This series is all about libsyn’s podcasters. Its sole purpose is to introduce these awesome podcasts to the world as well as share their podcasting insight to empower the community!
Q & A with Anonymous from Dear Michelle
When did you start podcasting?
I began podcasting on January 5, 2020. I released the first episode hoping that fifty people would listen. One national award and thousands of people later I have far exceeded my initial goal!
Why did you start podcasting?
For me, podcasting is all about story. It does not matter whether the podcast follows the more traditional interview style podcast or follows narrative forms of storytelling. I love to tell stories! One need only listen to a single episode of my podcast to discover just how much!
I began podcasting because I believed that my life story and my “particular and peculiar brand of crazy” deserves an audience.
What’s the name of your show and what is it about?
My podcast is titled, “Dear Michelle.” It is series of letters written to an apolitical version of Michelle Obama.
The Michelle Obama of my podcast is a surrogate for the listening audience. The letters allow me to tell my life story. It sounds complicated. It is not. It works. It really, really works!
What’s your podcasting set-up? Hardware, software, CMS, etc.
I consider my set-up to be an exercise in minimalism. In my mind, long after I am done podcasting (Never!), the equipment will end up housed in a museum exhibit near the works of Frank Stella and Larry Bell!
I use a laptop, an HP Envy to be exact, and a Samson G Track Pro microphone.
I am embarrassed to say that I handhold a pop filter before I record using Audacity.
Once I am done using Audacity to record, I do my own editing. I send off this version to my friend, Justin at Reliable Sounds, who adds my podcast music and does final mixing.
(I do my best to edit out the sounds of my dogs barking and the planes that fly overhead but none of us is perfect, right?) Justin rocks!
Shout out to jazz pianist, Lafayette Harris, Jr. for letting me sample, “Honeylike.”
Once Justin returns his version, I rename and upload it to my absolute most-est, best-est, favorite-est hosting site, Libsyn!
How have you promoted your podcast?
Pre-COVID 19, I had a brilliant plan! It was to drive to various cities, stand on popular street corners, and hand out business cards advertising my podcast. Then, it occurred to me that standing on street corners soliciting was probably not the best path for me to take. (insert funny eye emoji)
I decided to use social media marketing and to allow my audience to grow organically. You can connect via Twitter, Instagram & Facebook!
Ep. 4 of “Dear Michelle,” titled, “Bread Crumbs,” won a 2020 Communicator Award! Winning such a prestigious award so soon after I began podcasting has opened a lot of doors for me.
What do you know now that you wish you knew when you started?
This is a GREAT question!
I wish I had known that the difficulties I had navigating the technological challenges (Where did you say the record button is again?) and all of the self-doubt (Noted publishers turned y-o-u down. Why again do you think anyone will listen to your podcast?) are worth setting aside.
Your story, whether told in the form of an interview or told as a traditional narrative, is worth telling! It is worth telling whether your audience is 5 people or 50 people or 50 million.
It is worth telling whether you never win awards, or you win dozens! Speak and the world will listen! Libsyn will be there to support you when it does!
If you love storytelling or if you want to listen to a podcast like no other, you need to subscribe to Dear Michelle now!
Do you have an amazing idea for a show? Why not start a podcast? We can get you started with our free Podcasting Quickstart or even this “start your podcast” blog series! Once you’re ready, we have the best podcast hosting plans around.
