would suggest that both you, mary, and both you, laura, probably have stories and moments in your life that you've overcome and because of that expertise, now you're better for the people that you work for, and that's exactly how I see this role that I'm in right now.
Mary Fain Brandt:Oh, that's, that's amazing. I can't Wow. That's it. That's a big aha moment there.
Matthew Blades:It was huge it was huge.
Laura Bashore:And you're married. Sorry, I was just gonna say having the ability to actually take action from that. A lot of us get these ideas, we get inspired, but the fact that you went through really plays into what you're talking about, is like live through it right, and that way you can kind of show through yourself how others can do that.
Matthew Blades:Yeah.
Laura Bashore:And Mary, I'm sorry I cut you off, that's okay.
Mary Fain Brandt:Well, I think you know. Just to piggyback on what you said, laura, I think a lot of us have these ideas and our fear holds us back. Right, we're like, oh, that's an idea, but can I do that? So you know, as business owners, we take those risks all the time, right, matthew?
Matthew Blades:And you just think about it, most people, I think their problem problem is my problem was I wanted to solve this Rubik's cube, but I wanted to do it my way and I wanted it to look the way I wanted it to. And I think in business and in our personal lives we must relinquish the control, we have to surrender to the process and and and I know those sound like fluffy words that people use nowadays but you really do have to detach from the way that you think it's going to happen or got to happen and you must get really creative about how you're going to execute it. And I'll give you just a brief explanation what I mean by that. I was right in the middle of my contract and, as you mentioned a minute ago, mary, I have a family and two kids, two teenage boys. One of them's getting ready to be in college next year, and so you can imagine, if you zoom out on that party, that me walking away from my career probably the timing of that was a little suspect, right, and I get that. But what I mean by this idea of we have to have it all the way that we want it was, you know.
Matthew Blades:I went to the people that I love and that love me, and I said I'm in a bad place and if we stay here I'm not sure I stick around, and so it's time to make some big changes in our lives. We sold our big house, we downsized, we sold our nice cars, we bought used models. We did a lot of things in our life so that I could make this transition. There was no way we could have made this transition if we had stayed in our home in Richmond Heights. There's no way I could have executed this dream. If we kept all the nice cars and the RV and all the travel that we did, there's no way we could have done it. I had to dismantle it. Look at it differently and thank God and I and it's not lost on me every day of my life how lucky I am to have my wife and kids, because they've never been anything but supportive in this adventure.
Mary Fain Brandt:I love that and I love that you're so vulnerable and authentic, sharing that it wasn't perfect and you had to make sacrifices because I think, a lot of time, you know as business owners and you see other people out there, you had to make sacrifices Cause, I think, a lot of time you know, as business owners and you see other people out there and you talk to other people and it just looks perfect, right, and they have everything. Well, we all know that's just some BS Can. If I can just say that you know, life isn't perfect. Owning a business isn't perfect. There are sacrifices, whether it's with resources, your time or downsizing. You know we left San Diego Sorry, we left San Diego because it was just. You know California and I love San Diego, you know that, but that buying a house there was unrealistic for us.
Laura Bashore:Sure.
Mary Fain Brandt:Where we wanted to live. That was never going to happen, so we made that decision, as you did, to move to Arizona, somewhere that I knew two people. I didn't know anybody when.
Matthew Blades:I moved here, so I get that.
Mary Fain Brandt:Right, and it was during COVID.
Mary Fain Brandt:So, yeah, we couldn't even meet people, but that's a whole other episode. So today, laura and I want to understand what it takes and this is ironic because we have our own podcast, but, like your, your role, your, your business is being a podcast coach. So you help people get started on a podcast, grow their podcasts, get it in front of the right audience. So I would love for you to you know what are the barriers. You know so anyone that's listening. You're thinking about doing a podcast. Podcasts are not going anywhere. It's one of the biggest markets right now. Laura found some stat. You posted it on LinkedIn today.
Matthew Blades:What's the, what's the stat you found? I'm curious.
Laura Bashore:Oh, um, this was okay. Hold on now. Yeah, go look for it. This is a podcast. This is the podcasting.
Matthew Blades:It's not a radio radio show. We're not going to lose people and have dead air if we don't look at something really quick.
Mary Fain Brandt:But laura did this great post today about our podcast, but, how you know, people are consuming.
Laura Bashore:Okay, I've got it, you got it go go, laura go so this is just from um, serious xm media and so on. Here is that audience are four times more likely to stay streaming audio as a positive way to spend their time compared to using social media, and so I thought this was a great thing that they shared, because so many people, of course, were interested in video. Of course we're interested in video, but you're missing out on this whole. I mean, I listen to podcasts all the time. It's one of the reasons why I was like Mary, we got to get into podcasting because I love our most recent episode and share, like here we're creating audio content for you too. So, um, but I thought it was great that sirius xm was putting this out, because you know that's a pretty respected brand, and so to have them really pushing this for it I thought was really cool to share and they've got this dual thing going on like number one.
Matthew Blades:Yes, they are streaming services and that's that, but they're also satellite radio, right. They're also on the subscriber basis and for them to acknowledge it and listen, there's no bigger statement that Sirius and XM have made than they just brought in the smart list podcast, and they've just now the smart, one of the biggest podcasts in the entire country, is available on Sirius XM. They understand the power of podcasting too, and and I think the biggest difference between radio, television, movies, social media and podcasting is, I feel like I get something from a podcast. When I've, when I've come away from a podcast, my life is richer, I've learned something, hopefully, I've been entertained, but mostly I've come away a little smarter, I think.
Mary Fain Brandt:Absolutely. Laura's got me listening to more podcasts. So when I'm driving, because you know, nothing's close in Arizona. I'm on the West side, everything's on the other side, so I'm always listening to podcasts now, and I listen to a lot of AI podcasts.
Laura Bashore:What is everyone?
Mary Fain Brandt:else talking about. What are the tools? So I think what you said is spot on it's an educational tool. I don't have to be camera ready, I don't have to interact. I can just listen on a walk, on a drive, and get informed, get educated. I listen to the Newsworthyworthy.
Laura Bashore:you know it's a 10 minute news of the day every morning um, so I can just you know first yep, so I love that well, my favorite podcast I'm just gonna share it right now, just because I think it's so good is uh, julia louis dreyfus has wiser than me and it is a podcast where, first of all, she's my favorite female comedian and like top three comedian period okay um, so I already love it.
Laura Bashore:But she interviews, um, she interviews women who are up there in age, so the majority of them are above. Wait, my people and and so. But it's great because she's giving them a platform. So the first person she had on was Jane Fonda, and then she's also had the author of the joy love club and just, and they're just having these great. She had Patti Smith on, so it's just this eclectic, wonderful thing and it's something that you don't hear from a lot, right? So she just talks to them about, like, the power that they have in aging. They share hilarious stuff and then you know she's funny as hell. So that's great.
Mary Fain Brandt:So, anyway, sorry sidebar, but that's okay, so good Well let's that's good, everybody wants a good podcast recommendation so right. So today's episode is really about launching a podcast. What tools do you need? Overcoming the barriers. So, for our listeners, we're going to dive right into that with Matthew right now. So let's start with two things overcoming barriers and how to start a podcast, Matthew.
Matthew Blades:Okay, so well. I think the biggest barrier when I talk to people who are considering launching a podcast is they want to do something. They just don't know what they want it to do. And then, because there's not usually any broadcast training involved with these folks, there's this intimidating aspect of can I get this ball in the air and can I lob it back and forth with somebody for 40 minutes or 50 minutes or something like that and be entertaining? And I'm gonna hit people with the sad truth. For most people, the answer is no. You can't. 90% of podcasts get no more than 100 downloads per month, which means it's really something you're making for your friends and your family. Right? That's just the truth.
Matthew Blades:If you are looking to use podcasting for other things, which is what I suggest people do, then you're approaching it from a different lens. I tell people you're not trying to be Netflix. You're not trying to get 20 million people to your podcast. That's not your goal. Your goal as a small business owner is to become the expert in your field, to become somebody that folks trust when they want to make a decision about a particular product. And I'll use a really great example of this.
Matthew Blades:I work with a doctor who's got a longevity practice here in Scottsdale.
Matthew Blades:This guy's incredible and he's a really smart guy like Mayo Clinic.
Matthew Blades:And he's a really smart guy like Mayo Clinic, banner genius kind of a guy and he's also a really good communicator and he's one of those doctors that's excellent at explaining things at a fifth grade level so we can all understand it Immediately. Todd's got a point of differentiation he doesn't sound like other doctors on other podcasts and, as a result, people are absolutely loving his content. He just had, I think, his fourth or his fifth person fly in from another state to see him because of something they heard on his podcast people and he is gaining new clients, new, new patients to his business because of his podcast and we and we're clear about that with him and specifically his, his podcast that is his goal. He wants to build this practice, he wants to build this network and he wants to become an expert in his field. His podcast checks all three boxes every other week when it's a, when it's put out there, and it's really starting to gain traction. I probably won't tell this to his face, but I think his podcast is starting to get more downloads than mine.
Mary Fain Brandt:Oh, that's when you know you're doing your job, though.
Laura Bashore:You're right, absolutely, absolutely.
Matthew Blades:Yeah, no, it's super cool and he should. He's earned it. He tried hard and what I love about Todd was he tried this on his own, like so many people do, and he did these Facebook lives and he was doing some other content and it was great. The content was there, but the ability for people to consume it. People don't understand how much harder they make it for people to consume their products and that's why you work with a guy like me who can coach you up, who can kind of help you with your intros, help you with your benchmarks, help you understand what your mission is, help you understand how to bring people in and have conversations and what are good questions and what are questions that are just going to have yes, no answers and me too answers right. So when you talk about the barriers, those are the things that usually get most people tripped up. It's just getting off the ground with what the heck do I want this thing to be about?
Mary Fain Brandt:Okay.
Matthew Blades:Other barriers that people face are tech barriers. How do I record this? I mean, you guys had to decide. You know, when you were getting started it's like, what are we going to use? And so some but one of you guys said, well, let's just use zoom.
Mary Fain Brandt:And you ran with that and I'm sure it's great. You get everything you need.
Matthew Blades:We actually started with stream yard.
Mary Fain Brandt:Oh, okay, we've always used stream yard until this last month. We're in a transition phase right now. We'll be transitioning to a new recording platform next month.
Matthew Blades:What are you going to use?
Mary Fain Brandt:We're going to go back to Ecamm now.
Matthew Blades:Okay, I don't know Ecamm, but I love StreamYard. I'm sorry that you had to leave them, because I actually really enjoy that product.
Mary Fain Brandt:I love StreamYard. We're just in a transition phase, but now we're using Zoom and I like that you mentioned that, because there's nothing wrong with getting started with Zoom.
Matthew Blades:At all. Google Meets, zoom Teams you can use any platform you want, but the one thing that I will tell you is that the number one thing that we hear from the audience is that it's got to sound good. So if you're still doing your podcast on your laptop with your laptop microphone that's one of those things You're making it harder for people to consume you. You know, if you do these big intros and really not saying anything for three or four minutes, you're just giving people so many opportunities to check out the brilliance behind what I think I bring to the table is. For 28 years, every single time I opened my mouth, I had eight seconds to get your attention. I have mastered the ability and I can pass that along to other people.
Mary Fain Brandt:Do you help people on how to open their podcast?
Matthew Blades:100%. Those trigger lead-ins are critical for people.
Mary Fain Brandt:Okay.
Laura Bashore:Yeah, and that's something to realize, because people think I need to start this out really formal, and it's almost just the same thing you're doing with any other kind of marketing you have to have a hook and you have to have people wanting to listen and engage with you, right, because, like you said, you've got a few seconds to grab their attention and if not, they can move on because they're busy.
Matthew Blades:They got other things to do that's it and you can't. So you can't open it up with all this like do you have problems marketing? Would you like to have a bigger business? Would you stop all of that? You open up the podcast and you say welcome to the show. Today I'm going to give you one tool that's going to change your life and it's going to bring more customers to the table.
Mary Fain Brandt:Oh, I like that. I'm glad we're recording this. Laura, can we do a segment on an AI tool and use that?
Matthew Blades:as I'm leaned in now, like get me, get me right away, tell me right away what's going to happen. And the way that people kind of listen to audio too, it's different than television, right? There's no visual component to it. And doing these little things that you may be picking up on right now where I'm just slowing my pace, allowing a pause, you mean it's not a race.
Mary Fain Brandt:I shouldn't always be talking super fast.
Matthew Blades:It's. What you just said is masterful, right. It's not a race. It's not a race, it's a podcast. People have opted into you, they've chosen you already. Now they're just. The only reason they wouldn't listen anymore is because you give them reasons to.
Laura Bashore:Yeah, yeah, you're not provided, yeah.
Matthew Blades:It's a harsh reality, isn't it? But it's so, true. But I mean, like when you know that now it's like okay, cool. I know that, like, if this thing doesn't get off the ground, it's because of something I'm doing. And how do you get better in anything in life? You bring in a coach, you bring in somebody who knows more than you and you say here's what I'm doing. Tell me what I could be doing better. No problem, that's where I love to be. That's where you guys love to be as marketers, right.
Laura Bashore:Yes, yeah, as coaches and helping small businesses scale through things like AI or through things like helping them figure out their positioning yeah, absolutely. You need to be able to relate to people in order to do that and you need to make sure that they can relate to you. So how can you form that connection? And it's really hyper important when you're doing a podcast, because that's what they have is your voice. They don't have anything else to connect.
Mary Fain Brandt:Laura's been recognized in San Diego because of her voice.
Matthew Blades:Awesome yeah.
Laura Bashore:It was weird the first time it happened, because-.
Matthew Blades:Isn't it strange?
Laura Bashore:Well, I have like not trauma around my voice, but my mother always like made fun of it and so I've never liked it, and so then to have people actually identify me through it, I'm like oh, that's like a really big win for me, you know, on multiple levels.
Matthew Blades:So yeah, Well, you brought something up that I think is worth talking about, mary, and I have batted this around before. It's that idea that I don't like the way that I sound and therefore I can't even stomach throwing on a podcast, and it's it just has so little to do with the way that you sound. It can certainly help you, right, like having a. I launched a podcast for this woman named Lauren Bernard, and when I listened to her, I feel like I'm listening to the Dalai Lama. She's so peaceful and she's so easy and she's so chill and I just she makes me feel good. She makes me just feel good. I don't even know what word she uses.
Mary Fain Brandt:Half the time it's like she just makes me feel good the tone of her voice.
Matthew Blades:That's it, and so on top of that she's got great content. So that's one of those cases where the way you sound can really have a nice impact on the way that things go. But most people are coming to podcasts because they want better information, and so don't get as hung up on how do I sound, what's going on with my voice here, where I don't like it, and then also understand that where you start won't be where you finish, and you guys should listen to radio tapes of me from 1995. I sounded ridiculous, ridiculous. I was talking through my throat, I was screaming at everybody. I thought I was just being energetic and exciting. I was a spastic human being and, I'm sorry, being a blonde woman in business.
Mary Fain Brandt:I'm like, oh great, I'm going to sound like a Barbie doll now, Right. So there's the stories in your head and I just like threw that to the ground. But I can learn how to talk in a more average tone and not be so pitchy, right or not. Ask not in my statement where it sounds like a question. So there are things that you can yeah, all the time. So there are things that you can learn to improve the quality of the tone of your voice and when to fluctuate, when to talk a little deeper, when to talk a little slower. So if you don't like your voice, you guys, you can. I don't want you to change who you are, but you can work on practicing how you sound, how you, what your pitch is. So I don't want anyone to be held back from launching a podcast because they don't like their voice.
Matthew Blades:I want you to think about the way that you talk is not like get forget the way it sounds, right. What I want you to think about is the way the content you deliver in terms of a vibration, and we all know the law of attraction. It's one of the principles that people talk about more than anything in the world, and there's 12 others, and so they're all worth looking at, but that's what that's when we can focus on now. But if you have a good vibration on your voice, if the frequency of your voice is okay and it's got good information, people are going to be attracted to that, and so don't get as hung up on the way it sounds as the frequency that it's being delivered through the speakers so that people can bond with it, and that little tweak sometimes can help people. It's like don't get hung up on the sound, just be you and trust that that frequency is going to bring the people to you.
Mary Fain Brandt:Hey, matthew. So we're going to be yeah, we're going to be wrapping up here in a few minutes, and before we do that, I'd love for you to give some real tangible tips on how people not only can launch their podcast, but what are three things that you can do to get more downloads to you know. Is it better marketing? Is it putting more episodes out? Do I need to put an episode out every day? Once a week? Can you give some tangible tips on how to really launch a successful or grow into a successful podcast?
Matthew Blades:Yeah, I think the first thing you have to do is you're going to have to get super honest with yourself and what I call air check yourself. So you can, I want you to sit down, I want you to with your partner. If you guys do this podcast together, you guys should, once a month, you should go back and listen and watch a podcast together and you're going to pick up on things right away where you're like, wow, we could have, we could have been better than that, or you know what. Maybe we should have a visual cue so that we don't talk over each other, because that's again, these are things that make it hard for your audience to listen to you. So, go back and listen to yourself, watch yourself, see what you're doing. You don't have to be a professional, because I'm sure you guys are as good at this as I am.
Matthew Blades:I'm pretty good at seeing my own flaws. I'm pretty much my toughest critic, and I can go back and I can watch something and I can feel the way it makes me feel and I can go. Okay, I need to improve in that area. So that's number one Watch what you're doing, listen back to what you're doing and figure out yourself where you can make little changes. Next thing you have to do is go in and actually look at your content no-transcript things that I would say are on you to start doing right away.
Matthew Blades:And then the other thing to really have a successful podcast, there's really no faster, better way to grow your podcast other than to throw money at it, then to become a guest on other podcasts, because you need to play in the pool. You need to jump into the pool where everybody is and if people are listening to your guys' podcast, it's a good chance that, like it's safe to say, they're podcast people and they might be inclined to listen to my podcast now, and that's how it works. Right, it's just starting to spread that message as much as you can, interview as many people as you can, but, more importantly, get yourself on other shows. That's where I would tell people to spend most of their time.
Mary Fain Brandt:I love that tip because we've heard that before. We were at pod fest earlier this year and we had some great one-on-one meetings with some great um podcast coaches, trainers. I amazing people and they said the same thing. One of the things is get on other podcasts.
Matthew Blades:It's a big deal and it really helps Cause, like I said, you're already, you're messaging to people that are already at the party.
Laura Bashore:Yeah, yeah, they're already bought in, they want to be referred to new podcasts. And then also kind of what we were touching on at the beginning of this episode, which is you're using this to build your network or your awareness, your community, and what better way to do that than to connect with other podcasts, guests and hosts, like we're doing today? Right, so we're putting that into practice, all three of us today. So good on us, um, and I think what you said that's really important is just get out there and get started, because you're right, when we first started this, we started as a LinkedIn audio and through that we developed what our script would sound like, kind of what our cadence was, how we worked with one another, and then we got to a point where we're like, well, we feel comfortable to launch a podcast, but even from the beginning of our podcast, it's changed significantly.
Laura Bashore:So much so that we've even shifted what we talk about on this podcast, because what we offer is different.
Matthew Blades:I love that. Keep evolving.
Laura Bashore:These are great. Yeah, and that's one of the keys, right Is your podcast needs to grow with you and your audience too.
Matthew Blades:Yes, Now, it can't change every week, right like you can't call yourself a true crime podcast one week and then be a marketing podcast the next week, and then you know you do need to have a central message. But you're right, you have to keep evolving with your audience. They grow with you. They really do grow with you, and radio we refer to them as your p1s, your primary one user, the people that download you. Like if you guys release every Monday. Every Monday, those two or three or four or 500 people are right there and they're downloading your podcast. Those are your P ones and your job is to make them love you more. Your job is to get more out of those people that are already in love with you, to build your relationship with them even even deeper.
Laura Bashore:I love that.
Mary Fain Brandt:Well, Matthew. Yeah, Thank you so much for your time. I know a lot of people are going to find value out of the tips that you shared. We will be sure to put in the show notes where people can find you on LinkedIn, your website and your podcast for those that are looking for a podcast coach. Laura, do you want to take us home on this?
Laura Bashore:Laura, do you want to take us home on this? Yeah, so to play off of what Matthew just shared for our P1s, okay, if you are a P1, we want you to make sure that you share this out and invite others to subscribe and listen in to our podcast. Give us a review, reach out to us and let us know what you thought of our wonderful guests today and again. You'll find this information in our show notes. So until our next episode, listeners, here's to good coffee, great conversations and even greater success. Ciao.
Matthew Blades:Cheers.
Laura Bashore:Cheers.
Mary Fain Brandt:If you enjoyed the podcast, show us some love. Please rate, review and subscribe to our podcast, and if you have any feedback, go ahead and share that with us too, because we want to hear from you. And until then, stay focused, stay motivated and stay caffeinated.
