WEBVTT 00:00:02.720 --> 00:00:06.320 Welcome to the Streamlines Podcaster, a podcast 00:00:06.320 --> 00:00:08.779 that shows you how to put the right systems in 00:00:08.779 --> 00:00:12.279 place so you can stop spinning your wheels, focus 00:00:12.279 --> 00:00:15.119 on making great content and see your show grow. 00:00:15.740 --> 00:00:17.839 Because there's nothing worse than putting a 00:00:17.839 --> 00:00:20.780 ton of effort into your show to see very few 00:00:20.780 --> 00:00:24.519 benefits and even fewer downloads. My name is 00:00:24.519 --> 00:00:27.059 Joe Casabona and I know you're strapped for time. 00:00:27.379 --> 00:00:31.100 So let's get into it. Something that I observe 00:00:31.100 --> 00:00:34.719 with a lot of podcasters is when they start out, 00:00:34.740 --> 00:00:37.960 they say something to the effect of, yeah, so 00:00:37.960 --> 00:00:40.119 I figure I'll just launch and get a bunch of 00:00:40.119 --> 00:00:42.740 downloads and then hopefully sponsors will reach 00:00:42.740 --> 00:00:46.060 out. And that's just simply not the case. As 00:00:46.060 --> 00:00:48.159 somebody who's been podcasting for over 10 years, 00:00:48.460 --> 00:00:52.159 who has had brand deals for over 10 years, and 00:00:52.159 --> 00:00:55.600 who is an active sponsor coach for the Wizards 00:00:55.600 --> 00:01:00.640 Guild, Justin Moore's thing. I can tell you that 00:01:00.640 --> 00:01:03.159 sponsors are not just going to reach out and 00:01:03.159 --> 00:01:06.480 you probably aren't going to get a bunch of downloads 00:01:06.480 --> 00:01:10.219 right off the bat. Now there is also a distinction 00:01:10.219 --> 00:01:15.439 right between people who want to support their 00:01:15.439 --> 00:01:20.939 business with a podcast and people who start 00:01:20.939 --> 00:01:24.439 a podcast for the love of the game and so If 00:01:24.439 --> 00:01:26.819 you're looking to support your business with 00:01:26.819 --> 00:01:31.040 your podcasts, I have episodes like Tiaran and 00:01:31.040 --> 00:01:33.739 Thought Pieces over at streamlinedpodcaster .com. 00:01:34.400 --> 00:01:37.060 And I'll probably put out more of that because 00:01:37.060 --> 00:01:39.620 I think a lot about that. But if you have started 00:01:39.620 --> 00:01:47.840 your podcast as a hobby and you want to maybe 00:01:47.840 --> 00:01:51.200 turn it into a stream of income, I think that 00:01:51.200 --> 00:01:54.370 there is a path to that. But I think you really 00:01:54.370 --> 00:01:59.549 need to switch contexts, right? I love playing 00:01:59.549 --> 00:02:06.430 the drums. And I am very aware that it is a hobby 00:02:06.430 --> 00:02:08.810 for me. I don't think I'm good enough to play 00:02:08.810 --> 00:02:12.509 live. I think I'm barely good enough to play 00:02:12.509 --> 00:02:15.710 with other people, but I also don't care to do 00:02:15.710 --> 00:02:20.490 that, right? There's like Rod Stewart famously 00:02:21.399 --> 00:02:24.919 uh does model trains but does not do them very 00:02:24.919 --> 00:02:29.180 well and the idea behind that and and other things 00:02:29.180 --> 00:02:31.960 like that is that you know a hobby could be something 00:02:31.960 --> 00:02:35.340 that you don't do well enough for people to want 00:02:35.340 --> 00:02:38.240 to pay you and that's what the drums is for me 00:02:38.240 --> 00:02:41.960 i don't want to turn drums into a job i want 00:02:41.960 --> 00:02:45.500 to keep that for me and it can be for me and 00:02:45.500 --> 00:02:47.580 maybe your podcast is the same way maybe you're 00:02:47.580 --> 00:02:51.490 really passionate about Disney or Star Wars or 00:02:51.490 --> 00:02:55.710 coffee mugs or Lego or model trains and you just 00:02:55.710 --> 00:02:57.810 want an outlet to talk about it and if other 00:02:57.810 --> 00:03:02.490 people enjoy that then they can follow along. 00:03:03.310 --> 00:03:08.569 But if you start your podcast off as a hobby 00:03:08.569 --> 00:03:12.710 and you have a little bit of intention to turn 00:03:12.710 --> 00:03:17.750 it in to a stream of income then again the mindset 00:03:17.750 --> 00:03:21.250 shift needs to change. So let's go back to me 00:03:21.250 --> 00:03:25.490 playing the drums. Let's say tomorrow I decide 00:03:25.490 --> 00:03:30.889 I want to, I actually want to make this a job. 00:03:30.909 --> 00:03:36.530 I want to get paid to be a drummer. My approach 00:03:36.530 --> 00:03:42.189 has to change because right now my approach is 00:03:42.189 --> 00:03:45.900 I have an electric drum set The cymbals don't 00:03:45.900 --> 00:03:48.639 work as well as they should. I need to probably 00:03:48.639 --> 00:03:53.340 replace them or fix them. And it's like not really 00:03:53.340 --> 00:03:55.400 fully optimized for me to play well. It's good 00:03:55.400 --> 00:03:57.080 enough. You know, it's good enough for me to 00:03:57.080 --> 00:04:01.800 just go for a half hour or 40 minutes and just 00:04:01.800 --> 00:04:06.120 play along with songs. And I do have a drums 00:04:06.120 --> 00:04:08.740 playlist. I'll teach myself a new song every 00:04:08.740 --> 00:04:13.270 once in a while. But it's mostly a set of 20 00:04:13.270 --> 00:04:15.550 to 30 songs that I like to play and I just put 00:04:15.550 --> 00:04:18.350 the playlist on random and I play for a half 00:04:18.350 --> 00:04:22.149 hour. Some of those songs I don't even play right, 00:04:22.350 --> 00:04:24.490 like play correctly, right? I just play along 00:04:24.490 --> 00:04:27.629 to them in such a way that I'm keeping the beat 00:04:27.629 --> 00:04:29.610 and it's fun. And I do, you know, I do try to 00:04:29.610 --> 00:04:34.250 learn new songs. But again, when I try to learn 00:04:34.250 --> 00:04:37.329 new songs, I don't know how to read music. At 00:04:37.329 --> 00:04:38.870 least I don't know how to read it very well. 00:04:39.390 --> 00:04:42.589 And so I'll usually listen, I'll learn by ear 00:04:42.589 --> 00:04:44.589 and it takes me longer and I'll probably play 00:04:44.589 --> 00:04:46.790 it incorrectly, but I'll play it through and 00:04:46.790 --> 00:04:50.329 pick up new things as I'm playing. That's a fine 00:04:50.329 --> 00:04:53.189 approach for a hobby, right? But if I wanted 00:04:53.189 --> 00:04:56.990 to be a professional drummer, I would have to 00:04:56.990 --> 00:05:00.209 start playing for, I'm gonna say two to three 00:05:00.209 --> 00:05:03.509 hours a day. I'm actually gonna have to learn 00:05:03.509 --> 00:05:06.569 the songs. I'm not saying I have to learn how 00:05:06.569 --> 00:05:09.709 to read music. But I'm gonna have to learn how 00:05:09.709 --> 00:05:11.550 to play them the right way, especially songs 00:05:11.550 --> 00:05:14.829 that are more distinctive, right? If I learn 00:05:14.829 --> 00:05:19.029 how to play In the Air Tonight by Phil Collins, 00:05:20.069 --> 00:05:22.529 you know, I need to play that correctly. It's 00:05:22.529 --> 00:05:25.069 got iconic drums in it. If I'm just playing like 00:05:25.069 --> 00:05:28.850 generic punk song by one of the many bands I 00:05:28.850 --> 00:05:33.750 used to listen to and still listen to, then it's 00:05:33.750 --> 00:05:36.189 less crucial that I play the drums exactly right. 00:05:37.839 --> 00:05:39.259 octopus's garden like I gotta play that I know 00:05:39.259 --> 00:05:40.959 how to play that so I get but I gotta play that 00:05:40.959 --> 00:05:44.240 right right so I'm gonna need to properly learn 00:05:44.240 --> 00:05:46.279 how to play those songs I'm gonna have to invest 00:05:46.279 --> 00:05:49.360 a lot more time I'm going to have to get a better 00:05:49.360 --> 00:05:52.139 drum set cuz like again right now the drum set 00:05:52.139 --> 00:05:55.779 I have is fine for the way I'm playing but it's 00:05:55.779 --> 00:05:59.319 not fine -tuned the cymbals or things just sound 00:05:59.319 --> 00:06:01.300 a little bit off but it's good enough for me 00:06:01.300 --> 00:06:05.250 to play as a hobby The same thing goes for if 00:06:05.250 --> 00:06:10.850 you are switching your podcast from a hobby to 00:06:10.850 --> 00:06:14.569 a source of income. You can't really take the 00:06:14.569 --> 00:06:16.389 approach of, ah, let's just hit record and see 00:06:16.389 --> 00:06:19.149 what happens. You need to go in with a plan. 00:06:19.189 --> 00:06:22.170 You need to understand who your podcast helps 00:06:22.170 --> 00:06:25.250 and why people listen to your podcast, whether 00:06:25.250 --> 00:06:28.529 that is for entertainment purposes or to learn 00:06:28.529 --> 00:06:33.720 something or for some other reason, right? No 00:06:33.720 --> 00:06:35.939 matter what, your podcast solves a problem. If 00:06:35.939 --> 00:06:37.779 you're like, oh, well, this is really just entertainment. 00:06:38.740 --> 00:06:41.980 Entertainment solves problems, right? You know, 00:06:41.980 --> 00:06:45.639 I will watch when I'm sad or having a bad day, 00:06:45.639 --> 00:06:52.959 I will watch Friends because, you know, 196 of 00:06:52.959 --> 00:06:56.240 the 200 plus episodes are not heavy episodes. 00:06:56.300 --> 00:06:59.040 They are just funny, high jinks, sitcom things 00:06:59.040 --> 00:07:04.689 happen. And it helps me forget. Right? So you 00:07:04.689 --> 00:07:09.930 need to think about what your podcast, what problem 00:07:09.930 --> 00:07:12.670 your podcast solves, why people listen to your 00:07:12.670 --> 00:07:15.410 podcast. And there are actually, I have three 00:07:15.410 --> 00:07:20.850 eyes for changing your podcast from a hobby to 00:07:20.850 --> 00:07:23.949 a source of income. The first is intentionality. 00:07:24.110 --> 00:07:29.110 Like I was saying, you need to be intentional 00:07:29.110 --> 00:07:34.000 with your show. Determine who you're talking 00:07:34.000 --> 00:07:40.180 to. Make the sound quality better. Have an actual 00:07:40.180 --> 00:07:43.920 outline for the show. Don't just say, oh, it's 00:07:43.920 --> 00:07:45.939 totally unstructured. We're just going to have 00:07:45.939 --> 00:07:49.740 a raw conversation. Because that's not good enough 00:07:49.740 --> 00:07:53.720 for a podcast where you want it to generate income, 00:07:53.899 --> 00:07:57.579 especially now. Right. You know, with Wondery 00:07:57.579 --> 00:08:01.610 closing or with the layoffs at Wondery. I think 00:08:01.610 --> 00:08:07.470 a lot of people are trying to figure out where 00:08:07.470 --> 00:08:12.649 exactly podcasting lives. And I think it's somewhere 00:08:12.649 --> 00:08:17.350 between raw unedited conversation that sounds 00:08:17.350 --> 00:08:20.790 like it was recorded in a bathroom stall and 00:08:20.790 --> 00:08:26.589 highly produced cinematic quality audio. It's 00:08:26.589 --> 00:08:28.250 somewhere in between there, right? Because the 00:08:28.250 --> 00:08:33.190 cinematic quality audio, the level of effort 00:08:33.190 --> 00:08:36.529 for those wondery shows has clearly not borne 00:08:36.529 --> 00:08:41.269 out as a worthwhile investment. But the crappy 00:08:41.269 --> 00:08:45.409 shows aren't good either. So you need to be intentional 00:08:45.409 --> 00:08:47.490 about who you help and the quality of the show 00:08:47.490 --> 00:08:51.509 you're putting together. The second I, related 00:08:51.509 --> 00:08:55.419 to the first I, is invest. They say you got to 00:08:55.419 --> 00:08:57.419 spend money to make money and ideally you're 00:08:57.419 --> 00:09:00.220 going to spend a lot less money than you make 00:09:00.220 --> 00:09:04.080 but in the beginning you are going to have to 00:09:04.080 --> 00:09:09.120 invest a little bit in What you're doing hire 00:09:09.120 --> 00:09:14.360 an editor Get better software Maybe if you're 00:09:14.360 --> 00:09:16.080 putting the show on YouTube hire a thumbnail 00:09:16.080 --> 00:09:19.980 person get a better microphone Sound quality 00:09:19.980 --> 00:09:24.139 matters, right? So invest a little bit to show 00:09:24.139 --> 00:09:26.240 people that you actually care about the show. 00:09:27.659 --> 00:09:31.620 And the third I is iterate. When you're doing 00:09:31.620 --> 00:09:33.840 a hobby, right? Again, if I'm going back to my 00:09:33.840 --> 00:09:37.399 drums example, I'm not iterating that much. I 00:09:37.399 --> 00:09:39.240 learned a bunch of songs when I was a teenager. 00:09:40.019 --> 00:09:42.039 I played them when I went off to college. I didn't 00:09:42.039 --> 00:09:44.279 bring my drum set with me for a million reasons. 00:09:44.639 --> 00:09:47.519 But then Rock Band came out and I actually learned 00:09:47.519 --> 00:09:50.539 a bunch of songs thanks to Rock Band and my friend 00:09:50.539 --> 00:09:54.309 and my housemate John. John Kelly, shout out. 00:09:54.870 --> 00:09:56.950 He brought his drum set because he was a drummer 00:09:56.950 --> 00:09:58.789 too, a much better drummer than me. He brought 00:09:58.789 --> 00:10:01.590 his drum set and put it in the basement of our 00:10:01.590 --> 00:10:04.470 house. And he told me I could play it whenever 00:10:04.470 --> 00:10:07.889 I wanted. And so I ended up learning a bunch 00:10:07.889 --> 00:10:10.289 of new songs thanks to Rock Band and John Kelly. 00:10:13.049 --> 00:10:17.309 And, you know, now I'm approaching 40 and I've 00:10:17.309 --> 00:10:19.590 learned a few new songs, but I'm not really iterating. 00:10:19.929 --> 00:10:25.350 I'm just doing it for fun. But if you are investing 00:10:25.350 --> 00:10:27.610 in your show, if you're being intentional, the 00:10:27.610 --> 00:10:32.490 third I is iterate. Make the show better by getting 00:10:32.490 --> 00:10:35.289 feedback, by figuring out what's working and 00:10:35.289 --> 00:10:41.250 not working, and just improving to make it something 00:10:41.250 --> 00:10:46.350 that people want to invest in, right? Make it 00:10:46.350 --> 00:10:48.149 something people want to give you money for. 00:10:48.970 --> 00:10:54.330 Whether that is through sponsors, or other ads 00:10:54.330 --> 00:10:58.809 or hiring you to do something or buying your 00:10:58.809 --> 00:11:06.649 product. So intentional, invest, iterate. If 00:11:06.649 --> 00:11:11.230 you want to take your podcast from hobby to income 00:11:11.230 --> 00:11:13.950 generator, those are the three things you need 00:11:13.950 --> 00:11:16.870 to do. I'd love to hear from you. Do you have 00:11:16.870 --> 00:11:18.470 a hobby podcast that you want to start making 00:11:18.470 --> 00:11:21.669 money from? Let me know what you think. You can 00:11:21.669 --> 00:11:24.830 send your feedback over at streamlinedfeedback 00:11:24.830 --> 00:11:28.590 .com. That's streamlined with a D, feedback .com. 00:11:29.129 --> 00:11:31.149 Thanks so much for listening, and until next 00:11:31.149 --> 00:11:33.830 time, I hope you find some space in your week.