Pod-Crashing Episode 33: Staying Independent

It’s completely natural to wanna build a big bright and beautiful podcast then market the hell out of it.
Wait wait. That last part is the ugly shoe in the picture. To market the podcast? You know, to push your stories and creative spirits onto every possible platform known to mankind. Not just this time but every time. To throw yourself into the center of the kingdom of hashtags and @ symbols.
If you have famous people on the episode you visit their pages and those belonging to the products you brought up in the talk. Push! Make those connections with listeners and or clients for the businesses you agreed to help promote.
I’m not gonna lie to ya. The hardest part about podcasting is the butt kicking received after you post an episode. Marketing your magic is mind blowing important. Living that life and style doesn’t put a dent in your day. The insurance company would label your vocal vehicle a total wreck.
This is why so many podcasters refuse to market or do all they can to get hooked up with a broadcast company or internet radio station to get a solid push. I know from experience how dangerous this decision can be.
As my Mom would say, “You’ve gotta watch your P’s and Q’s and please dot every I and cross every T”
Never give up ownership. Stay independent. I know people who’re putting their podcast episodes on privately owned servers. Those controlling the visibility have interesting ways of saying, “We’re cheaper than anyone else. Heck let’s just give you the data space free!” Sounds great until you realize the keeper of the keys is collecting tiny chunks of cash from the hits and downloads you’ve generated.
Go ahead put on the boxing gloves. We all like a good Rocky Balboa story. Sadly I’ll betcha there’s an itty pitty paragraph somewhere in that handshake that clearly states they make all or part of the money made. Not only that, but there could be another paragraph that removes you as the owner of the podcast. The very second you post it on their server it could belong to them. It’s their digital farmyard and you’ve been invited to ride the horse but not fry up the chicken eggs.
Stay independent. It hurts like hell when the digital partner steps from out of nowhere with a sign that reads, “You’re mine exclusively. If you’d like to keep growing together the simple task at hand is to remove everything you have off all other platforms but this one.”
Dangerous game. Each of your outlets has its own listener base and 99.9% of them aren’t forking out the email addresses attached. The second you disconnect from those human ears due to a tiny misunderstanding it’s no different than starting all over.
It killed me when SoundCloud wiped me off their map. All of that time and energy spent writing, producing, posting then promoting the piss out why they were the hottest thing on the podcast planet. I didn’t even get a kiss goodbye. Then I got hit again with an internet station that I was trying to help bring listeners to by letting them tap into my reach. Blew up in my face. How the eff could this happen to me twice?
Stay independent. Play nice with the privately owned server geniuses but watch your back. The bigger and better your podcast gets the more their analytics go up. Make sure you always get your numbers. Look to see them in real time. It’s too easy to cut and paste then correct a little here and a lot there.
Building a partnership does have its perks. A bigger company and or appearance looks great to potential advertisers. Those spending the bucks in sponsorships know how many startup podcasts are out here. They want to build a relationship with a product that delivers sale or service to their product.
When joining forces know of the expectation. It’s not always about power but rather who making sure that everyone on the team delivers? I spent some time with Sean Morrow of the Who Is podcast. We talked about his mighty team of two. Plus a crew of producers.
A ton of research and travel goes into this weekly presentation. Hour long conversations edited down to storytelling soundbites that bring out the historic content. The podcast is about political figures and decision makers. Everybody in business has taken a strange road to get on top. Sean has to be exact. That means his team has to show up.
The reason why I say it that way is because of the number of stories I hear from fellow podcasters that trusted their partnerships. Amazing amounts of time went into the startup but the follow through kept hitting mountains and walls.
Sean Morrow knows how much time goes into each of his episodes. There are 14 presently finished but he’s releasing them one week at a time. Think about it. 14 shows equals 14 weeks. That a lot of time to keep the pump operating. I can’t imagine what it would do to the shows morale if a new episode was required every day.
Because I book 7 to 10 interviews a day and post 5 and more episodes Monday through Friday having a team is a dream. I spoke of it a lot while pulling off four decades of terrestrial radio. But here’s where I’m gonna be honest. Because I’ve had so many twists, spills and stumbles with developing partnerships the awareness button is always on high alert. I don’t deal well with other people’s times on the clock or laziness. I’m a Pitbull on steroids when it comes to staying focused with this project. Too many of my radio dreams were lost because those in control made bad decisions.
You should’ve heard me cheer out loud this past week when Joe Rogan was sharing a priceless podcast conversation with comedian Pete Dominick. Rogan clearly spoke with authority when he said, “Stay in control.”
That doesn’t mean Joe’s doin it alone. Every so often his producer chimes in. Chelsea Handler’s as well. Both are in control.
Sharing the episode making is a brilliant way to move the industry forward but if everybody’s got equal say and play that sounds like a storms on the way. I learned a very valuable lesson a couple of radio jobs back. If you’re ever put in a team work situation. You need three things to find success. A dick, a dork and a deer.
So what’s the moral of the story? Watch your back. The moon is always promised but I’ve yet to see the cow jump over it. Hanging out with the idea of joining strings with others always sounds interesting by way of being perked up by something new. Think long term. I mean several hundred episodes and more. The bigger this podcasting thing gets the more you’re going to see broadcasting giants taking huge chances on those that’ve dedicated their blood sweat and tears. Agreements will be made. Hearts will be shattered. Incredible podcasts will then go silent. And all you had to do was keep control.