If you have ever wondered what podcast production really means? Or what happens after you hire a podcast producer? This is the episode you want to listen to.
I want to talk about some nuance, you need to look at when you are looking at who to partner with. And straight-up, what to expect on the back end. Now, caveat, there is going to be some nuance to this episode and I will very likely point it out as we are along the way. But to start everything I talked about today is going to be what you can expect with Uncommonly More, not in a way that is like, because we do things exceptionally different? Although we do. But because I can’t speak to what you will get elsewhere. I want you to be using this information as a way to build for yourself.
- What your must-haves are?
- What your non-negotiables are?
- What are the things that you need to have?
So that when you start talking to podcast production agencies, including us, you have the questions, you want to be asking yourself, are you equipped with the expectations you need to be met.
I want to start by talking about the nuance of your show because there are different kinds of podcasts.
Again, we have talked about this before but it’s such an important thing to remember when it comes to looking to who you want to partner with. The kind of shows our agency works with, our shows like this one. Shows where the goal of the show is to monetize through business sales. Meaning, you are looking to sell services. You are looking to sell, maybe a product, you are looking to sell programs, coaching, something. You are using this as a lead gen tool, which makes your goals different, which makes your process different which makes the kind of asset you are building different. It also makes the strategy different.
As you are looking to partner with agencies, be partnering with an agency where there is an awareness of that. I will be completely honest. We have no shows, we produce ZERO shows where the goal is to sell ad space. We partner with shows where they are looking to nurture perspective, buyers and educate prospects, enough to be able to make a decision on whether this is the right next step for them. I want you to be really mindful of the goals of your show, and the kind of program or strategy, or support you are moving into because it needs to be a match for your goals.
One of those strategic differences is really going to come down to even the kind of episodes you are creating.
This episode is a great example of that. This is an episode that A, I will be able to repurpose and we will talk more about that in a second. But also that is going to help you as The Listener implement things in your own business and your own show, but also help you make a decision around, If now is the right time for you to be investing in this kind of support.
Let us talk a little bit about what I mean by repurposing. There have been two instances in the last couple of years, specifically, that come to mind when I talk about this really being a bacon saver, right? This really being something that came through and helped out. Honestly, there are lots of examples of this, but the two I want to point to are planned or unplanned. A planned one looked like we had a client who was expanding her family and expecting a baby, and going to be on maternity leave. What was that going to mean for content? What was that going to mean for her Client List when she got back? Was there going to be anything she was selling sort of a leveraged product maybe while she was off. So, she could be bringing in revenue while on maternity leave. The answers to those questions were… Yes, those are all things we should consider.
It turned out, she did put together a product. She had a waitlist in place to work with her and guess what? We mapped out repurposing episodes so that she could record and pre badge half as many episodes of she was going to need for the months that we did do any new episodes. Plus, we planned in a couple of months there where she completely took off, like there was not even anything to do for new episodes. We completely repurposed.
Now, this can be especially great for clients that are with us because it gives us the ability to polish episodes that maybe were created before we started working together. But also, it can be a really good way to give yourself some space when you have something planned coming up.
I am in the midst of Q2 calls with our clients planning their time, and their content, and their sales for Q2. Guess what? With almost everybody, we talked about. Where can we add in some repurposing? So, we can take some space because for most of our clients download numbers, June, July or August to drop.
What is interesting is, it is not the same months for everybody, but somewhere in there. We tend to not bottom out. But it there is a noticeable, slow down and listenership and it is like, cool. Let us repurpose there, let us build in some space for your own time away and really support people with what they need in that time, if they show up to consume. We pulled in repurposing. And when we are looking at building strategic assets like this episode, that is really easy.
Now, let us talk about another instance where you may need some unplanned time off.
Maybe, suddenly, you are ill or your kids are sick, or you are having some mental health stuff, or whatever the case may be. In the case of the last 2 years, this was an instance where clients became ill, and we are out of commission for two, four, or six weeks in some cases. Guess what we were able to do really quickly, step in identify where we could use past assets, and re-release them. They had all their marketing assets ready, their downloads stayed consistent even saw growth.
They saw sales, all while they were stepped back. All while they were taking the beat and taking care of themselves. That is what it means to be in control of your content and not have your content in control of you. That is what it means to be in charge. That is what having some strategy and forethought will buy you, not just from the perspective of an ability to batch and be ahead, which is something our clients are. And again, when you are working with a producer, you should be able to do, but when it hit the fan. When there was nothing left. We could step in and help.
They did not even need to decide what episodes were going to go out. Just in the first couple of months of this year. We had a client who was not even ill. There was no illness. However, there was a lot of needs for their attention. There were some big projects that were happening. There was some personal life stuff that was happening. They were just getting life[?] from all sides and they were, like, “I know I am behind… When do I need to get this done, I could sit down and I can squeeze it in and I went- what if we just ran this series? What if we mapped out this alternative content plan?” And we were able to buy her a whole month of space.
We were able to buy her a whole month off from her show, which she did not expect to have. I think that there is no greater gift than finding unexpected time, not already committed to something else. That is what we were able to do. And that is what happens when you are working with a good strategic fit for your podcast production is you have someone who you can call and you can say, “I don’t know how this is going to happen.” And they can partner with you to get it done.
That is what I want you to be looking for when you hire a podcast producer.
When you are looking at, who is the person for me? Who is this agency for me? Be looking at someone who can hold the wheel for you and with you strategically, because it matters. And really this is why we have our strategy calls once a quarter with our clients, and this is going to start shifting into our deliverables and how we work.
So what happens after you hire a podcast producer like Uncommonly More.
When our clients sign with us, and we go, and obviously there is the tactical stuff like passwords and getting it, if there is already graphics that you have, getting those templates to us, if not working with our designer to get those templates created. Whatever the case may be. The tech stuff is all sorted. The logins, the folders, our Monday dashboard are created so that our clients can go in there and start seeing what is going on.
Then we have our kickoff call. And it is a 90-minute version of our quarterly strategy call? I find that the first one needs a little extra time. But that is really where we are starting our kickoff process. We are starting our audit? Where is the show been? Where is the show now? Where is the show going?
We are looking at your own sales goals.
First, I usually ask about the first three to six months in that first call, just so I have a little more runway as we look at our second quarterly call. We are talking about what do we need to be doing? Where do you need time off? Where is this hard right now? Where can we make your process easier? We start putting all of that into Monday. So, that when we wrap up that call, our clients can go in there and see exactly what is expected of them for the next 12 weeks, exactly what they need done.
As they are moving through that 12 weeks. And moving through that actual production process. They are seeing where their shows are along the way. They are seeing that our editor is in there, that are transcriptionist is in there, that is show notes writers are in there, that are our schedulers and our production assistants are going and scheduling things, and then they can see in their folder that they have their audiograms and their graphics, and their transcript and their SEO optimized show notes. And their professionally, edited audio files, all in one place, easy for them to go and use. They can see that they have got their links set up really easily so that they can send traffic to that new episode. They can schedule their social media to promote that episode, and then they can take it back.
Notice there are clients who were not in there. That is what I wanted you to hear. That is what you should be looking at when you are looking at a producer. You are not just looking at someone who is going to edit it and hand it back to you, and then you have to get it transcribed, and you have to write the blog post, and you have to create the graphics. That is not a producer, that is an editor.
A producer is somebody who is sitting with you in that strategic role.
And partnered with you in overseeing your production process, and who is going to hand back, finalized, deliverables for you so that you are ready to go and market your show. Plain and simple. That is what you should be expecting. When you hire a podcast producer.
Takeaways From What Happens When You Hire A Podcast Producer?
There are three pieces that I really want you to take away from this.
One, how many times I use the word partner?
I kept this episode short so, if you want to listen to it again, you can count the times I said partner. This should be a partnership. This should be someone who you trust to give a crap about your show. That is important. This should be somebody who is helping you hold the wheel strategically. Who when you sit down together and again, part of that partnership is that you do sit down together regularly. Like I said, we meet with our clients, every quarter to ask this question. What are we selling in the next 12 weeks? What do they need to know to make a decision if now is the right time for them? That is critical.
In those quarterly calls. There is also a lot of holding space because this is a partnership. Holding space for the, “I don’t know if I have anything to say, I don’t know if I am talking to the right people. Am I making this too complicated? I might not making this complicated enough. I don’t want to record. Does the show even work?” Because a lot of times, what I do in those quarterly calls is go through numbers with our clients. Ask questions about if anybody has mentioned the show to them. What kind of DM’s they have got? Sales of coming in through the show, because obviously, it is working but sometimes we are not always super connected with that. And so, we need someone outside of us to shine a little light on that again, right? I want you to have that kind of partnership. That is number one.
Number two, notice how much of this was high level.
What in that was appealing to you? What, as I laid out that kickoff process, that production process and outlined some of those deliverables that we had back. What in there was a most important to you? If you cannot right now, invest in a full production partner. Where can you start making some of those pieces easier in the interim? Maybe, it is handing off editing. Maybe it is finding a really great transcription tool. I have several, if you would like them. Hit me in the DMs. Whatever it is, what were the things we were like, “Oh, that would be amazing.” And start finding ways to get started there. Start moving in that direction, and start figuring out what is it that you need to be doing to make space for this investment. Because of all of that was in peeling, it is time to find the resources. Simple as that.
The number three thing that I want you to think about is timing.
If you made it to this point in the episode, and you were still engaged and you are still listening to me, and you are like, “Yes, this is cool.” Why is now not the right time? And better yet, why is now the right time. Because it is very likely is, as you start looking at your Q2 and your Q3, and your own desire to have some holiday time this summer for those of us on this side of the equator and winter for you on the other.
In this Q2, in this Q3. Where do you want some space away? As you prepare for Q4. Are you going to want some time off at the end of the year? Are you going to want to go into next year in a less frustrated place? And you were, when you started your show in Q1 of this year? I know because I have been talking to a lot of you. That was not super fun, as you moved into this start of this year maybe. When is the timing right? When is the discomfort going to be enough, that you are ready to partner? If now is when that discomfort is high enough, and you are ready, it is time to hire a podcast producer.
Book your call with me. We will bring on two new shows, in April. We do not bring on more than two shows a month. We will have two spots ready to work with us, in May. I would love one of those shows to be yours so that we can move into the summer, and move into the fall, and move into the end of the year, really with your show supported and your listenership supported. So, that your show can be doing what it needs to do for your business.
