Why Chris From Popcorn Finance Took the Leap–and Started a Podcast.

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This episode is part of my “How to Start a Killer Podcast” series, featuring my good friend Chris over at Popcorn Finance! Chris just passed the 1-year mark and produces one of the only finance podcasts I actually listen to–and today he’s sharing a few foundational and marketing tips! He’s also the nicest dude ever, just for the record.

Wanna make tons of money over the internet?

Me too!

But there are a few required ingredients for your “influencer-status” pie:

  • a loyal audience
  • respect
  • trust

Asides from the product itself–you won’t make a nickel without those.

So what are some great ways to build a loyal following and increase your trust and respect levels? Reach people with audio and video content.

This chat with Chris is the first in my “how to podcast” series, which is designed to leave you with the tools, knowledge, and confidence necessary to adventure into podcasting.

The “How to quickly and easily run an amazing podcast that builds an audience” series:

  1. Chris Browning (you are here)
  2. Carrie Reynolds – Podcast Monetization
  3. Steve Stewart
  4. The Free Podcast Launch Checklist!

Listen to my episode with Chris from Popcorn Finance

or listen on Apple Podcasts \\ Google Podcasts

Key takeaways from this episode:

Future or aspiring podcasters! Listen up:

Why it took 3 years for Chris to finally start.

Why?

It’s the same reason all of us DON’T start things we know we probably should (or at least really want to):

Fear.

It took years for Chris to take action on starting a podcast. Here’s how he eventually took the leap:

  1. He told friends and family he was interested in starting (building accountability)
  2. He recorded a few episodes and didn’t publish them (building confidence)
  3. He chose a “low-barrier-to-entry” software

Anchor.fm is an app that lets you start podcasting for free, right now, with nothing but your phone.

No editing or fancy mics required.

“Pete. Do you recommend I start with Anchor.fm today?”

ONLY if you’ve been procrastinating starting or just want to get some audio “out there” on the internet.

It’s not a robust platform for podcasting. For that, I’d recommend a cheap dynamic microphone from Amazon and a cheap Podbean hosting account.

However, if you’re looking for a quick, no-editing, no-nonsense way to embed audio into a blog post or start a dirty podcast–Anchor is great.

Props to Chris for finally starting. I’m glad he did.

Your turn. Go start.

Speaking of which–you’ll probably sound bad when you first start.

That’s the truth. Everybody does.

Go back and listen to the first few episodes of your favorite podcast–chances are it doesn’t sound like it does today (probably way worse).

So what to do?

Start. Publish. Ship. Get better. Podcast until it’s not as bad anymore–it’s the only way to grow.

Oh, and just one more thing:

YOUR AUDIENCE CARES LESS ABOUT PRODUCTION, AND MORE ABOUT WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY.

Sorry for yelling.

Spend less time focus on how bad you’ll sound, and more time thinking of how you’re going to influence and reach people.

When you’re first starting, organize what you’re going to talk about.

Yes, it takes more time to plan out what you’re going to say, but it’s worth it.

Remember what I said approximately 4 lines above this: If you focus on making anything top-notch, let it be the content.

Here are some do’s and don’t’s:

  • DO brainstorm the overall topic
  • DO make bullet points with subtopics
  • DO organize the “flow” of the talk/episode
  • DON’T write out what you’re going to say word-for-word. That sounds like reading.
  • DON’T be afraid to veer off-topic (a bit)

You’ll be able to nail it on first-takes and “wing it” down the road once you’re more comfortable.

To start, jot down some notes and “talking points.”

Quick marketing tip to make your podcast stand out on social media:

Utilize video (and transcriptions) of your audio!

Here’s an example of Chris doing this on Twitter (hit play):

So why is this useful and unique (other than the fact that it’s cool and fun?)

  • This sort of thing isn’t readily available for blog posts
  • It’s attention-grabbing and engaging.
  • They’re actually pretty dang easy to create.

Here are some tools to create videos from audio snippets:

In general, all of those allow you to upload short audio snippets, and turn into transcribed videos for social. Cool!

This is a great way to utilize audio format in order to better stand out.

Podcasting Part 1 Summary:

1 – Take action and start.

2 – Yes, you’ll stink at first. Start now and get better. That’s how you grow confidence.

3 – Try using the apps above to better stand out on social media!

Are you an aspiring podcaster and/or have any questions? Let me know in the comments!

Looking for my FREE 7-day podcasting course? You can find that here. 

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