What’s It Really Like to Start a Podcast? 5 Podcasters Share Their Experience With Taking Action and LAUNCHING! [Ep. 120]

 
 

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Here’s what to expect from this episode:

Over the years, I've found that mindset is something that holds people up from either starting or continuing their show. Whether that's because they're afraid that people won't listen, they won't have enough time to keep up, or they don't have the skills to start a podcast.

So, I'm excited to bring you this episode today because it's a roundtable discussion with 5 students in the Podcasting for Educators Prep School community. You'll hear from Annamarie, Chantal, Victoria, and co-hosts Paula and Michele share their reasons for starting their podcasts, the mindset blocks that came up for them (and how they overcame them), and what they love most about podcasting.

Because sometimes, it's just nice to hear from other podcasters in this space who are doing the work just like you are. And it serves as a little boost of motivation and inspiration. I loved hearing about their individual experiences of taking action and pushing forward, their enthusiasm for their shows, and their results since launching.

They are all really proud of what they've created (as they should be), and I hope that hearing from these podcasters inspires you to either push forward and start your podcast or keep going if you already have one.

A big, BIG thank you to these ladies for joining me in this episode.

PS. And remember to grab your Podtober scorecard below, mark this episode off, and award yourself some points!

TOPICS COVERED:

  • Introducing the featured podcasters, their shows, and when they launched

  • The driving force that led these podcasters to move forward with their shows

  • Overcoming mindset blocks and fears before launching

  • How their podcasts are going, and what they love the most about podcasting

 
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RESOURCES MENTIONED:

favorite podcasting resources:

Connect with the Featured Podcasters:

  • Sara Whittaker 0:00

    Hey there and welcome back to another episode of podcasting for educators. I'm really excited to bring you this episode because it's a roundtable discussion that I had with five of the students who are in the podcasting for educators prep school community. I originally recorded this to include as part of my five episode podcast launch Guide series. But it was so good that I knew I also had to air it on this podcast for you all to hear. I sat down with Anna Marie Chantal, Paula and Michelle, Paula and Michelle are actually co hosts, and Victoria. They have all semi recently launched their podcasts, they range from having 10 episodes up to 40 plus episodes at the time of our recording. And in this conversation, they share their reasons for starting a podcast. And we focus on specific mindset blocks that came up for them. Over the years, I've come to find that mindset is something that really, really holds people up from either starting or continuing their show, whether that's because they're afraid that people won't listen, they worry, they don't have enough time to keep up, or that they won't have enough to talk about or that they simply don't have the skills to start a podcast. So I really loved getting to hear the individual experiences that each of these podcasters had with taking action and pushing forward. What I also really enjoyed is hearing their enthusiasm for their shows and what kinds of results they've had since launching, you can tell that they are really proud of what they've created as they should be. If you have your own show, I think you'll really enjoy this conversation. Because sometimes it's just nice to hear from other podcasters in this space, who are putting in the work just like you are. And it really serves as a little boost of motivation and inspiration. And if you're going back and forth trying to decide whether or not you should start your podcast, I think this will be a really great episode for you to hear, so that you can hear from some other podcasters listen to their experiences, and then make the best decision for you. A big, big thank you to these ladies for joining me in this episode. And with that, let's go ahead and get started. Your Podcast is a powerful tool that serves your audience and your business. But how do you manage it all bring in new listeners and convert those listeners into customers. That's what this show is all about. Welcome to podcasting for educators. I'm Sara Whitaker, classroom teacher turn podcast manager, and I'm here to help you get the most out of your show, all while making an impact on other educators. Okay, so we are going to go around and have you all introduce yourself. Tell us the name of your podcast who your podcast is for what it's about and when you officially launched and we can start with Anna Marie.

    Annamarie Krejci 2:46

    Awesome. Well, I'm Anna Marie Krejci, and the name of my podcast is elementary math chat. And it's pretty much exactly what it sounds like elementary math. It is targeted more for probably upper elementary teaching teachers who specialize in math, and maybe are departmentalized. But a lot of our topics really cover all math grade levels. I launched on August 1, so I have 10 episodes already out there. And, you know, for people to listen, I really hope that they just gain ideas. We talk a lot about small group ideas and whole group ideas. I've done a couple specific skill based episodes on like place value and word problems and just teaching tips to overcome some of the challenges with that. Also classroom management. So really just anything, any ideas for new teachers or I know I was a classroom teacher for 20 years, and I was always looking for new ideas. So it's really just for anybody who wants ideas.

    Sara Whittaker 3:40

    Awesome. Thank you so much Chantal. Hi, everyone, my

    Chantal Macias 3:43

    name is Jen Tomasi. Yes, my podcast is preschool made easy. It is primarily for preschool teachers and our parents. Most of our listeners are moms. And the only reason I know that is because they hit me up on Instagram and they let me know. And it pretty much covers everything related to curriculum. Also classroom management, how parents can help their little ones at home with building reading foundations, Math Foundations, so it's not just curricula. I also have a segment that comes out every week called Parent corner, and that is one particular episode dedicated to parents and how they can help their littles Get Ready for Kindergarten.

    Sara Whittaker 4:20

    Awesome. I'm sure that's such a helpful resource for parents because that's a scary time when your child makes that big leap. All right, Paula and Michelle, you all are unique because you have a co hosted show. Tell us about your podcast.

    Michele 4:33

    I guess I can start I'm Michelle our podcast is called inspired together teachers. And we started in March so we are on our 38th episode had been doing it weekly. We focus on teachers as people not so much classroom teaching tips but personal development and professional development and the idea that you can Have your work life and your home life and do it well so that you can live your best life.

    Sara Whittaker 5:05

    Perfect. And how about you, Victoria?

    Victoria Hackett 5:07

    So yes, my name is Victoria Hackett. I'm the founder of outdoor classrooms.com. And I have a podcast called outdoor classrooms. And it is focused towards really early childhood educators that are looking to bring their classrooms outdoors and transform their outdoor spaces, into learning gardens and teaching gardens. And so we talk a lot about that. And we do have folks that bring on so I started off with one day a week with the podcast and doing a lot of interviews. And since then have grown into two days a week, where on Tuesdays, we endured, we do a lot of interviews of folks from all over the world who are doing just that creating outdoor classrooms, and for schools, and all different types of ways to teach outdoors and how they're doing it. On Thursdays, I kind of pull something as specific topic that might be of interest from those interviews. And I do sort of mini episodes on Thursdays. So it's a little bit of a little bit of everything, and anybody that's interested in taking their classroom outdoors, anything that you can do indoors, you can do outdoors, and we talk a lot about how to do that.

    Sara Whittaker 6:21

    Awesome. And I think that's a good point in that you can always kind of change up how you're doing things like maybe you start with doing one episode a week. And then if you want to increase it over time, or vice versa, I've known people who start with double episodes to kind of get a really big head start on things. And then they go back to one episode a week, has it been a lot to maintain two episodes a week? Or do you just have like lots of topics that you want to cover?

    Victoria Hackett 6:47

    It's been wild. I mean, it's just been first off, I was just doing one day a week. And then I was sort of watched things growing. And then it then people were coming out of the woodwork in terms of could you interview me, I really want to tell you about my story. And that was, so I sort of couldn't keep up with that. I'm like, Oh, I have so many interviews. But maybe I should do these little mini episodes because I wanted to make sure I had my own voice in there as well. And I know that that's what you were talked about in our class. So. So I did that. And it was. So I made sure that this the Thursday episodes, were mini mini episodes, it wasn't a whole big, just a little seed of inspiration. And what if I thought about it that way, the mindset was different. It was It wasn't necessary. Oh, I've got to go do another one. It was just not we're just doing a little mini mini seed of inspiration. And, and that was a lot easier.

    Sara Whittaker 7:40

    Yes, yeah, keeping that length shorter definitely makes things a lot more manageable long term. So I love that all of you are in the education niche. But you all have such different shows and different topics and different audiences. And I would really love to know why you initially decided to start a podcast in the first place because we all run businesses, and we're using our podcast as an extension of our business. But like what was that driving force for you to finally make that decision to move forward with your show. And we can start with you Anna Marie? There?

    Annamarie Krejci 8:15

    Well, honestly, I had never even thought about a podcast. But I've always been somebody who's really wanted to help teachers, even when I was a brand new teacher. Anytime I got a new idea, I wanted to share it. And I'm just a year out of teaching I left a year ago. And I really made a commitment to myself that I wanted to help teachers in a big way. Last year, it was subbing I stopped a couple of times a week and I felt like I was really making a big difference. But at the end of the year, I felt like I was just like going back into what I had left. And so I just felt the need for a change. And this is a true story. I was on a walk one day listening to the elite edupreneurs podcast on your episode, Sarah, I almost didn't even listen, because the title was why you should start a podcast and I'm like, that's not really me. But I listened to it and like not even halfway through. I thought, oh my gosh, this is what I need to do. And I had just presented virtually a conference like a month earlier. And it dawned on me like it is really easy for me to talk about math. And you know, I have 20 years under my belt and I have a lot to share. And so it just seemed like oh my gosh, this is it. And I as soon as I got home I actually did your guesting course first. I don't even know if I finished it. Because after I had done like almost a year of planning, I thought I need to do my own podcast. So I think that day I bought the prep school and I never looked back. So I think this is what I was looking for. And I just want to reach a lot more people than I ever could in the classroom. So I'm very excited so far. It's it's a lot of work. I knew that going into it, but it just feels like I'm making a really big impact.

    Sara Whittaker 9:46

    Yes, I love that you jumped in right away like you really did hit the ground running and got everything done and launched so quickly, which is so great. And yeah, that's one of the things I love about podcasting is you really do get to extend your impact, too. teachers all over the world, not even just all over the country, it's really cool to like, look at your stats and see where the different people are listening. It's really neat. And a lot of people that happens when they start podcasting, and then they're like, Oh, this is something that I could probably do on my own. So very, very cool to hear your journey. How about you, Chantal,

    Chantal Macias 10:21

    I'm gonna piggyback off of both of you and say the impact was one of the reasons but I think I just wanted to have fun, because it's, there's so many tasks that we are responsible for in running our businesses. And like you said, we all have the same niche, but everybody has a different focus. But essentially, we all share a lot of the same tasks, right? A lot of the redundant tasks and things that we have to do for business, the marketing, the social media, the emailing the blog, post, the creation, like, we can go on and on for weeks about this, but I really wanted something fun, where I can share my content that I already have created. And just put it in a different format so that I can reach more people, but also just have something that they can listen to. That's fun, very laid back very casual, and almost like you're having a conversation with someone where I know I find myself listening to your episode, Sarah, and it's so funny, I find myself in the car going Yeah, girl. Oh my gosh, why didn't I think of that before? Like, what am I doing?

    Sara Whittaker 11:25

    I love that. It's so true, though. Podcasting, I think is so much fun. And especially like situations like this when you get to connect with other people that otherwise, when would we have connected? When would we be able to see each other face to face? It does totally add an element of fun to your business. And you mentioned creating episodes from content that you already have. I think a lot of times we talk about how you know your podcast content gives you so much content for social media and for email and all of that. But it also works the other way. If you're somebody who has tons of blog posts that you've posted over the years, you can that's a great place to start with those blog posts that you already have and turn that into podcast content. Paula, how about you guys?

    Paula 12:07

    I feel like you were all giving us the perfect lead up here. Because those were all of the reasons that we started as well. We wanted to impact more teachers. We wanted to make a difference. We had a blog going, we have a successful blog. Our website is inspired together teachers.com We've been running a blog. But we needed a different way a new, rejuvenated, energized way to reach teachers. When we were working workshops, or when we were having workshops in the summer, we'd get to tell stories and talk to teachers. And it was really this engaged conversation. And then we'd write something on our blog. And we didn't know how people really engaged with that we didn't get to see how people were listening to it. It's been really fun, since we've had our podcasts that people will come up to us and say, Oh, I was listening to you this morning on the way into work. And I thought about this. No one ever did that with our blog with our blog, no one's that I was reading your blog posts on the way to work this morning. So that's been really exciting to just offer that more personalized. I think the the listener feels like it's a much more active experience when they're listening to you versus reading your blog. So it's really been able to extend our reach beyond people who might not have read our blog before or worked with us at some other format.

    Sara Whittaker 13:25

    Yes, I know, listening or hearing from listeners is always the best feeling. It never gets old. And a lot of you have brought up this point of you're creating content too, that is more accessible for your audience. They're able to listen on their way to work or on their lunch break or on their walk after school or wherever, which I think is super unique to the platform of podcasting. All right, Victoria.

    Victoria Hackett 13:51

    So yeah, all the above so but the one twist, I was lying in bed sick with COVID. And the world stopped. And I saw Sarah's something popped up on somewhere on social media somewhere. So I like pickle. And again, I was one of those people that I just couldn't get the blogs go there was just so many different things in my business that I couldn't keep track of. And then all of a sudden, I just I realized, you know what I what I really, really want to do is build community. I really want to build community. And I really don't want to be the person standing up on the top of the mountain saying look at me and look at all things I can teach you. What I wanted to do was spotlight outdoor classrooms and for schools and folks that were in the trenches doing the work and providing a platform for them where I could spotlight them and we could all become a community and learn from each other. And that's exactly what's happening. So people are coming out of the woodwork and say wanting to be showcased. And then we become friends. And all of a sudden, we're not sort of in these separate silos, you know, working separately, we're we're opening it up and becoming a real community. And it's, it's funny to think that that all came from seeing your post and being sick and having the world stop. And really rethinking how I really wanted to take my next step in my business. Because again, I was exhausted, it was just like doing doing all the things, but never really feeling like I was getting anywhere. But the podcast is, again, like everybody has said, is been this incredible rebirth and energy, it's just brought a whole new energy into my business, which is exactly what you said in your class. So I'm forever grateful.

    Sara Whittaker 15:49

    Oh, gosh, I mean, it makes me so happy to hear that all of you are enjoying your podcasts so much, because that is what I want for you. And that's the experience that I've had with my show as well. And Victoria, you bring up a really good point about like, I love how you spotlight people in your podcast, a lot of podcasters feel that podcasting can sometimes feel one sided, if you're especially if you're doing mostly solo episodes, you're kind of just talking to yourself behind a mic at your computer. And that can feel a little bit isolating sometimes, especially if you're not getting a lot of people reaching out to you. But reaching out to your audience and inviting them onto your show is such a cool way to highlight new voices and create that community aspect of podcasting. So I love that you're doing that. Alright, I would love to talk a little bit about mindset, because this is something that holds a lot of people back. And it's definitely not one and done. I think that podcasting is kind of like a roller coaster, there's going to be days even after you start your podcast where you wonder if it's worth it, or if people are listening, or if you can keep up with it. But I would love to focus on kind of where your mindset was, before you actually launched your podcast like, did you kind of sit on the idea for a long time? Because you had some fears? What were those fears for you? Like, where was your mindset at before launching? And how did you overcome any of those roadblocks that came up for you?

    Annamarie Krejci 17:19

    Well, I think I launched so fast that I didn't have time to think about it. But really, I just know, like, I would have loved to have this podcast when I was in the classroom. So I think that just kept me going. And again, you know, I've, I've taught for 20 years, so I just have so much to share. And if it can help one person, that's great, and I'm having a blast doing it. And I just never really I will say the one thing I thought about is the reviews, like I know those reviews are going to be out there. And you know, I hope they're great. But in reality, they're not always going to be and you're not going to be everybody's cup of tea. And that's okay. But I had to think about like, I get TPT reviews all the time, and some of them are great. And some of them aren't. And then you use that constructive feedback, and you make it better. So I think that's the only thing I had to like mindset had to had to get over. But other than that, I feel like teaching is such a great community. And you know, people aren't going to leave those negative reviews that you see online with other podcasts that you listen to. So I just kind of had to get that out of my head and move forward. Yes,

    Sara Whittaker 18:18

    I admire the TPT errs out there who have to deal with negative reviews. Because I know for me like I am a very sensitive person when it comes to that kind of thing. It's still I mean, I'll call it like an irrational fear. But I check my reviews all the time. And I'm waiting for the day that somebody gives me a one star because it's, like, affects you personally, you're putting so much work into this. But like you said, ultimately, if it does happen, you have to focus on the positive. How about you? Chantelle?

    Chantal Macias 18:49

    Yeah, so my I actually told my husband in the beginning of 2022. I'm going to launch a podcast in one year. And the idea kind of set, it sat by itself in the back of my mind for a while I couldn't do anything, or at least I thought I couldn't because I was still in the classroom full time. I had spent five years at home raising my daughter. And then when she started kinder, I went back into the classroom with her. Because I was offered a class right next door to hers. I mean, how can you say no? Yeah, that's amazing. Yeah, so I went back. And then I thought, man, you know, it would be kind of difficult for me to split my time amongst all of the responsibilities that come with mom life and working, you know, full time outside of your home. But I had already had this business before where I was working at home on my own on my business. So I thought you know, let me just take another break and see how it goes. And then earlier this year, I left the classroom again. And I thought, well, that idea is still there. So I found your course and thanks to Janice, my friend who's also my podcast manager. She She said, Listen, this is the way to go. If you want to launch it and you want to put this out into the world. You've got to take Sarah's course. And so I did and it was just life changing. mean all the opportunities that I saw just it was like 1000 light bulbs going off at the same time, the ideas started coming so easily because like I mentioned, we already had content. So I think the mindset that I had to kind of overcome was that I can't do it, or I didn't have time, I was going to make the time to do it. Even if I was busy. You know, there's always times when we're just sitting there watching only murders in the building or any other Netflix. And like girl, you know, you could be doing something, you could be just recording a really quick episode. And I'm really proud to have actually done it because my episodes are 10 Minutes or Less Than it's what busy moms and teachers get to hear. So I'm really grateful for that.

    Sara Whittaker 20:40

    Yes, we make time for the things that we truly want to make time for. And I mean, at the same time, for sure our time is limited, and we're all super busy. But you all have brought up like episode length a few times now. And I think that is a huge piece of advice I can give people is if time is a super big concern for you just keep this episode short, it's going to make everything shorter, it's going to make your you know, your outline, your actual recording, your editing, all of that is going to be just a little bit shortened if you keep it around that 10 to 1215 minute mark,

    Chantal Macias 21:14

    and much more enjoyable to I think,

    Sara Whittaker 21:16

    yeah, and more consumable for your listeners to you know, if they see a 10 to 12 minute episode versus a 60 minute episode, they know that they're going to be able to listen to those shorter episodes. All right, Michelle, and Paula Michelle, I think is it your turn?

    Michele 21:31

    Yeah, it's interesting that we're talking about mindset issues, because that's one of the topics we revisit on our podcast regularly. Because we know we all have mindset issues. And it's not like we're putting ourselves out there as the experts who's figured it all out. But that, hey, we all struggle with this. What are some strategies? What can we try? What have we done? So I would say that we didn't come into this, like, with imposter syndrome or anything like that. But we definitely came into it in that we have no idea what we are doing. But we are lifelong learners. And we are smart, and we can figure it out. And so that's the sort of the attitude that that we did. It's like, okay, well, let's read, let's buy some stuff. Let's study it. We bought your course. Because then it was like, Oh, all right. Here's somebody who just couldn't tell us how to do this. And we literally followed it pretty much step by step. There's an order these microphones so we went online. Download audacity, and we downloaded Audacity. Yeah. So we're, you know, it's like it's we're capable of learning, even though we knew nothing about it. I would also say to that what has helped us is setting up those systems and processes. When you have a fear of what am I doing? Do I even have the ability to do this, just setting up those procedures in those steps. And we've created our own processes. You know, for example, Paula does all the editing and does that end of things. And I do all the show notes end of that. So we've set up, you know, responsibilities, we've broken things down into step by step by step, because I think anytime you're afraid of something new or it challenges you and you don't know what to do, you know, it's piece by piece by piece, get those little steps, and then it's not so overwhelming. So we took a lot of small steps daily, you know, and it was a good strategy to start something like this that was completely unfamiliar to I mean, we were listeners on podcasts, but we had never done anything like this. So I think that was a good strategy for us. So you know, break it down, learn and take it piece by piece.

    Sara Whittaker 23:41

    Yes. So all said I think, you know, most of us don't have any kind of background in any tech when it comes to podcasting. We're not audio engineers. We don't really know how this stuff works. But we can learn and you all have learned I learned when I started this. So I think that that is just such a great point. All right, Victoria, back to you. How did you feel before you launched your show? Did you have any kind of mindset blocks?

    Victoria Hackett 24:07

    Oh, yes. I well, I decided that it was one of the twofold. I think there was the part of me that said absolutely. This is what I'm doing. And it was then sort of getting into it. And I think Michelle was right on I had all those experiences following exactly what you're telling me to do. And I think I did get to a point. You know, people were saying, Oh, this is too much, you know, you can't do this. It was all those sort of even messages from the outside world. And again, there was that sort of like, well, maybe I can't and I do remember I did get to a point that I don't know if it's this question or the next question. But I did get to the point that I said, Oh my god, I maybe I can't do this. And I remember calling you Sarah and we had a nice discussion and you just pushed me right back in and just said So you can do this and I'm like, okay, and it's sort of like all I needed was you to say that and I just took off from there. I'm like, Okay, Sarah believes in me and I, I will. But there were there were some exterior, like, it's gonna take too much time. And it's too technical and all this stuff. And that was coming from actually people. And also just myself in terms of, oh, I'm not a technical person, I can't do this all that i can't i You've like, put a label on yourself. Yeah. And, and then I was just once I started, once I got sort of got through that block. And it was a real block. It was like, Oh, this guy's opened. And this is systems got into place. And I got into this rhythm. And then people started listening. And I'm like, and then that my things went up and up and up. I sort of became addicted to watching. Wow, more people are was actually listening. And I got really like addicted to it. I'm like checking each month. And like, I'm gonna have to do to do it and see what happens if you do too. And then it really leapt and I'm like, wow, this is so cool. Yeah. So and then my, my husband's like, Whoa, it's sort of a sort of surprise that I have almost 50 episodes now. So it's been a wild ride. But really, I think that's but entrepreneurship. And when you have your own business itself, is sort of a therapeutic process, because it forces you to tap into areas of yourself that you don't just don't you know, you don't think you can do it. And I love how everybody sort of saying, Yeah, we we can learn. We may not think that we can do it, but we can all be learners.

    Sara Whittaker 26:39

    Yes, yeah, we can do this. And I just love hearing your story, and that you were able to push past all that because that is hard. Having people actually tell you like, No, this might be too much for you to start and to keep up with and you prove them wrong. I love to hear it. Yeah.

    Victoria Hackett 26:55

    The best part?

    Sara Whittaker 26:57

    Yes, I love that. That's amazing. Well, honestly, like huge kudos to all of you for really sticking to the process, going through it, pushing forward and getting your podcasts out there. It's been so cool to hear about how it was for you in the beginning. And now I would love to kind of wrap things up by knowing how it's going for you now now that you are launched, and you got episodes out there. I know. We're all kind of at different places, depending on when you started. But how's it going? And what are you loving the most about podcasting? Well,

    Annamarie Krejci 27:29

    I actually want to add on to my answer from last time, I think, when I really think about it, I had to get over the perfectionism in myself. And I think a lot of teachers have that, especially my launch episodes, because I knew so many people that like knew me, my friends and family would be listening. And so I think I even posted in the Facebook group about that, like, how do you get over that? I mean, I think I recorded my first few episodes like 10 times, I'd take a walk around the neighborhood, listen and be like, I don't like that I need to say this better. And I just realized, like Dan is better than perfect. And I just had to get over that. And so now I'm enjoying the process a little bit more now that I'm not so like, in my head about having to be perfect, it's really about the message. And people listening aren't going to be picking it, you know, running a fine tooth comb through it like I am. So no, I'm having a ton of fun. Now it's so much easier. I've learned how to edit a little bit quicker. You know, my show notes, that was kind of a challenge for me to get past of getting that all set up on my website. But now that I have that it's just kind of like seamless, and I have a routine. And I have so many ideas I think I would like to get guests in. But that might be like a season two thing. I have so many ideas that I want to share. And I'm excited about it. Like I said, I have 10 episodes. And I know isn't there a stat about like, only two or what is it? I just

    Sara Whittaker 28:45

    actually recorded this. I think I actually said it on my episode that went live this week. And I'm forgetting what the statistic is like 2

    Annamarie Krejci 28:51

    million out of 2 million podcasts. 90% of them don't get past 10 Episode Episode. So at this point, I'm just really proud that I am not in that the 90%. I'm above the 90%. So I'm just really proud of myself. This is something that's really stretched me and like I said, there have been hard times but I'm getting the message out I really feel like I'm making an impact I've heard from you know, teachers I know that are listening. I've heard from people on Instagram that are listening that are really enjoying it. I think it makes almost more meaning when you hear from strangers because you're like, Wow, really, there are people listening. So

    Sara Whittaker 29:24

    especially down the road, Anna Marie, when you'll get somebody who will reach out and say I've been listening since whatever, five months ago, six months ago, but it's their first time reaching out to you and it's somebody that you've never heard from before and and then you have all kinds of questions like Where did you find my show? But it's such a cool feeling. Alright, awesome Chantal.

    Chantal Macias 29:45

    Yeah, I also just hit episode 10 So yeah. It's been so much fun. Thanks. It's been so much fun. I love also like you said Anna Marie, that now that you have your routine down packed, it just makes it process easier, more enjoyable, I think it's your more relaxed, you know, like you said, you're not so caught up on the perfectionist part of you that wants to take over, make sure that every word is said like, I've just let go of all of that. And I'm trying not to sound like a blog post when I'm recording, trying to sound more conversational, you know, because it really makes a difference when you listen to other podcasts. And they sound like that. And like, oh, okay, you know, this person could be my friend. And I want to be that too, for my listeners. But what I love the most about it is just getting questions from people over on Instagram, asking me to make an episode about something new. Like, you know, we, our my account was just one of those. I was like, Oh, I, I see people all the time saying, I've gotten so many questions, but really did you? You know, it's, it's kind of like one, I really didn't get that many questions. So you have to do your market research and ask people what they want. So I've gotten a little bit better about doing the market research and using the language that people are actually asking me so that I can answer their questions. Because you know, if one person asks it, a bunch of them are thinking they just haven't asked. So it's been nice to kind of connect with more people like that and actually try to help them.

    Sara Whittaker 31:09

    Yes, it's great, because you also know that you're creating content that your audience for sure wants to hear about, which is a great feeling. And you both mentioned how you, you feel like things are finally starting to get a little bit easier. And I think that's what's so hard in the beginning is you're both learning the skills, and you're also having to apply them at the same time in order to get your podcasts off the ground. But it does get easier, it's still going to take time, but at least you know the routine and you know how to do all of those things like editing. Okay, Paula,

    Paula 31:40

    we are on Episode 30, as Michelle mentioned earlier, which we're really happy to hit that number. That's an exciting number for us. I think what we're really loving is the audience interaction, like everyone else has said, we just didn't have that with our blog posts as much, we get to be so much more authentic. Michelle and I will have a draft of the script. And then we'll each fill in our own examples. We're reading research, we want to share this happiness research. And we want to give our own examples. If that's like what the podcast episode is, we'll show up to record and we have very similar examples. And it's fun. So we're learning a lot about ourselves. But that tells us that other teachers can probably relate as well. So that makes it easier to have a conversational tone to be more authentic, where you don't always get that in a blog post because it doesn't come across that way. So we get to really replicate some of the things in our business that we love the most, which is working with teachers and inspiring teachers. And we get to do that now in a systematic way. That's still systematic, like a blog post, but more authentic. We also love when people reach out to us sometimes we've just been kind of throwing out little things. The other day, we maybe two episodes ago, we said, hey, we're thinking about doing a Enneagram retreat, we're both certified Enneagram trainers, does anyone think that would be fun. And right away, as soon as it launched, somebody messaged us to like I'm in for the Enneagram retreat. If we had put that out in a blog post, it just would have been completely different. Or even if we ran a workshop, and we had said, Hey, we're thinking about doing an Enneagram for teachers retreat, you know, talk to us later people leave the workshop, they're not thinking we have people messaging us. So we really love that. It's a great way to authentically connect with our audience. And we have a great system going it took us a little while, I would say we were a little past 10 episodes before we really had it going. And another thing we've really appreciated is getting episodes built out ahead of time for us because we have two people's schedules, one of us might be on vacation, or one of us might have, you know, a really heavy course we're teaching that we have are going to be really busy. So we're planning ahead. So we're getting episodes, there's been points where we've been six episodes ahead, which is really, really nice for us. So then if we are gone, we don't have to worry about that. I like the system, we've gotten into Michelle's nodding her head here with me, considering that we tried to co host a podcast from two different states. We love teaching together, we wanted to carry that energy. And I feel like we've been able to do that in a way we haven't been able to do in our business before.

    Sara Whittaker 34:07

    It's so cool. And it's so I mean, it must be so much fun to co host with somebody because when you record it's just like having a conversation with your friend.

    Paula 34:16

    Absolutely.

    Michele 34:18

    It's a lot less lonely, are lonely. You know, I used to sit in my office and write blog posts. Is anybody gonna ever read this? You know, or CO writing is more difficult and CO talking. It's a lot easier. Yeah.

    Sara Whittaker 34:34

    Well, that's awesome. And I'm so glad you guys have found a system that works for you. It sounds like you're splitting up responsibilities in a way that really makes sense and works for you both. So that's so cool. All right, Victoria.

    Victoria Hackett 34:45

    Yes. So I am again at let's see, I'm at podcast about 47 Wow. So I'm very excited to be there and only there because I decided to do the two podcast episodes a week and now that has just been absolutely fantastic. I think the one thing that's growing is I'm getting more confident in and not necessarily trying to be perfect and whatnot. But then also reaching, being more competent and reaching out to more prominent leaders in the field. And I just before this call talk to two authors that wrote this amazing, The Big Book of nature activities. So it's just fascinating then to find these people in the world that are doing sort of like minded things, and then really going back to that community. So I am looking to do more retreats here. I also run nature based classes here in Beverly, Massachusetts. So looking to advertise more for local programs, just like you were saying, Paula, and just the world's limit. So I really my next big thing is I need to get through your next class, which is the podcasts like you mean it and really auditing and getting kind of, I've gotten to this point, I feel really competent, but then backtracking and really making sure that I'm seizing the moments and looking at possibly having sponsors and that type of thing as well. So I had one, the very, very beginning, we sort of did a trial, and now it sort of got caught up and producing. And so really looking forward to actually backpedaling a little bit, and going through that course, little by little and making sure that I've dotted my eyes and Cross my T's and growing as much as I can possibly or seizing the moments as possible.

    Sara Whittaker 36:37

    Yeah, yeah, once you get past that year, Mark, you've got so much data that you can look back on so that you can see like, Okay, this really worked well, this didn't work. So well, how can I use this information for the next year and the next year, and I so cool that you've connected with authors, I think that's something we haven't touched on too much. But I think having this hosting your own podcast really does kind of make you more of an authority figure and put you in a good position to reach out to people like that, who are other thought leaders in your space, and invite them onto your podcast. I mean, there's so many opportunities out there that are in front of you. So this has been so awesome to talk to all of you. And I just thank you so much for taking time out of your busy day and being here and sharing your experiences. So thank you so much. I hope that you enjoyed hearing from these podcasters and that it's inspiring you to either push forward and start your podcast, or keep going if you already have one. If you need support with your show, we would always be thrilled to have you join us in the podcasting for educators prep school community, where you'll gain lifetime access to all the resources you need to start manage and grow your podcast, plus a community of podcasters. To bounce ideas around with ask questions or whatever you need. You can join us at podcasting for educators.com/prep school. Also, if you are participating in pod Tober Be sure to mark this episode off of your scorecard and award yourself some points. If you have no idea what I'm talking about. We are celebrating two years of this podcast during the month of October, you can grab your digital scorecard at podcasting for educators.com/scorecard. It's totally free. You don't have to put your email address in or anything like that to access it. On the scorecard, you'll find some different tasks that you can do throughout the month of October. They're super simple. Doing things like listening to these episodes that go live during the month of October writing a review on Apple podcasts, things like that, every task is worth a certain amount of points. And these points translate into how many entries you will get for a giveaway that I'm doing at the end of October. If you're participating, you just need to email me your completed scorecard by October 31. And I will be choosing five winners for the giveaway during the first week of November. I hope to see your scorecard in my inbox soon. And I will see you here next week. Thanks so much for listening to today's episode. To keep this conversation going connect with me on Instagram at podcasting for educators. I'm always looking for an excuse to talk about podcasting. If you're looking for support and launching managing or growing your podcast, check out my online course the podcasting for educators prep school at podcasting for educators.com/prep school. I'll see you here next time.

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Podcasting for Educators is the podcast for TpT authors and other online educators. It's a show that will help you get your podcast in front of those who need it most - teachers, counselors, literacy specialists, SLPs, parents, and more! Each week, Sara Whittaker and her guests will share top tips and actionable strategies that you will need in order to launch, manage, and grow your podcast. You’ll learn how to leverage your show to build long-lasting relationships with your audience and promote your TpT resources, courses, and memberships, all while providing valuable and accessible content!

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