1 00:00:01,400 --> 00:00:05,640 Good morning everybody. I got this message today about 2 00:00:05,880 --> 00:00:09,520 what I've learned running a remote video podcast, and I was 3 00:00:09,520 --> 00:00:12,680 already starting to write this answer, but I figured instead of 4 00:00:12,680 --> 00:00:17,160 sharing this with one person, I might just answer it here and 5 00:00:17,160 --> 00:00:22,080 give more people the chance to learn what I learned and what I 6 00:00:22,080 --> 00:00:24,280 would do differently. So let's get into it. 7 00:00:27,000 --> 00:00:30,000 OK, so let's look at this from three different areas. 8 00:00:30,320 --> 00:00:33,640 The first one is what even makes a good podcast. 9 00:00:34,000 --> 00:00:36,920 The second one is how to make this sustainably. 10 00:00:37,240 --> 00:00:39,560 And the third one is how to grow this. 11 00:00:40,160 --> 00:00:43,040 Starting with the What makes a good podcast. 12 00:00:43,120 --> 00:00:46,800 I was really worried in the beginning that people don't care 13 00:00:46,800 --> 00:00:50,600 about remote conversations, that in person conversations are 14 00:00:50,600 --> 00:00:52,880 inherently better, and that is simply not true. 15 00:00:52,960 --> 00:00:56,200 I found it for my show to be true, and I found across the 16 00:00:56,200 --> 00:01:01,880 board that people really don't care if it is in person or 17 00:01:02,000 --> 00:01:05,920 remote as long as the base layer quality is there and if there's 18 00:01:05,920 --> 00:01:10,000 some kind of value there, a reason for people to listen. 19 00:01:10,320 --> 00:01:11,920 That brings us to the second point. 20 00:01:12,160 --> 00:01:15,920 You do have to have the base quality covered, but that 21 00:01:15,920 --> 00:01:20,360 doesn't mean spending a fortune. Any decent mirrorless camera 22 00:01:20,360 --> 00:01:24,040 that you can hook up via USB as a web camera will do. 23 00:01:24,120 --> 00:01:29,400 A decent microphone for a hundred $200 is totally going to 24 00:01:29,400 --> 00:01:32,080 cover it. And maybe using a platform like 25 00:01:32,080 --> 00:01:36,760 Riverside where you have control over the separate tracks. 26 00:01:37,240 --> 00:01:40,520 It's going to make your life so much easier in post production 27 00:01:40,520 --> 00:01:44,400 and it's going to deliver better sound and video quality. 28 00:01:44,640 --> 00:01:48,440 And the third realization in that ballpark I've made is that 29 00:01:48,680 --> 00:01:51,400 a lot of people actually just listen. 30 00:01:51,920 --> 00:01:55,880 So it is still true that audio Trump's video. 31 00:01:56,040 --> 00:02:00,720 As long as you have decent sound, people can enjoy the show 32 00:02:01,320 --> 00:02:04,360 and you don't have to over edit it. 33 00:02:04,360 --> 00:02:08,759 Like all the graphics, the whatever inserts you want to do 34 00:02:09,800 --> 00:02:14,280 are not as crucial as you think. Once you have people listening 35 00:02:14,280 --> 00:02:17,400 to that and how we get people to listen is going to be in the 36 00:02:17,400 --> 00:02:20,520 next block. OK, so now that we have the base 37 00:02:20,520 --> 00:02:24,080 layers covered, what makes this actually sustainable? 38 00:02:24,720 --> 00:02:31,560 And a big keystone mindset shift here for me was that 200 views 39 00:02:31,680 --> 00:02:37,280 is actually really, really good. You don't have to aim for 40 00:02:37,280 --> 00:02:45,120 100,000 for a top 1% podcast. If you stop looking at the, you 41 00:02:45,120 --> 00:02:51,040 know, Huberman's diary of your CEO, Colin and Samir, the top, 42 00:02:51,040 --> 00:02:57,520 top top percent of podcasts, you will find that most podcasts 43 00:02:57,520 --> 00:03:04,080 like 98% get a couple 100 views, even the ones that have a really 44 00:03:04,080 --> 00:03:09,040 dedicated following. And so being OK with this number 45 00:03:09,320 --> 00:03:14,320 and being happy with this number is a big mindset shift And 46 00:03:14,320 --> 00:03:18,560 understanding that a conversational video podcast 47 00:03:18,880 --> 00:03:23,680 does not play the same game a entertainment YouTube video 48 00:03:23,680 --> 00:03:26,560 does. Yes, you still have the chance 49 00:03:26,560 --> 00:03:33,280 to go viral and reach millions, thousands of people, but that is 50 00:03:33,280 --> 00:03:35,640 generally not the game that you're playing with this. 51 00:03:36,080 --> 00:03:39,000 Another thing that is going to make this much easier is to 52 00:03:39,000 --> 00:03:41,880 understand that longer does not equal better. 53 00:03:42,400 --> 00:03:47,240 I think there's a common consensus that a conversational 54 00:03:47,240 --> 00:03:52,680 podcast is an hour long, but honestly, it doesn't have to be. 55 00:03:53,760 --> 00:03:57,160 I'm starting to learn more and more into shorter episodes that 56 00:03:57,160 --> 00:04:02,840 are more dense with information, more dense with emotion, rather 57 00:04:02,840 --> 00:04:06,080 than dragging it out with fluff over an hour. 58 00:04:06,600 --> 00:04:11,520 Not just because that's a better experience for the audience, but 59 00:04:11,520 --> 00:04:14,280 also it makes my life a lot easier. 60 00:04:15,400 --> 00:04:20,600 Editing a podcast takes so much time simply because you have an 61 00:04:20,600 --> 00:04:23,760 hour or two hours of raw material to go through. 62 00:04:24,240 --> 00:04:27,800 And if you want to do your job well, just watching it before 63 00:04:27,800 --> 00:04:31,840 you publish would take an hour. And so take that into 64 00:04:31,840 --> 00:04:35,160 consideration. The longer your episode is, the 65 00:04:35,160 --> 00:04:38,120 more time you gonna spend in the edit. 66 00:04:39,120 --> 00:04:43,960 And the last piece of the puzzle here is to really dial in what 67 00:04:43,960 --> 00:04:48,040 the conversation is about. At the beginning, I thought 68 00:04:48,040 --> 00:04:52,840 about just sitting down with a friend and having a conversation 69 00:04:53,040 --> 00:04:58,160 would make a great podcast. That might be true for some 70 00:04:58,240 --> 00:05:01,960 guests, but it definitely isn't true for a lot of them. 71 00:05:02,360 --> 00:05:08,600 And it becomes very easy to get derailed with some side tangents 72 00:05:08,600 --> 00:05:13,120 that might be fun in the moment but hold no merit to anybody 73 00:05:13,120 --> 00:05:16,600 watching it, listening to this without the context that you're 74 00:05:16,600 --> 00:05:20,800 having. And so once you understand why 75 00:05:20,800 --> 00:05:23,720 you reach out to somebody and what you want to talk with them 76 00:05:23,720 --> 00:05:27,760 about, it makes the conversation flow much simpler. 77 00:05:28,000 --> 00:05:30,760 It makes packaging much easier, which is going to be the next 78 00:05:30,760 --> 00:05:36,160 point, and it's going to streamline the whole thing from 79 00:05:36,400 --> 00:05:39,880 top to end. So yeah, think about that before 80 00:05:39,880 --> 00:05:43,560 reaching out to anybody. All right, so how do you grow 81 00:05:43,560 --> 00:05:46,880 this thing? Even if we're already happy with 82 00:05:46,880 --> 00:05:50,720 a couple 100 views with, you know, the network that you have, 83 00:05:50,720 --> 00:05:55,480 that is great. But while this is very different 84 00:05:55,480 --> 00:06:00,680 from entertainment on purely educational YouTube content, we 85 00:06:00,680 --> 00:06:03,040 are still playing the packaging game. 86 00:06:03,800 --> 00:06:07,680 And that is the area that I'm thinking about most right now. 87 00:06:08,760 --> 00:06:11,760 It is not that I start with title and thumbnail before I 88 00:06:11,760 --> 00:06:14,440 even reach out to a guest. I think that would be silly. 89 00:06:14,640 --> 00:06:16,920 You never know what the conversation is going to turn 90 00:06:16,920 --> 00:06:20,640 into, but having this topic is going to help you package it. 91 00:06:21,240 --> 00:06:26,240 And the way I think about it, because there is not a lot of 92 00:06:26,240 --> 00:06:31,800 good advice out there on how to package a conversational video 93 00:06:31,800 --> 00:06:38,440 podcast, the thumbnail is there to get somebody's attention and 94 00:06:38,440 --> 00:06:43,200 communicate in the simplest shape of and form what this 95 00:06:43,200 --> 00:06:47,920 video is about. Two 3-4 words maximum in there. 96 00:06:49,160 --> 00:06:54,360 Everything beyond 5 is kind of destined to fail unless it's 97 00:06:54,360 --> 00:06:58,200 really nicely designed. And when I say that, I don't 98 00:06:58,200 --> 00:07:00,680 mean aesthetics. That's a big mistake, I thought. 99 00:07:00,680 --> 00:07:02,760 I thought thumbnails are about aesthetics. 100 00:07:03,360 --> 00:07:08,240 They are about communicating the essence of what this video is 101 00:07:08,240 --> 00:07:13,520 about and standing out in the sea of options that a viewer 102 00:07:13,520 --> 00:07:17,320 might have. And then the title is there to 103 00:07:17,600 --> 00:07:21,760 give context to the image, give a better understanding and a 104 00:07:21,760 --> 00:07:26,080 better reason for somebody to click and pose some kind of 105 00:07:26,080 --> 00:07:31,240 question or use some kind of words that speak to a specific 106 00:07:31,320 --> 00:07:35,960 group of people so they know it is for them and it holds 107 00:07:35,960 --> 00:07:41,840 something interesting to them. That 1-2 combo is what gets 108 00:07:41,840 --> 00:07:44,360 people to click. If they don't know you, they see 109 00:07:44,360 --> 00:07:49,840 like, oh, this is about, this is a conversation that I might 110 00:07:49,840 --> 00:07:52,240 learn something from. Let me give this a try. 111 00:07:53,280 --> 00:07:59,880 And so then they click on it and in the 1st 10 to 30 seconds, you 112 00:07:59,880 --> 00:08:05,600 really have to make sure that you communicate more of what 113 00:08:05,600 --> 00:08:11,240 this is going to be about and give people reasons to hang in 114 00:08:11,240 --> 00:08:15,800 there for 20-30 minutes. Retention graphs on podcasts 115 00:08:15,880 --> 00:08:20,040 simply don't look like a Mr. Beast retention graph. 116 00:08:20,440 --> 00:08:23,640 What I've been doing now is really start at the deep end, 117 00:08:23,640 --> 00:08:28,000 really go into the topic that this person is here for. 118 00:08:28,280 --> 00:08:31,120 And now they're maybe more interested in that person. 119 00:08:31,120 --> 00:08:36,520 And it's like, oh, and it becomes this like dopamine kind 120 00:08:36,520 --> 00:08:40,440 of release where it's just like, it's, it's this reward for 121 00:08:40,440 --> 00:08:42,799 hanging in there. And then the last couple points 122 00:08:42,799 --> 00:08:46,800 are really about understanding yourself more than anything 123 00:08:46,800 --> 00:08:50,240 else. And to be completely honest, 124 00:08:50,840 --> 00:08:52,360 it's hard to figure this out on paper. 125 00:08:52,600 --> 00:08:57,600 This really becomes clearer as you release more episodes as you 126 00:08:57,600 --> 00:09:00,320 engage more with the people who interact with it. 127 00:09:01,000 --> 00:09:06,760 But in order to make a podcast that resonates with people, you 128 00:09:06,760 --> 00:09:10,160 have to understand the audience. You have to understand who 129 00:09:10,160 --> 00:09:12,640 you're making this for, who you want to reach. 130 00:09:12,800 --> 00:09:17,080 And why would they care? What are the questions that they 131 00:09:17,080 --> 00:09:20,800 have? What are the desires they you 132 00:09:20,800 --> 00:09:25,680 know they don't have filled where you can come in and help 133 00:09:25,680 --> 00:09:31,280 them with a conversation that also plays into pick a lane that 134 00:09:31,280 --> 00:09:36,640 makes this different? Probably, I don't know. 135 00:09:36,840 --> 00:09:42,160 Most people start by imitating a show that they like. 136 00:09:42,920 --> 00:09:46,240 I certainly done it and you see it, I think across the board who 137 00:09:46,240 --> 00:09:49,560 I was inspired by. But once you get through this 138 00:09:49,560 --> 00:09:55,240 inspiration cycle and replay what others have done, hone in 139 00:09:55,240 --> 00:09:59,560 on your own perspective. What are those conversations 140 00:09:59,560 --> 00:10:02,320 that you admire? What don't they deliver? 141 00:10:02,640 --> 00:10:08,360 What unique perspective, What unique lens can you apply that 142 00:10:08,480 --> 00:10:13,600 makes this different? If I already have 5 shows I 143 00:10:13,600 --> 00:10:19,320 listen to, it is really hard to replace that unless something 144 00:10:19,320 --> 00:10:24,120 happens with that show. Podcasts stop all the time, so 145 00:10:24,120 --> 00:10:29,200 that is an option, but how do you replace my commute listening 146 00:10:29,200 --> 00:10:36,440 to the show with a new show that has to give a different view, a 147 00:10:36,440 --> 00:10:39,320 different take that is interesting to me, or it has to 148 00:10:39,320 --> 00:10:43,280 fill a gap that opened up or that simply exists. 149 00:10:43,800 --> 00:10:49,680 And then lastly, really understand why you do it. 150 00:10:50,440 --> 00:10:53,040 I don't want to be like pessimistic or anything like 151 00:10:53,040 --> 00:11:00,240 that, but the chance of starting a podcast and landing giant 152 00:11:00,240 --> 00:11:04,760 brand deals and exclusive deals from a platform and becoming 153 00:11:04,760 --> 00:11:11,400 rich and famous, to put it simply, are so so so slim. 154 00:11:11,400 --> 00:11:17,280 It is 100% possible, but there is much more value to be gained 155 00:11:17,280 --> 00:11:20,160 from starting and running a podcast. 156 00:11:20,680 --> 00:11:25,000 And to me, first of all, that is creating connections, making new 157 00:11:25,000 --> 00:11:28,440 friends. The end of the conversation is 158 00:11:28,440 --> 00:11:33,880 the beginning of a relationship because every guest, you might 159 00:11:33,880 --> 00:11:36,760 have a conversation with them for an hour, but some of them 160 00:11:37,200 --> 00:11:39,680 are going to become lifelong friends. 161 00:11:40,040 --> 00:11:43,600 You can also do it just to learn something right? 162 00:11:43,600 --> 00:11:46,000 You want to. I think J Klaus does this a lot. 163 00:11:46,000 --> 00:11:49,560 He has a specific thing he's interested in right now, and so 164 00:11:49,560 --> 00:11:51,920 he invites a guest who knows a lot about it. 165 00:11:52,400 --> 00:11:55,400 He learns about it, the audience learns about it. 166 00:11:55,600 --> 00:11:58,040 The expert can share what they've learned. 167 00:11:58,040 --> 00:12:00,320 And so it's like a triple win situation. 168 00:12:00,600 --> 00:12:03,080 It's great. Maybe you just want to spend 169 00:12:03,080 --> 00:12:07,480 more time with friends or with people you know, and a podcast 170 00:12:07,480 --> 00:12:11,800 is a great excuse to do that. Maybe you want to give context 171 00:12:11,880 --> 00:12:16,760 to what is happening in, in a hobby that you're interested in 172 00:12:17,200 --> 00:12:20,680 and nobody's talking about it. And you can just deliver this, 173 00:12:20,680 --> 00:12:26,640 this banter about, I don't know, PlayStation games or, or, or 174 00:12:26,640 --> 00:12:32,600 plants or whatever it is. And so understanding the reasons 175 00:12:32,600 --> 00:12:37,120 why you're doing it, I think is really a big key, giving it your 176 00:12:37,120 --> 00:12:41,120 own perspective and then understanding who you're doing 177 00:12:41,120 --> 00:12:45,840 it for because that makes all the steps before it so much 178 00:12:45,960 --> 00:12:50,040 easier. Those were my top 10 tips on how 179 00:12:50,040 --> 00:12:54,920 to start and grow a remote conversation podcast. 180 00:12:55,640 --> 00:12:59,840 Let me know if any of them stuck out to you, If you what's your 181 00:12:59,840 --> 00:13:03,080 take away from that? And if you want to see more of 182 00:13:03,080 --> 00:13:06,680 these creator support solo shows, If you do have a 183 00:13:06,680 --> 00:13:09,920 question, leave it down in the comments and I'll pick one to 184 00:13:09,920 --> 00:13:13,720 answer in two weeks time after the next podcast comes out. 185 00:13:14,200 --> 00:13:16,000 And yeah, see you in the next one. 186 00:13:16,440 --> 00:13:18,920 Hey, editing Val here. Before you click on the next 187 00:13:18,920 --> 00:13:21,640 video, I just wanted to let you know that we're running a summer 188 00:13:21,640 --> 00:13:24,160 of progress inside the Orbit community. 189 00:13:24,440 --> 00:13:28,360 So if you want to improve your channel, focus on something in 190 00:13:28,360 --> 00:13:32,240 your creator life, or start a podcast, this would be a great 191 00:13:32,240 --> 00:13:35,360 time to join. It's going to give you structure 192 00:13:35,360 --> 00:13:38,680 and accountability to make meaningful progress over the 193 00:13:38,680 --> 00:13:41,080 summer while everybody else is on vacation. 194 00:13:41,400 --> 00:13:44,480 We're going to get shit done. If that sounds interesting to 195 00:13:44,480 --> 00:13:48,120 you, the doors are open until June 8th, and then they're gonna 196 00:13:48,120 --> 00:13:51,480 close at least until September. But I would love to see you 197 00:13:51,480 --> 00:13:51,760 there.