Podscribers

“Another way to think about [podcasting SEO] is to give your page all the contextual clues it needs to point people/Google to that page. Things like making sure you have a title that people are searching for, a meta-description or SEO snippet that'll show up in search results, and a description that your target audience will care about and find interesting.”

Amanda Natividad is the Head of Marketing at Growth Machine and the host of the Growth Machine Marketing Podcast. 

(0:57) - Quick intro to Amanda, why she revitalized the Growth Machine podcast. She shares how she grew the podcast organically, and how she gets her guest to help promote it.

(4:22) - Amanda’s measure of success is whether the podcast generates additional content. Two is how it’s been generating new leads.

(5:30) - Every Growth Machine episode has detailed and informative show notes. Amanda’s thoughts when writing them: “include everything that is necessary to help someone make the decision to listen to the episode and to stay on that page.” Writing the show notes also helps her think about why the episode would be informative and/or interesting.

(8:13) - Amanda turns each podcast episode into at least one other piece of content, like a blog post, or a case study.

(10:20) - Amanda writes content based on whether people would be interested in it. Ie: are people searching for it on Google? Are there communities who want this content? Are there certain questions that come up anecdotally?

(11:35) - How to gauge interest in a topic if you don’t have access to ahrefs using Moz and google keywords. This is important because you can then make podcasts which can then answer questions based on that.

(12:40) - Amanda uses Otter.ai to transcribe her podcasts, but she hasn’t published them. It’s important to vet transcripts so that missed words and phrases don’t lead a reader to think that a person said something other than what he actually said on the podcast. Transcripts are used to reference episodes more quickly, to write quotes, and to write further content.

(14:53) - Working with a freelance writer to turn episodes into blog posts.

(16:45) - Do transcripts need to be 100% accurate? A bit of back and forth. Two things to consider: are the errors materially changing what the speaker is saying? And is the transcript useful for the reader?

(18:37) - Peter Attia uses his transcripts to add in extra medical and scientific context for listeners who might not be MDs like him and his guests.

(20:52) - How to prepare your podcast, transcripts, and websites for SEO if you don’t have access to SEO tools like ahrefs. Think about what you want your headline to be, what the content should be, what listeners are looking for on google.

(23:56) - Successful podcasters who build community are those who create content to have discussions for the sake of community. Kristin LaFrance comes to mind as the host of Resilient Retail.

(26:18) - A few more thoughts on how to SEO without any SEO tools: timestamps, meta-descriptions, etc.

Thanks for coming onto the podcast Amanda!

“I really like just being down in the trenches with people. Discord is a place to have moments where a topic springs up in a channel, and for the next hour you have one of the most heartfelt, beautiful conversations.” Michael Garfield is the host of the Future Fossils podcast, Complexity podcast, and the social media director at the Santa Fe Institute.

(0m 42s):

How Michael came to host both the complexity podcast and the future fossils? Michael learned on stage that not only was he a musical performer, but he was also great at public speaking. Pretty soon, people were asking him to interview people and record it! So he started the Future Fossils podcast with his friend Evan Snyder.

(5m 29s):

Future fossils is a podcast about time, complex systems, philosophy, and technology.

(7m 3s):

A takeaway of the podcast: remain epistemologically flexible. Stories form our worlds. There are many ways of looking at the world. Also, “there are important symmetries between the pre-modern world and the postmodern world.”

(11m 9s):

How Michael started the Complexity Podcast for the Santa Fe institute.

(15m 39s):

Michael grew the Santa Fe’s social media assets from scratch, and promotes the podcast on them. He also promoted it in Nautilus magazine. He spends $0 on ads.

(16m 43s):

How Pete’s email, personality, and experimental new product sold Michael on our transcripts. Something Michael wants to get to eventually: creating networked diagrams of the topics covered in the podcast (also covered at the 21m 19s mark).

(24m 24s):

Michael is the only client we’ve seen who actively outsources his editing work to listeners! Here’s how he sourced volunteers - step by step - and shared responsibilities. He also shared some tips on what he’ll do differently moving forward.

(29m 9s):

Other future uses for the transcripts.

(32m 41s):

Michael has studied complexity, so does he have any insights into the pandemic as of yet? He did a 10 part episode series on COVID last year - you should listen to it.

His conversation with Shane Moss and Chris Kutarna on the Future Fossils podcast is a great episode to listen to if you can’t listen to the 10 parts (linked below).

But one point: “we’re awakening to the realities of being networked individuals.” Personal health affects the economy, public health, other people, etc. Furthermore, biological contagions mimic ideological contagions. Lastly, it has shoved our relationships into the digital sphere, causing more polarization. Our society has become more fragile.

(40m 57s):

Michael started a discord server to build a community that wasn’t on facebook. “People are looking for their own sort of bespoke little digital campfires that they can hang out at.” That’s where all of the heartfelt conversations occur.

“I don't think it's ethical at this point to try and grow a podcast as large as you possibly can, any more than it's ethical to try and grow a company as large as you possibly can. Like, there’s more than one bottom line.”

To join the discord channel, check out the future fossils shownotes, or just reach out to Michael on twitter.

“He'd say, are you hungry? We'd say, no, we're full. Oh, no, you sure you're not hungry? No, we're definitely full. Oh, I’m going to call my mother because she cooks better than my wife. And then three hours later, we would be sat eating into the night. So when I say 'oh, I traveled in Iraq,' people think that it must have been so dangerous. But it was the most welcoming place I've ever been to. And it also changed me because I hadn't been to many, say, dangerous destinations before that. I wasn't so adventurous.”

Stephen Bailey is an award winning travel writer and the head of Kated’s UK office.

(0m 15s) An introduction to the podcast and to the company.

(5m 15s):

Stephen’s thoughts on how the pandemic will affect travel's longterm future and sustainability.

(10m 2s):

Kated Travel uses the speaker names in transcripts as headings instead. Here’s how his team came up with it.

(10m 58s):

They originally got transcripts to give listeners a choice in how to consume the podcast. Now they’re used to also write content.

(15m 42s):

How the hospitality of Kurdish freedom fighters changed his views on humanity.

“I’m building that community of heart-centered sales people, because my movement with that show is to try to change 'sales' from an icky, sleazy, pushy job to one that comes from a place of, 'Hey, I really care about you. I'm committed to you.' There's an element of love ('heart-centered') where I want to help you with whatever it is that you're struggling with, using my solution.” Connie Whitman is a master seller, an entrepreneur, a coach, and the host of two podcasts. 

(0:37) Who Connie is - she helps professionals learn how to sell themselves.

(2:30) How she started the Enlightenment of Change Podcast and the Heart-Centered Sales Leader podcast. Connie’s unique and empathic approach to selling.

(4:17) What she talks about on the show, how it connects to overall health and welness.

(7:11) How Connie uses her facebook group to build community

(8:57) How she promotes and grows her podcast exponentially using her email list and social media.

(10:40) One thing unique about Connie’s podcast is that she asks her guest to write down topics which they could talk about in their podcast together. She explains how it leads to a more comfortable and genuine conversation.

(14:52) Connie got transcripts to make content creation easier! She uses transcripts to share insights with her email list, and is thinking about writing a book with them too! Lastly, it’s an online resource for her community. Podscribe is efficient.

(20:41) More uses for transcripts - content creation, webinars, masterclasses, zoom transcription.

“We also are not perfect at podcasting or anything we do. So we have a bell that we will ring. So if we make a mistake, there's a bell that rings and then we have to take a drink. So it's in line with the podcast. And I think people are really enjoying playing along at home.” Amy Faulkner hosts the Dead Men of Whiskey Podcast

0:22 - How Amy started a podcast about the History of Whiskey. Her goal was to tell the interesting stories behind all of the creators of whiskey.

2:58 - She promoted the show by tapping into her existing network of spirit fans on social media.

3:43 - On top of promotions, she also has a merchandise store, and is building a community on Twitch and Discord. If she or another speaker on the podcast makes a mistake, they ring a bell and then take a drink. People play at home.

6:12 - She got transcripts to boost her website's SEO. Transcripts are also great for pulling in interested readers to find new topics/characters in the history of whiskey.

7:26 - Amy will soon use the all-search widget to figure out whether topics have already been spoken about on the show already or not.

“People were looking at the silly sex and dating stuff, and then were going back to the podcast and checking it out. Now I view tik tok as not only a tool to create, but a tool to draw people into the podcast.” Zach Grossfeld is the host of Auxoro and The Aux.

“What I noticed with Podscribe was that you guys were hustling, grinding, finding things out, and your pricing was extremely competitive. But you had focus, and an aptitude and a passion to help podcasters excel. That's what I saw when I wanted to sign up.” 

Sean Sullivan is the host and producer of Converge Coffee, and an entrepreneur.

[0:26] Sean started out Converge Coffee with a focus on marketing in tech. Now, customer experience is what needs focus today because it forms a large part of branding. Applied to podcasters, they need to look out for their audio quality and accessibility for customer service.

[3:08] Measuring podcast success - it comes down to community. How do you cultivate community from your podcast? Podcasts connect people, break down walls, and start conversations. This is much more than just likes and downloads. Community also helps to develop your brand.

[6:37] Sean has a youtube channel, website, newsletter, to get people to listen. But his purpose is to get people’s stories out. He hones his questions, audio quality, and is intentional with his podcast outreach.

[8:51] Part of what made Podscribe appealing as a transcript provider: their cold email, and their narrow focus on providing transcripts to podcasters specifically. They pull in timestamps, you get an embed code, and it’s pretty accurate. That’s why he loves Podscribe. He got it to give listeners more choice - if they want to read instead of listen to Converge coffee, they can.

[11:11] He uses his transcripts to make them available for listeners who’d prefer to read them, and also to repurpose his transcripts for social media posts or his email newsletter. They’re great for pulling quotes out from.

“I’m always one conversation away from changing my life.” Ben Killoy is a father, a podcast producer, an entrepreneur, a life coach, and a veteran.

0:29 Ben pivoted into podcasting in Jan 2020 after losing his job. Others were quickly asking him for help only a few months after he started his first podcast! The skills you learn as a podcaster are very valuable. You don’t need to be an expert. You just need to know a bit more than someone to help them.

2:01 Return on Objective (ROO): How do all of your activities align with one single goal? First, identify your ROO. Then, aim all of your resources towards it. If Ben were restarting his podcast, he’d ask himself what his ROO is. Find the reason you want to launch a podcast. Why do you want a podcast? What are your listeners going to get? What are you moving your listeners towards?

8:00 Ben bought transcripts because they’re a quick SEO win. Transcripts might be better than show notes because you don’t know what questions googlers are seeking answers for - but the answer may be in your transcripts.  This is an easy quick win with little work, but big payoffs.

11:40 Ben’s primary goal when starting Military Veteran Dad was to publish. He grew his podcast by asking his guests to help promote the episode.

Remove all the work for your guest! Send them the link to the episode, send them the text they could use. Go on other people’s podcasts too! Share your story and your mission over an hour. You don’t do much work, but the episode continues to grow and grow for years. People will reach out to work with you!

15:20 Stop shouldding on yourself!

Shouldding is when you say “I should do this, I should do that, I should be like him, etc”. Just stop it. You can’t do it all. The most important thing in podcasting is to hit publish every week. Don’t talk yourself out of it. As long as you hit publish, you’ll grow. And as long as you grow, you move forward.

18:48 Keep in mind that finding guests is a lot of work. If you’re a good candidate for a podcast, you save them time by pitching yourself as a guest! Podcasts which are a year or younger would be great candidates.

After you have a guest on your podcast, ask them:

• who do you know who’d fit well on the podcast?
• which podcasts would I be a good guest on?

Do these two things and you won’t have to send out as many cold emails and calls. If you send out a cold email, be super short.

“I’m always one conversation away from changing my life.”

22:44 Ben’s business ecosystem: website, instagram, facebook page, coaching program.

His objective: to plant a seed of doubt into the mind of his listener. “I thought I was the only one who felt this way! If I’m not alone, what else might Ben have to offer me to reconsider?

24:34 Don’t know what to start a podcast about? Pick a problem that you had five years ago, that you've moved past, and talk about that. Someone today needs that knowledge you have about it.

instagram: @militaryveterandad, @ben_killoy

"I help trucking companies crash less." Chris Harris is a trucking safety professional based in Ontario, Canada, and our guest on this week's episode. 

0:24   Chris looked for a way to get more business come in for his trucking safety company, so he started a podcast and uploads to youtube and facebook too!

"Where the heart meets the mind." That's the motto of the Positive Mind Center, a comprehensive mental health counselling and psychotherapy center based in Manhattan. Niseema Dyan Diemer LMT is the SEP Director of Business Development at the center, and Connie Shannon is the administrative assistant of the center.

:23 The Positive Mind Podcast used to be a radio show, now it’s also a podcast! It talks about mental health topics. Their audience ranges widely, but referrals is how a lot fo people start listening.

3:47 Planning to use transcripts to create an archive of the show. They’d also like people to be able to read and listen to show. They use transcripts to pull out quotes for instagram, and information for newsletters. Great for timestamped audio.

5:17 They can use transcripts to make workbooks too! People could work through old episodes focused on a particular topic. When the group meets to talk, they could discuss what they went through in the transcript. They’d be on the same page.

7:16 They have a center in mid-town manhattan if you’d like to go in to understand mental health. They also offer telemedicine.

10:59 Some advice for mental health when it comes to dealing with COVID-19 and the restrictions. In sum: slow things down, and feel more.

13:46 Without transcripts, they’d be using interns to comb through past episodes. They’ve saved time and money.

14:48 How you can reach out:

"Education through storytelling." That's the mission of Heidi Snyderburn's company Birth Story Media. Heidi's a birth doula, an entrepreneur, an author, and a podcaster. Her podcast is a free platform for women to gain education and empowerment for their births. 

2:25   A birth doula (not spelled dula or doola) means “woman servant.” Throughout most of time, humans would birth with other women, up until the early 20th century. A doula is a birth coach who helps you emotionally and physically through your birth, just as a doctor/midwife helps you medically.

4:23   On her podcast, Heidi interviews women who've given birth (some with doulas, some without). She explores how outcomes would be different with a doula, along with some commentary about what was happening. The more you know, the more likely the positive outcome.

5:54   Heidi learns about her listeners when they write her, and share comments and feedback. Her audience is females, aged 20-45, who are either pregnant, on their fertility journey trying to get pregnant (including IUI, IVF, etc.), or on their next pregnancy. The majority of people who write in are those who have just given birth, and write in to say how the podcast helped them. Heidi also benefits from podcast hosting SEO (people type "birth story" in apple podcasts and find her there).

7:37  She left corporate America 3 years ago, and is now building Birth Story Media. On her website, you can listen to the podcast, buy the book, and download ~20 free workbooks on topics like vaccinations, circumcisions, birth plan, pros and cons of placenta encapsulation, and bengkun belly binding. She’s now using all this knowledge to build online childbirth education courses, along with the Director of Obstetrics at UNC Chapel Hill, Dr. John Thorp. People can listen to her podcast, buy her book for more, and soon, access her courses for a more personal experience.

9:36  She uses her transcripts to write books. Birthstory is your general guidebook. She's now making smaller books on v-backs (vaginal birth after cesarian), and being pregnant with twins. She also uses transcripts to pull out quotes to make audiograms for Instagram and Facebook, and YouTube subtitles.

11:27  Here's how she turns her transcripts into books. Take transcripts. Look up key words. Pull out the paragraphs where the key word is mentioned, and paste into a word doc. Print. Highlight the valuable content that stands out, along with all of the learnings and the teachings. Edit. 

13:04  Printing process. Heidi works with custom publishing. Instead of selling her book to Penguin for $100,000, she works with Spark Publications to help edit content, design the cover and graphics, etc. Spark takes an author’s words, polishes them, and then makes a book out of it! Heidi's book is beautiful, and one of the best on the market! It costs ~$20,000 - $30,000, and she owns 100% of the book.

15:20  Heidi first got transcripts to make her podcast more accessible to those with disabilities. She switched over to Podscribe because it saved her 1-2 hours per week, per episode. When she uploads her podcast to libsyn, she soon gets an email with her transcription and embed code! This is because Podscribe taps into your rss feed.

“It’s taken 8 hours to do a transcript down to like 90 minutes to edit” [15:09]. Jackie started the GREEN Organic Podcast to learn how to grow organic food, to teach others about it, and to keep her grocery bill low. Learn more about how Jackie, how she uses her transcripts, and why she calls Pete (our founder) the “man who gave her her weekends back."

[3:09] She calls her audience the “Green Future Growers.” They’re generally 24-35 years old, and are farmers, backyard gardeners, and everyone in between. Her audience tends to find her by searching through podcasting platforms - she's been podcasting for 6 years now, so there's a lot of gardening words to find her by. 

[5:08] She’s also built a community on facebook with her Green Future Growers. When getting in, she asks three questions: how'd you find us, have you checked out our free gardening course, and do you have an immediate question?