WEBVTT 00:00:04.019 --> 00:00:07.139 Welcome to Podcast Workflows, the show for people 00:00:07.139 --> 00:00:10.699 who love their podcast but spend too much time 00:00:10.699 --> 00:00:13.640 on it. This show will give you short tips to 00:00:13.640 --> 00:00:17.620 improve your process, grow your show, and save 00:00:17.620 --> 00:00:22.320 you up to 12 hours per week. You'll get deep 00:00:22.320 --> 00:00:24.579 dives on how the best podcasters produce their 00:00:24.579 --> 00:00:29.739 show, and you'll learn a ton. So let's get into 00:00:29.739 --> 00:00:34.799 it. I have been implicitly and explicitly teasing 00:00:34.799 --> 00:00:37.880 this topic for a while, but I've been thinking 00:00:37.880 --> 00:00:42.079 a lot about engagement with your listeners and 00:00:42.079 --> 00:00:45.439 how to get feedback from your listeners. And 00:00:45.439 --> 00:00:48.159 today, the three things I'm going to talk about 00:00:48.159 --> 00:00:52.719 are all around that. So the first thing I'll 00:00:52.719 --> 00:00:58.240 do is say I do have an article I put out a while 00:00:58.240 --> 00:01:02.759 ago and a podcast episode. called how to get 00:01:02.759 --> 00:01:06.319 feedback from your listeners. This was something 00:01:06.319 --> 00:01:07.939 I put out over the summer because I was really, 00:01:07.939 --> 00:01:09.540 I was thinking about it a lot, especially in 00:01:09.540 --> 00:01:14.299 the context of getting feedback for my other 00:01:14.299 --> 00:01:17.459 show, The Streamline Solopreneur. And so some 00:01:17.459 --> 00:01:20.180 of the tips I said, ask early, ask regularly, 00:01:20.340 --> 00:01:23.640 ask everywhere, and make giving feedback dead 00:01:23.640 --> 00:01:27.319 simple, which we're going to dive more into today. 00:01:27.560 --> 00:01:32.980 So let's first talk about maybe the first segment 00:01:32.980 --> 00:01:38.200 or topic here, which is getting feedback. How 00:01:38.200 --> 00:01:39.980 do you get feedback from your listeners? Well, 00:01:40.040 --> 00:01:43.480 I just, I just kind of gave away the high level 00:01:43.480 --> 00:01:46.420 overview in this article, how to get feedback 00:01:46.420 --> 00:01:49.900 from your listeners. But I think that really 00:01:49.900 --> 00:01:53.079 the biggest thing is that you need to ask for 00:01:53.079 --> 00:01:55.700 it, right? Don't ask, don't get is something 00:01:55.700 --> 00:02:00.180 I tell my Kids all the time, they'll look at 00:02:00.180 --> 00:02:04.079 something in the kitchen or they'll stare at 00:02:04.079 --> 00:02:07.140 the TV or their iPad, but they won't actually 00:02:07.140 --> 00:02:10.439 ask because they are afraid that I'm going to 00:02:10.439 --> 00:02:13.500 say no, which I may or may not, depending on 00:02:13.500 --> 00:02:16.599 how much they be in or how much screen time they've 00:02:16.599 --> 00:02:21.639 had that day. But they will definitely not get 00:02:21.639 --> 00:02:24.900 it or I'm trying to teach them. that they definitely 00:02:24.900 --> 00:02:28.219 will not get it if they don't ask for it. So 00:02:28.219 --> 00:02:34.400 when you are seeking feedback for your podcast, 00:02:35.280 --> 00:02:39.620 definitely ask regularly. One of the things that 00:02:39.620 --> 00:02:41.960 I'm trying to do with the Streamline Solopreneur, 00:02:42.000 --> 00:02:44.659 especially for the solo shows, is have a feedback 00:02:44.659 --> 00:02:48.599 segment. I think this is a really good way to 00:02:48.599 --> 00:02:50.819 get feedback because you're not just saying like 00:02:50.819 --> 00:02:53.919 write in with your thoughts, you're saying, Hey, 00:02:53.939 --> 00:02:56.639 if you write in, I might feature you on the show. 00:02:56.780 --> 00:03:02.159 And as Pat Flynn has said in numerous episodes 00:03:02.159 --> 00:03:05.379 of his podcast, people love hearing the sound 00:03:05.379 --> 00:03:09.879 of their own name and it makes them feel more 00:03:09.879 --> 00:03:13.120 connected to the show. So one of the best ways 00:03:13.120 --> 00:03:16.599 that you can get feedback is by making it explicitly 00:03:16.599 --> 00:03:19.879 clear that you will integrate that feedback. 00:03:20.180 --> 00:03:23.069 Something that I'm trying to do more with both 00:03:23.069 --> 00:03:24.990 of my shows, and I'll talk about this more when 00:03:24.990 --> 00:03:28.849 I talk about the tools, is getting voice notes 00:03:28.849 --> 00:03:33.509 for feedback. That way I can actually feature 00:03:33.509 --> 00:03:39.430 listeners in the show, right? And depending on 00:03:39.430 --> 00:03:41.650 the type of feedback or how much of the contribution, 00:03:42.449 --> 00:03:45.370 a shout out is fine. Maybe you can tell them 00:03:45.370 --> 00:03:49.289 where the person giving the feedback can be found. 00:03:49.370 --> 00:03:52.719 But I find that just saying like, Listener Jane 00:03:52.719 --> 00:03:56.840 wrote in to say that she's been using this tool 00:03:56.840 --> 00:03:59.240 to get feedback and it's been really good for 00:03:59.240 --> 00:04:02.919 her right and so Or you know listener Jane Smith, 00:04:02.919 --> 00:04:05.460 whatever if they provide their their full name 00:04:05.460 --> 00:04:11.659 so definitely ask for it and Ask early ask early 00:04:11.659 --> 00:04:14.500 in the episode say hey today. I'm talking about 00:04:14.500 --> 00:04:18.720 now this could you don't want to be clumsy about 00:04:18.720 --> 00:04:21.879 this, right? I didn't open the show with if you 00:04:21.879 --> 00:04:24.000 want to provide feedback right because there's 00:04:24.000 --> 00:04:28.160 nothing to provide feedback for So you don't 00:04:28.160 --> 00:04:31.220 want to ask right off the bat, but maybe After 00:04:31.220 --> 00:04:33.180 the first opinion you give right like at the 00:04:33.180 --> 00:04:35.120 end of this segment I might say hey head over 00:04:35.120 --> 00:04:37.000 to podcasts workflows comm slash feedback and 00:04:37.000 --> 00:04:40.660 let me know what you think right and so ask early 00:04:40.660 --> 00:04:42.660 after you deliver the first piece of valuable 00:04:42.660 --> 00:04:48.100 content or a major question and also early in 00:04:48.100 --> 00:04:51.459 the sense that you want to ask before you need 00:04:51.459 --> 00:04:53.899 the feedback right so something that might not 00:04:53.899 --> 00:04:57.100 work is like tweeting or posting on social media 00:04:57.100 --> 00:05:00.120 the day before hey i'm recording an episode tomorrow 00:05:00.120 --> 00:05:04.079 about x y and z i'd love to hear your thoughts 00:05:04.079 --> 00:05:08.100 right uh because just by the nature of social 00:05:08.100 --> 00:05:12.399 media people are not going to you know only a 00:05:12.399 --> 00:05:14.899 small percentage of your followers will see that 00:05:14.899 --> 00:05:18.519 so Did post something I'm gonna post it again, 00:05:18.519 --> 00:05:21.399 but you know I'm working on a new episode of 00:05:21.399 --> 00:05:22.939 the streamlined solopreneur where I would love 00:05:22.939 --> 00:05:26.500 feedback and You know, I posted a bunch of stuff 00:05:26.500 --> 00:05:29.720 on social media and apparently like unless it's 00:05:29.720 --> 00:05:32.360 inflammatory Twitter doesn't like that. So I 00:05:32.360 --> 00:05:36.579 did post a question and I posted it on YouTube 00:05:36.579 --> 00:05:38.459 as well, which YouTube has never really been 00:05:38.459 --> 00:05:45.139 like a good Place for me to get feedback suspect 00:05:45.139 --> 00:05:48.040 like there's probably better avenues, but you 00:05:48.040 --> 00:05:50.439 know that's kind of the second piece of advice 00:05:50.439 --> 00:05:55.759 is Ask everywhere or ask in ask in multiple places 00:05:55.759 --> 00:05:58.339 right don't necessarily just ask on your show 00:05:58.339 --> 00:06:02.660 especially if it's just in one episode right 00:06:02.660 --> 00:06:05.339 people might miss that episode or They might 00:06:05.339 --> 00:06:07.420 be listening and have a thought and then forget 00:06:07.420 --> 00:06:11.550 to write in I And you know, this will be different 00:06:11.550 --> 00:06:14.509 if you have a massive audience, right? Like the 00:06:14.509 --> 00:06:17.829 people at Upgrade constantly get feedback. They've 00:06:17.829 --> 00:06:20.350 kind of trained their listeners over 10 years 00:06:20.350 --> 00:06:25.250 to easily go to a place to provide feedback. 00:06:26.269 --> 00:06:29.050 And even then, I'm guessing they get a very small 00:06:29.050 --> 00:06:31.490 percentage of people writing in for feedback. 00:06:32.009 --> 00:06:35.629 So I think the key is, you know, another key, 00:06:36.230 --> 00:06:40.750 ask everywhere, ask early, ask often. Ask everywhere 00:06:40.750 --> 00:06:42.810 and everywhere is going to be your mailing list 00:06:42.810 --> 00:06:45.050 social media the place where you're already engaging 00:06:45.050 --> 00:06:50.370 with your listeners or target audience I Got 00:06:50.370 --> 00:06:52.430 really good feedback across social media for 00:06:52.430 --> 00:06:54.050 one question I asked because it was like the 00:06:54.050 --> 00:06:55.750 only thing I asked on social media that day so 00:06:55.750 --> 00:07:01.009 maybe more people saw it but this is This is 00:07:01.009 --> 00:07:03.129 something really important that you should do 00:07:03.129 --> 00:07:05.370 my mailing list has been really nice for feedback 00:07:05.370 --> 00:07:07.750 lately I don't know if I've just like found the 00:07:07.750 --> 00:07:10.420 right alignment or what But it's been really 00:07:10.420 --> 00:07:13.420 good for that. And then the last thing, which 00:07:13.420 --> 00:07:16.879 again, I'll get to later in the show, is make 00:07:16.879 --> 00:07:20.579 giving listener feedback dead simple. This was 00:07:20.579 --> 00:07:22.680 a problem of mine for a long time. I'm like, 00:07:22.680 --> 00:07:26.420 oh yeah, social media or email. But I have been 00:07:26.420 --> 00:07:29.480 seeking better ways to get feedback because I 00:07:29.480 --> 00:07:33.000 want more feedback. Now, before we get into that, 00:07:33.040 --> 00:07:36.079 I want to get into the second. Kind of segment 00:07:36.079 --> 00:07:39.600 or second piece of advice for for this particular 00:07:39.600 --> 00:07:44.360 topic for podcast engagement, which is Why should 00:07:44.360 --> 00:07:48.000 you build like I think building a community is 00:07:48.000 --> 00:07:51.459 really important you building capture community 00:07:51.459 --> 00:07:56.899 podcasting can feel lonely and If you're not 00:07:56.899 --> 00:07:59.180 getting feedback or you're not building a community 00:07:59.180 --> 00:08:02.040 and like if this is just a hobby for you fine 00:08:02.240 --> 00:08:04.180 But if you're trying to build a business or if 00:08:04.180 --> 00:08:08.040 you're trying to leverage your podcast as a way 00:08:08.040 --> 00:08:12.540 to elevate your status or make money, right, 00:08:12.980 --> 00:08:14.819 frankly, like, I mean, podcasting costs money. 00:08:14.819 --> 00:08:17.939 And if it's going to be a business thing, then 00:08:17.939 --> 00:08:22.879 you should figure out a way to monetize that. 00:08:23.180 --> 00:08:26.379 Right. And building a community is a good way. 00:08:26.560 --> 00:08:31.029 The really the and I should say because I. I've 00:08:31.029 --> 00:08:33.370 I've got feedback on this that some I posted 00:08:33.370 --> 00:08:35.309 like why you should try to make money with your 00:08:35.309 --> 00:08:37.070 podcast and someone was like You should never 00:08:37.070 --> 00:08:38.710 try to make money with your podcast and that's 00:08:38.710 --> 00:08:43.129 just like an incredibly absurd thing to think 00:08:43.129 --> 00:08:46.389 Podcasting could be a very good way to make money. 00:08:46.529 --> 00:08:51.529 You shouldn't alienate Your audience you shouldn't 00:08:51.529 --> 00:08:59.230 put money above your audience but saying that 00:08:59.259 --> 00:09:03.919 podcasts should never make money is like saying 00:09:03.919 --> 00:09:07.860 teachers should never make money, right? Teachers 00:09:07.860 --> 00:09:12.519 should teach for the love of the game. No, teachers 00:09:12.519 --> 00:09:15.620 are grossly underpaid and they should make more 00:09:15.620 --> 00:09:20.039 money than they actually make. So, you know, 00:09:20.059 --> 00:09:23.960 I just want to, that's feedback I've gotten and 00:09:23.960 --> 00:09:27.379 podcasts should make money. And if you are providing 00:09:27.379 --> 00:09:32.440 value, for a community, that's a really good 00:09:32.440 --> 00:09:35.259 way to make money. Again, to cite Upgrade and 00:09:35.259 --> 00:09:37.720 Relay in general, I think they've done a really 00:09:37.720 --> 00:09:40.080 good job of building a community around their 00:09:40.080 --> 00:09:43.080 podcasts, all of their podcasts, and they have 00:09:43.080 --> 00:09:45.500 a way for listeners to kind of intermingle with 00:09:45.500 --> 00:09:48.779 each other. A couple of months ago, maybe in 00:09:48.779 --> 00:09:53.679 May, they announced that they were making the 00:09:53.679 --> 00:09:57.190 first price jump in a long time. Maybe ever. 00:09:57.350 --> 00:09:58.970 Right. Their membership was always five dollars 00:09:58.970 --> 00:10:02.570 per month per show. If you know for each show 00:10:02.570 --> 00:10:05.330 that you subscribe to and they were raising it 00:10:05.330 --> 00:10:09.809 to seven dollars per month per show. And I was 00:10:09.809 --> 00:10:13.129 insanely supportive of that. Right. I will happily 00:10:13.129 --> 00:10:18.590 pay upgrade seven dollars per month because I 00:10:18.590 --> 00:10:20.830 feel like I get value out of that or cortex. 00:10:20.990 --> 00:10:23.450 Right. Which is really seven dollars a month 00:10:23.450 --> 00:10:27.259 for one show. Right. But it's also like a two 00:10:27.259 --> 00:10:30.100 and a half or three hour show. Right. It's like 00:10:30.100 --> 00:10:32.320 it's less than a movie. It's less than going 00:10:32.320 --> 00:10:35.200 to see a movie. And I find it more valuable than 00:10:35.200 --> 00:10:38.679 most movies. And so but there was a lot of backlash. 00:10:38.960 --> 00:10:40.620 Right. They were like that's a 40. People were 00:10:40.620 --> 00:10:42.360 saying that's a 40 percent increase. Like that's 00:10:42.360 --> 00:10:46.840 like OK. Right. If you raise it from 50 cents 00:10:46.840 --> 00:10:49.879 to a dollar 25 that's a 75 percent increase. 00:10:49.940 --> 00:10:52.799 Like that's it's just. Numbers that low like 00:10:52.799 --> 00:10:55.940 putting it in that way kind of feels obnoxious 00:10:55.940 --> 00:11:00.460 But by I'll say by and large Most people were 00:11:00.460 --> 00:11:02.700 very supportive because they've built a great 00:11:02.700 --> 00:11:05.600 community and they provide value And I should 00:11:05.600 --> 00:11:08.299 say that I don't even like get the full value, 00:11:08.299 --> 00:11:10.840 right? I'm like not in the discord discord scares 00:11:10.840 --> 00:11:15.860 and confuses me but the additional content that 00:11:15.860 --> 00:11:19.320 they put out Well worth it for me and they have 00:11:19.320 --> 00:11:22.539 I think they have a very good model, right? It's 00:11:22.539 --> 00:11:26.039 you pay for a show and then you get ad free extended 00:11:26.039 --> 00:11:30.460 episodes of that show You get bonus like there 00:11:30.460 --> 00:11:33.100 are network wide bonus episodes that go out to 00:11:33.100 --> 00:11:35.980 every member of every show and Then they also 00:11:35.980 --> 00:11:39.519 have the annual specials where each show that 00:11:39.519 --> 00:11:43.580 has a membership Or maybe it's each show in just 00:11:43.580 --> 00:11:45.019 in general, even if they don't have a membership 00:11:45.399 --> 00:11:49.580 puts out a bonus episode that, again, goes to 00:11:49.580 --> 00:11:53.620 every member regardless, right? So I am a member 00:11:53.620 --> 00:11:59.200 of Upgrade and Cortex, but I also get the bonus 00:11:59.200 --> 00:12:02.759 episodes for, let's say, Connected and the Pen 00:12:02.759 --> 00:12:06.379 Addict and some other ones, Mac Power users. 00:12:07.200 --> 00:12:09.159 And if I'm interested, I can listen to those, 00:12:09.220 --> 00:12:10.779 too. And that's a really good way to also be 00:12:10.779 --> 00:12:12.519 like, oh, hey, maybe this is something else I 00:12:12.519 --> 00:12:15.789 should subscribe to, right? You should build 00:12:15.789 --> 00:12:18.149 a community, but that's only one aspect of it. 00:12:18.230 --> 00:12:20.509 I guess right build a community because that's 00:12:20.509 --> 00:12:23.549 a great way to get feedback and create fans and 00:12:23.549 --> 00:12:26.850 connect to your fans and the community will be 00:12:26.850 --> 00:12:30.950 a conduit for feedback and for making your show 00:12:30.950 --> 00:12:34.870 better and for getting questions and for making 00:12:34.870 --> 00:12:38.549 content easier and if you can build a community 00:12:38.549 --> 00:12:42.409 whether that's on discord or slack, which I recently 00:12:42.409 --> 00:12:48.549 found out is like discord for old people. But 00:12:48.549 --> 00:12:53.169 if you can build a community somewhere, then 00:12:53.169 --> 00:12:56.710 you'll have an easier time getting feedback, 00:12:56.710 --> 00:12:58.730 coming up with ideas, and potentially monetizing 00:12:58.730 --> 00:13:03.929 it, right? I'm bullish that you should think 00:13:03.929 --> 00:13:06.850 about that from the very beginning of your podcast, 00:13:06.850 --> 00:13:12.870 but I don't think it should be your prime objective. 00:13:13.430 --> 00:13:16.610 Your prime objective should be serving your audience. 00:13:17.049 --> 00:13:20.309 And if you serve your audience, you'll have an 00:13:20.309 --> 00:13:22.549 easier time monetizing, whether that's through 00:13:22.549 --> 00:13:26.289 sponsorships, community, affiliate links, whatever, 00:13:26.549 --> 00:13:30.289 right? You need to build trust. So that's why 00:13:30.289 --> 00:13:32.610 I think you should build a community. So let's 00:13:32.610 --> 00:13:35.750 move on to the third thing, which is engagement 00:13:35.750 --> 00:13:40.340 tools, tools to help you do this. One of the 00:13:40.340 --> 00:13:45.480 reasons I've been thinking about this now is 00:13:45.480 --> 00:13:48.919 partially because of YouTube and Spotify, right? 00:13:49.139 --> 00:13:57.139 YouTube has been an increasingly big force in 00:13:57.139 --> 00:14:03.059 the podcasting space. Almost half, well, at least 00:14:03.059 --> 00:14:10.750 35 % of American adults YouTube to discover podcasts 00:14:10.750 --> 00:14:18.750 YouTube has all of the wonderful Features for 00:14:18.750 --> 00:14:21.970 community feedback and monetization built in 00:14:21.970 --> 00:14:25.090 with comments with community posts with the ability 00:14:25.090 --> 00:14:30.049 to Create a membership if your channel is monetized 00:14:30.049 --> 00:14:35.320 you can also do membership ads and merch So that 00:14:35.320 --> 00:14:38.120 could be very appealing to podcasters a one -stop 00:14:38.120 --> 00:14:40.779 shop. That's the second biggest search engine 00:14:40.779 --> 00:14:43.840 in the world But the problem is you don't really 00:14:43.840 --> 00:14:45.460 own your community right and the same thing goes 00:14:45.460 --> 00:14:48.039 for Spotify Spotify just recently rolled out 00:14:48.039 --> 00:14:51.399 comments This is not something I've been leveraging 00:14:51.399 --> 00:14:56.100 because my audience My stats on Spotify are not 00:14:56.100 --> 00:15:02.740 very good most of my listeners are in Apple podcasts 00:15:03.690 --> 00:15:08.210 And so, you know, while I can add video, I don't 00:15:08.210 --> 00:15:12.350 get a lot of streams or engagements. I'm not 00:15:12.350 --> 00:15:14.370 sure if I'm getting comments, right? I'm not 00:15:14.370 --> 00:15:17.950 getting any comments. I can add polls, but my 00:15:17.950 --> 00:15:20.909 audience does not live on Spotify. But if yours 00:15:20.909 --> 00:15:22.669 does, this is a great opportunity for you to 00:15:22.669 --> 00:15:25.370 start engaging. There have also been other tools 00:15:25.370 --> 00:15:33.159 that have come out for this exact thing. One 00:15:33.159 --> 00:15:37.100 is, I mentioned this before, but Ripple .fm. 00:15:37.620 --> 00:15:40.779 Something that bothers me about Ripple is that 00:15:40.779 --> 00:15:43.100 the founder, who I consider a friend, I think 00:15:43.100 --> 00:15:46.159 he does a lot of really good things, seems very 00:15:46.159 --> 00:15:52.519 distracted. It seems like he is launching a number 00:15:52.519 --> 00:15:56.539 of things and will pick the one that gets kind 00:15:56.539 --> 00:16:03.730 of the most traction. And while I can appreciate 00:16:03.730 --> 00:16:07.169 as a business owner why he would want to do that, 00:16:07.750 --> 00:16:10.809 as a podcaster who's trying to build a community, 00:16:11.529 --> 00:16:15.230 I don't want to build my community on a tool 00:16:15.230 --> 00:16:17.529 that might not exist in six months because the 00:16:17.529 --> 00:16:22.889 founder got bored with it. And so it looks like 00:16:22.889 --> 00:16:26.870 a really good tool. The ability to comment per 00:16:26.870 --> 00:16:29.610 episode, the ability to create private podcasts. 00:16:30.330 --> 00:16:33.309 think it's a really good tool where there's potentially 00:16:33.309 --> 00:16:39.169 good monetization for podcasters and for Brian 00:16:39.169 --> 00:16:46.230 the founder, but again like it's if it felt like 00:16:46.230 --> 00:16:50.590 it was launched and then on to the next one and 00:16:50.590 --> 00:16:54.769 When it comes to like for a task app fine, whatever 00:16:54.769 --> 00:16:58.490 but like for for something that you're going 00:16:58.490 --> 00:17:03.509 to build a community on that you want something 00:17:03.509 --> 00:17:07.390 that you know I'm not going to say has staying 00:17:07.390 --> 00:17:10.730 power because in six months like the financials 00:17:10.730 --> 00:17:12.650 might look terrible and it doesn't make any sense 00:17:12.650 --> 00:17:17.289 to keep investing in it but you you want I want 00:17:17.289 --> 00:17:20.890 to use a tool where the person who made the tool 00:17:20.890 --> 00:17:24.869 is as dedicated to it as I am at least right 00:17:25.789 --> 00:17:29.390 So ripple .fm, check it out. It's really easy 00:17:29.390 --> 00:17:31.289 to get started on. So you can definitely try 00:17:31.289 --> 00:17:33.990 it and see like maybe this does work for you 00:17:33.990 --> 00:17:36.269 and maybe Brian does decide to continue using 00:17:36.269 --> 00:17:39.269 like putting resources into it. I would love 00:17:39.269 --> 00:17:42.990 to see that, but I'm not convinced at this point 00:17:42.990 --> 00:17:45.269 that it's going to happen. And so I'm hesitant 00:17:45.269 --> 00:17:50.910 for that. Paid tools like Circle, they have like 00:17:50.910 --> 00:17:53.490 a $50 per month plan where you can build a community. 00:17:56.060 --> 00:17:59.140 Which is becoming increasingly appealing to me 00:17:59.140 --> 00:18:01.799 for a couple of reasons. Lots of creators have 00:18:01.799 --> 00:18:03.920 their community on Circle, and Circle has single 00:18:03.920 --> 00:18:06.940 sign -on. So if someone's part of Jay Klaus' 00:18:07.099 --> 00:18:10.279 community, or my friend Chanel's community, and 00:18:10.279 --> 00:18:13.099 they use Circle, and they want to become a member, 00:18:13.119 --> 00:18:16.299 they don't have to get yet another account to 00:18:16.299 --> 00:18:20.140 become a member of my community. Which is, again, 00:18:20.259 --> 00:18:23.339 very appealing, right? It's also well built. 00:18:23.519 --> 00:18:33.559 Right? However, the better features for me at 00:18:33.559 --> 00:18:37.940 this time are not worth the cost. I think that 00:18:37.940 --> 00:18:41.140 as far as like building a free community goes, 00:18:41.960 --> 00:18:45.019 Circle is not a good tool for that. And maybe 00:18:45.019 --> 00:18:46.740 they don't want to be, right? And that's fine. 00:18:47.119 --> 00:18:52.579 But I think I'd be willing to pay for The $50 00:18:52.579 --> 00:18:57.900 a month plan if I got like some limited automation 00:18:57.900 --> 00:19:02.180 Where someone signs up for my membership elsewhere? 00:19:03.019 --> 00:19:06.440 And they get added to the community. That's literally 00:19:06.440 --> 00:19:10.460 the only automation I would want and If that 00:19:10.460 --> 00:19:15.799 were the case, I'd be I'd probably use that But 00:19:15.799 --> 00:19:20.079 you know, I think it just doesn't make It doesn't 00:19:20.079 --> 00:19:22.480 make sense for me. I've tried Circle in the past. 00:19:22.480 --> 00:19:26.480 I was on their $99 a month plan when it was $79 00:19:26.480 --> 00:19:28.660 a month. And so I was like locked into that. 00:19:28.700 --> 00:19:32.960 But it just it didn't make sense for me to do 00:19:32.960 --> 00:19:34.539 that. It could make sense for you, especially 00:19:34.539 --> 00:19:38.880 if you have like a another avenue for monetization. 00:19:39.460 --> 00:19:44.160 Right. So that's one thing. And again, Circle 00:19:44.160 --> 00:19:48.099 is a widely used tool. that supports single sign 00:19:48.099 --> 00:19:50.380 -on across every community you're a part of in 00:19:50.380 --> 00:19:52.819 circles. So that's a big benefit, right? Because 00:19:52.819 --> 00:19:56.480 we do want to make it easy for our users. Fanlist 00:19:56.480 --> 00:20:00.079 is another one I'm currently trying. This is 00:20:00.079 --> 00:20:02.319 actually the one I'm using to get feedback right 00:20:02.319 --> 00:20:05.299 now for both of my shows. I met the founder, 00:20:05.539 --> 00:20:08.799 Pat, at Podcast Movement. And I think if you've 00:20:08.799 --> 00:20:10.440 been listening to this or watching my YouTube 00:20:10.440 --> 00:20:15.289 channel, you'll know that I've said I don't like 00:20:15.289 --> 00:20:20.150 that a user needs to create an account to leave 00:20:20.150 --> 00:20:25.269 the feedback. But after speaking with Pat, he 00:20:25.269 --> 00:20:29.869 convinced me that this was the right thing to 00:20:29.869 --> 00:20:33.410 do. So it does leave people who maybe want to 00:20:33.410 --> 00:20:36.470 leave anonymous feedback in the lurch a little 00:20:36.470 --> 00:20:41.190 bit. But maybe there's another way I could offer 00:20:41.190 --> 00:20:44.519 that, right? You know people can certainly like 00:20:44.519 --> 00:20:47.480 I could put A link to my email address here and 00:20:47.480 --> 00:20:49.900 say like hey if you want to if you want to submit 00:20:49.900 --> 00:20:52.440 something anonymously email me and I I promise 00:20:52.440 --> 00:20:56.660 I won't Say your name and stuff. Um, but what 00:20:56.660 --> 00:21:01.160 was really appealing to me here is that listeners 00:21:01.160 --> 00:21:06.740 can record a message and I can send it in and 00:21:06.740 --> 00:21:09.299 I really liked that it was better than like speak 00:21:09.299 --> 00:21:13.089 pipe Which costs money and is I don't feel as 00:21:13.089 --> 00:21:16.549 very user -friendly And I also like fan lists 00:21:16.549 --> 00:21:18.710 monetization model too. This is again something 00:21:18.710 --> 00:21:20.089 I'm thinking about because I want these tools 00:21:20.089 --> 00:21:25.490 to be around and if they're not Making money 00:21:25.490 --> 00:21:27.369 in a sustainable way. They're not going to be 00:21:27.369 --> 00:21:30.829 around so I like that fan list is free to use 00:21:30.829 --> 00:21:36.230 and then You can monetize it through Perks or 00:21:36.230 --> 00:21:40.869 a membership or something else, right? They connect 00:21:40.869 --> 00:21:43.210 right to your Stripe account and you have the 00:21:43.210 --> 00:21:47.210 ability to make money that way. The last thing 00:21:47.210 --> 00:21:52.490 I'll mention here is your own website or something 00:21:52.490 --> 00:21:59.089 like Memberful. So I really love Memberful. That's 00:21:59.089 --> 00:22:01.670 what Relay uses and a bunch of other people use. 00:22:01.980 --> 00:22:05.420 It's a really great kind of central hub that 00:22:05.420 --> 00:22:07.880 can sit on top of a bunch of other tools you 00:22:07.880 --> 00:22:13.819 use and tie them together, which I love because 00:22:13.819 --> 00:22:18.119 it makes your membership portable. It makes it 00:22:18.119 --> 00:22:22.420 so that if I am selling memberships through memberful 00:22:22.420 --> 00:22:24.539 and I use Circle, but then Circle disappears 00:22:24.539 --> 00:22:27.799 tomorrow, I don't lose those members and I don't 00:22:27.799 --> 00:22:30.980 have to transfer them somewhere else. And then 00:22:30.980 --> 00:22:34.440 they do integrate directly with WordPress. And 00:22:34.440 --> 00:22:37.920 so for the community I'm building around podcast 00:22:37.920 --> 00:22:41.839 navigator, which is my I'll say flagship product. 00:22:43.339 --> 00:22:46.720 You know, I do have like a forum in there, which 00:22:46.720 --> 00:22:50.880 is like. It's a whole other episode, but if I 00:22:50.880 --> 00:22:53.299 want a community, I'm building a forum inside 00:22:53.299 --> 00:22:58.339 of WordPress. And so that's a that's a good place 00:22:58.339 --> 00:23:01.339 for you to. work if you're not paying for, I 00:23:01.339 --> 00:23:06.240 think, the highest level of Circle allows single 00:23:06.240 --> 00:23:09.279 sign -on with WordPress. That was also very appealing 00:23:09.279 --> 00:23:13.220 to me. But again, with memberful, you can have 00:23:13.220 --> 00:23:15.819 that single sign -on sort of function as well. 00:23:15.839 --> 00:23:18.900 People log into memberful, and then they become 00:23:18.900 --> 00:23:22.339 a user on your WordPress site. And so things 00:23:22.339 --> 00:23:25.819 can kind of integrate seamlessly. So... Those 00:23:25.819 --> 00:23:28.920 are a few options for kind of building community 00:23:28.920 --> 00:23:33.380 or getting feedback engagement. Those are the 00:23:33.380 --> 00:23:35.180 things that I'm thinking about. This is really 00:23:35.180 --> 00:23:37.480 fuzzy. I know I threw a lot of things at you. 00:23:38.140 --> 00:23:42.200 If you have questions or you want to provide 00:23:42.200 --> 00:23:44.519 feedback on how you're getting engagement with 00:23:44.519 --> 00:23:47.380 your podcast or how you're building a community 00:23:47.380 --> 00:23:49.940 for your podcast, I'd love to hear from you. 00:23:50.220 --> 00:23:56.279 You can head over to podcastworkflows .com That'll 00:23:56.279 --> 00:23:58.559 take you to the fan list page and you can leave 00:23:58.559 --> 00:24:00.960 a text or voice note and I will give you a shout 00:24:00.960 --> 00:24:05.660 out on the show. So thank you so much for listening 00:24:05.660 --> 00:24:09.799 to the podcast workflows podcast. I really appreciate 00:24:09.799 --> 00:24:11.940 it. If you're not on my mailing list, you can 00:24:11.940 --> 00:24:14.819 go to podcastworkflows .com slash join and sign 00:24:14.819 --> 00:24:18.500 up there. And until next time, I can't wait to 00:24:18.500 --> 00:24:19.900 see what you make.