Joining Forces: Behind the Scenes of a Co-Hosted Podcast with Brittany & Ellie, Hosts of The Teaching Toolbox [Ep. 160]

 
 

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Here’s what to expect from this episode:

Trying new things in our business can feel scary, but one thing that makes it less intimidating is doing it with someone else. That's one of the reasons I love co-hosted podcasts so much! There are so many benefits to having a co-host, and having someone with you every time you record is definitely a benefit.

Ellie and Brittany are here today to share their experience with starting a co-hosted podcast, The Teaching Toolbox. They both joined the Podcasting for Educators Prep School and went through the steps together to successfully launch their podcast back in September.

In this episode, you'll hear about why they started their podcast, how they split up the responsibilities, how they decide what to talk about in their episodes, the challenges they've run into, and their best advice for anyone thinking about starting a co-hosted show.

If you are considering a co-hosted show, I hope you feel better prepared now after listening to their advice! If you need some support with launching, come and join us in the Prep School community at podcastingforeducators.com/prepschool. And don't forget to check out Brittany and Ellie's show, linked below!

Topics Covered:

  • How Brittany and Ellie started their co-hosted podcast

  • Using The Teaching Toolbox to support both of their businesses

  • How they handle the responsibilities and episode planning, recording, and post-production

  • What's going well and some of the challenges they've faced

  • Advice for anyone listening who may be considering starting a co-hosted podcast

Resources Mentioned:

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co-hosted-podcast
 

MEET Brittany and Ellie:

The Teaching Toolbox podcast is the ultimate resource for upper elementary and middle school teachers seeking time-tested strategies and ideas. With knowledgeable teacher-guests, this podcast offers invaluable teaching tips and strategies that are sure to enhance your classroom experience. Tune in for expert advice from Brittany and Ellie on everything from lesson planning to classroom management. With over 50 years of teaching experience between us, we have the knowledge, expertise, and real life know how to get through any classroom day.

Ellie and Brittany came to know each other through a mastermind that was formed over ten years ago. They both came from the upper elementary/middle school realm and had 50 years of education experience between them so hit it off really well. Both signed up for a podcasting course independently and then decided to join forces to produce a podcast for middle school teachers, focusing on everything from classroom management to substitutes to subject material.

Connect with Brittany and Ellie:

favorite podcasting resources:

  • Sara Whittaker 0:00

    Trying new things in our business can feel scary. But one thing that makes it less intimidating is doing it with someone else. That's one of the reasons I love co hosted podcasts so much. There's lots of benefits to having a co host and having someone with you every time you record is definitely a benefit. Ellie and Brittany are here today to share their experience with starting a co hosted podcast, the teaching toolbox. They both joined the podcasting for educators prep school and went through the steps together to successfully launch their podcast back in September. You'll hear about why they started their podcasts how they split up responsibilities, how they decide what to talk about in their episodes, challenges they've run into, and best advice for anyone thinking about starting a co hosted show. The teaching Toolbox Podcast is the ultimate resource for upper elementary and middle school teachers seeking time tested strategies and ideas. Brittany and Ellie cover everything from lesson planning to classroom management. With over 50 years of teaching experience between them. They have the knowledge, expertise and real life know how to get through any classroom day. 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. All right, we are here with Brittany and Ellie, welcome to the podcast. Thank you both for being here.

    Brittany N. 1:39

    Thanks for having us.

    Sara Whittaker 1:41

    Absolutely. So you all have a co hosted podcast. I always love talking to people who have co hosted shows because I feel like it just kind of changes the way that you do things a little bit. And I love to hear how you all manage that. So let's get right into it. Can you all start off by just telling us a little bit about your podcast, who it's for? How often you release episodes, all that good stuff.

    Ellie 2:06

    So the teaching Toolbox Podcast is a resource for upper elementary and middle school teachers that are looking for some time tested strategies and different ideas. So we have some knowledgeable teacher guests. And we offer teaching tips and strategies for a variety of topics, some content related some classroom management, things like that. Any anything that we decided that we'd like to talk about bringing anything that you'd like to add, not

    Brittany N. 2:36

    too much to that part, we do release weekly right now we've got 50 years of teaching experience between the two of us. So we feel like we have a lot of knowledge and expertise to get us through most classroom experiences. But we both really wanted to do a podcast, I think it was on my mind for a lot longer than Ellie's did it

    Sara Whittaker 3:00

    take some convincing to get you on board Ellie,

    Ellie 3:03

    it was something it was in the back of my mind. And then I saw your course. And it was on sale. And I was like, you know, I just have this feeling that I need to get it just in case or whatever. So I did and then I messaged Brittany, and I said, Hey, I just bought this, you know, just in case. Yeah. And so then she got it too. So it wasn't a ton of convincing. But I just had like this feeling at that time that it was something I should think about seriously. Yeah, timing was right. Yeah. And then we work through the course together, like we went through or met every week or so, and went through the different lessons and talked about it and started planning things. And so it was a fantastic guide thing to be able to, you know, get get started on the right foot. Awesome.

    Sara Whittaker 3:47

    Thank you. I'm glad that you had a good experience. Yeah, I have a few people who have joined the prep school who are who have co hosted shows. And they did the exact same thing that you just said they kind of set a time every week, they would go through the content meet up and kind of decide, you know, who's going to take action on what so that's really neat. So does your podcast? Do you all have a joint business or No? No. Okay. So how do you handle that aspect? Like do you direct people to different resources that you have? Yeah,

    Ellie 4:19

    like, depending on what that particular topic is, one of us might have a blog post or a free resource or something to send people to where the other one doesn't. And then you know, on different episodes, the same thing the other person might have one. So we've got a Math series for a month and then we've got a social study series for a month. So I'm more math and Brittany's got tons of social studies and math, but that way we can kind of break that up a little bit.

    Sara Whittaker 4:44

    Awesome. And let me back up a little bit. Tell us I don't know if you already said this. When exactly did you start your podcast and what was like the main driver behind that?

    Brittany N. 4:54

    We actually started September 20. And I know that date because it's my daughter's birthday. Yeah Um,

    Sara Whittaker 5:00

    I started my podcast on my birthday. And I'm so glad I did. Because you never you never forget every year you it's easy to keep tabs on how long you've had your show. Yeah, I

    Ellie 5:09

    could have said September, but I couldn't have told you the exact date.

    Sara Whittaker 5:12

    Yeah, go. I love it.

    Brittany N. 5:14

    So we started September 20. We did not have three episodes to release, though we only had two. And so we released two and then we put it up the third one like three or four days later. So it was it was not, you know, the best launch we could have done, but it was we wanted to get started. And so that's what we did. We had wanted to launch back in like August, but our website wasn't ready. So we had to delay things a little bit. And luckily, we did because we obviously were things were taking a lot more time than we had thought they would. Yeah, so right. It was a lot more work than we had thought it would be. Yeah,

    Sara Whittaker 5:58

    especially I feel like when you have two people, you have to figure out those logistics of okay, are we making a new website? Or are we each gonna put it on our own website? So you ultimately decided to start a new website for the podcast? Yeah. Love it. And so tell us a little bit about how you all manage everything. Like how do you split up the responsibilities that come with podcasting?

    Ellie 6:24

    Well, Brittany does... See we interrupt each other a lot? It's, it's hard. Yeah. But Brandi does, has done a ton of the organizational work. And she says she doesn't do as much but she does way more than me. Like, she got the website up and running. She got the logo done. She got our air table and our Captivate and all that stuff organized. So she's got all of that, that she did. I do the Instagram and Facebook posting. And we write scripts,

    Brittany N. 6:54

    which is a ton of work. Ellie does so much work with all the social media. Oh, I can't stand social media. So it's a lot of work. So much work there. So yeah, she does all the social media, she writes most of the bones of the scripts. And then I go in and edit and revise. Yeah,

    Ellie 7:16

    we've gotten into a good system with that, where you know, we kind of both go in add stuff to script here and there. And then we kind of edit together before we actually start recording.

    Sara Whittaker 7:26

    Hmm. And do you all do you do your script on like a Google Doc?

    Brittany N. 7:31

    Yes. Yeah, we keep everything in Google Docs. Well, not? Well, in Google Drive, we have different folders. So all of our media is in there. All of our documents are in there. Everything. Awesome.

    Sara Whittaker 7:44

    And do you have? Do you have like a set recording schedule? Or do you kind of just do it when you can?

    Brittany N. 7:51

    We used to have a set schedule right now we're kind of doing it when we can when it fits into our schedules. We're both pretty flexible, since neither one of us teachers right now. We have a pretty flexible schedule. So we work it out, like a week ahead of time, and then schedule it when we can in the daytime. So and we

    Ellie 8:12

    still are meeting just about once a week. So we still do record just about once a week, right? Oh,

    Brittany N. 8:18

    yeah, definitely. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, we've been in a mastermind for over 10 years. So we also meet in that mastermind once a week as well with some other people. And so we meet frequently, the two of us.

    Sara Whittaker 8:33

    That's great. That's so nice to have somebody that you get to see that often in the online space. Yeah, I would imagine it's nice to have a co host for your podcast, too. Oh, for sure. Yeah. So many benefits, like bouncing ideas off each other. Just having somebody there with you. So it doesn't feel as lonely sometimes when you're recording by yourself. Is that how you two met in the mastermind? Yes. Awesome. And so what about after recording? Do you all do the post production? Do you have help that that you pass it off to how do you manage that piece?

    Brittany N. 9:07

    We used to take turns editing, and then also creating the social media post for that episode. And about eight or 10 episodes in? We decided to pass the torch on to VA manager, Janice. And yeah,

    Sara Whittaker 9:29

    that's awesome.

    Brittany N. 9:30

    Thankfully, we both agreed on that topic. Yep. Yeah. Because it was it was taking a lot of time. A lot more time than then I had definitely planned so right.

    Ellie 9:40

    Yeah, for sure. And

    Sara Whittaker 9:42

    I think too, when you're, especially with editing when you're editing your self, I think we tend to be a lot more like it's going to take more time because we are like very particular we don't like the way that we said something and so if somebody else can do that piece for you, you're not so picky about All things. Yes.

    Ellie 10:02

    Definite Lifesaver there.

    Sara Whittaker 10:03

    Yes, that's great. I actually I was just interviewing somebody before we jumped on. And she said the exact same thing. She, she actually has two podcasts. And she said how she did like two months where she was doing everything. And then she was like, Okay, now? Well, it sounds like you have a good system going in terms of like, organizing everything, planning everything out. Speaking of the planning aspect, how do you all decide what topics to talk about on your podcast, we

    Brittany N. 10:36

    keep a running list of ideas. We used to keep it in air table. But we've since moved over to Asana. And so that's our new workspace. And we've got a running list of cards and Asana, each one has an idea on it. And then when we decide to cover one as an episode, we just move it over, and then add the list of things that have to be done to make it into an episode. And then just keep shifting it over through the workflow process. But whenever we think up an idea, we just add a new card. Yeah,

    Ellie 11:11

    when we think about like the challenges that we had, when we were in the classroom, or things that we really love doing in the classroom that we'd like to share, that some people can learn from, you know, I always think about, everybody knows what I know. But there are so many teachers who are newer to the field and that kind of thing, they don't know the things that we have done or the experiences we've had. So we share a lot of that. And then we also look at what teachers are posting in our different Facebook groups or Facebook groups that we're in, or things that we see on Instagram, and incorporate that into different episodes, things that people might want solutions to, or they're looking for some feedback for.

    Sara Whittaker 11:46

    Yes, that's such a great place to look. And, and you're right, like turn to your own experiences. What kind of experiences did you have when you're in the classroom? What did you struggle with? Chances are people are having those exact same challenges? Do you all have a Facebook group for the podcast?

    Brittany N. 12:04

    We don't have one for the podcast, but Ellie has a math group that she runs. And then I've got one specifically for sixth grade teachers. So sometimes we'll post in those groups, if we're thinking about a certain topic, like we're thinking about doing one on classroom seating. And so we'll post a question in those groups about like, how do you see your kids and, and get those replies and then use that in the podcast? Yeah.

    Sara Whittaker 12:31

    Yeah, I think that that's kind of another benefit of, of having a co hosted show, too, is that you can tap into both of your existing audiences. Yeah. Do you have a separate Instagram for the podcast? Or do you?

    Ellie 12:46

    We do we have a separate Instagram, and we have a Facebook page for the podcast, but not a group. Okay,

    Sara Whittaker 12:52

    so tell us now that you are what several several months in to having your show? How are things going like what's going really well? And what are some challenges that that you might be facing if you are having any challenges? Well, I

    Ellie 13:10

    think we both really enjoy working on the episodes like writing, and actually doing the recording and having those conversations. I think it's more fun than I thought it was going to be. I don't know, Brittany, if you if it's more fun than you thought it was gonna be. But I'm enjoying that part of it.

    Brittany N. 13:25

    For sure. Yeah, when we were editing, I was kind of losing my joy for it. But now that now that Janice has taken that over i, the fun is back. I really love just hanging out with Ellie on the mic and just sharing our experiences. And it's just it's so much fun. It's a joy every week.

    Ellie 13:46

    One of the challenges we had, which has now gone is the editing. Yeah. So that was fantastic to get that taken off of our plates. I do love that. Since we are working with Janis we're recording farther ahead than I ever thought we would be, you know, so that we can pass it off to her and enough time. So I think that's a fantastic aspect of it. Yes.

    Sara Whittaker 14:08

    Oh my gosh, when you can pass off that like post production piece, and you can put that time towards recording, it's so much easier to get ahead.

    Brittany N. 14:16

    Yeah, I never thought I would be able to get so far ahead. I've tried the whole batching technique before, and I just fall flat on my face. And so getting that far ahead now and seeing how it works. I want to try it again with my own business, you know, with resource creation and that sort of thing. And see if I can do it. Again. Do it properly. Now that I see how it works, yeah, I love that aspect.

    Sara Whittaker 14:47

    So how so do you usually do like one episode a week right now for recording and you're just kind of ahead. So you're staying ahead.

    Brittany N. 14:55

    Usually Yeah, occasionally we'll do two Yeah, I'm

    Sara Whittaker 14:58

    I'm kinda the same way I, I've never been able to like quite get batching to work for me I kind of like lose interest when I have to do the same task over and over and over again. So all batch in a different way like maybe during the week spread out on different days, I'll record multiple episodes or all like today I have, I'm doing two guest episodes. Two is probably like my max that I do on a day. But if you do that a little bit here and there, it adds up. And you get ahead really quickly. Yeah, I

    Ellie 15:30

    think we had to do probably two or three a week for a couple of weeks when we first started with her to give her like the Bank of have episodes that she needed. And then since then it's just been doing one or so a week, and then we're just ahead.

    Sara Whittaker 15:45

    Yes. Do you all? Do you do guest episodes as well? Do you bring guests on?

    Brittany N. 15:50

    We do. We've had three guests so far. Okay. And

    Sara Whittaker 15:54

    has that been challenging at all? Especially, I have to say I have to tell everybody like I'm so impressed with you guys are really good at bouncing back and forth. And like giving each other the space to talk. Sometimes it can be really tricky when it's a co hosted show. And then there's the third person involved, and everybody's just kind of talking over each other. But you all are really good at this. Oh, thank you. We're guests episodes pretty, pretty good. Pretty easy, or did those come with their own challenges?

    Brittany N. 16:26

    Our first one was probably a little rocky. Yeah, because

    Ellie 16:30

    that was what like our third or fourth episode at all. Yeah. Right. Because that was a really early one. Yeah,

    Brittany N. 16:37

    we wanted it to be one of our first three so that people would see that we had guests. So yeah, that one was a little rocky. But it's still it's still went pretty well. But yeah, we we kind of talked to each other ahead of time of who's going to say what and who's going to interject or lead what part. So we have an idea ahead of time of who's going to take the lead in different sections.

    Sara Whittaker 17:05

    Yeah, I'm sure that preparation is key, being able to kind of know who's going to take the lead on what part of the episode ahead of time. So any any thing else that you want to share about anything that you're really enjoying about podcasting, or how it's kind of helped your business, if it has in any way, I was

    Brittany N. 17:26

    really enjoying making social media posts for a while, I think because it was different than what we do when we make resource social media posts. It was more relatable to like real life kind of thing. And so that was kind of a different thing than I had ever experienced in the TPT world. I don't usually enjoy making social media posts. And so getting to make those just felt more natural and just more relatable and more enjoyable to me. So, you know, something you might not enjoy. Now might be enjoyable as part of a podcast, because it's a different kind of animal. So yeah,

    Sara Whittaker 18:14

    that's such a good perspective, it kind of makes some of the other aspects of your business feel a little bit easier. Yeah.

    Brittany N. 18:22

    Yes.

    Sara Whittaker 18:23

    If you don't mind me asking a question that just popped up is do you all did you create like a joint email address for your podcast? Do you send out emails about your podcast episodes?

    Brittany N. 18:35

    We don't send out emails yet. Okay. But we do have an email address. Yes. Okay.

    Ellie 18:41

    And like, we'll send out emails to our own individual lists. Just to let them know the latest. Yeah. Oh, nice. So then, yeah, yeah. But that is like one of the hard parts is getting it out there. And having people find you. Hmm,

    Brittany N. 18:56

    getting listeners is hard.

    Sara Whittaker 18:57

    Yeah, definitely. Have you all done any kind of podcast collaborations with any other shows?

    Brittany N. 19:03

    We were going to do one, we had a guest on about math fact fluency. And then we we are supposed to be on her show. But we haven't scheduled that yet.

    Sara Whittaker 19:16

    Okay. Yeah, keep me updated. Let me know how that goes. And if it brings in some new listeners for you. So I'd love to kind of end by just hearing any advice that you have for anybody who might be listening who is considering starting, specifically a co hosted podcast, what would you tell them before getting started?

    Ellie 19:39

    Well, I would definitely advise try and keep the recording 46 weeks ahead, because with two people you just don't know what might pop up personally, you know, like I had something pop up in the summer that kind of pushed off what I was able to do. And then Britney moved at one point, you know, and so You've got two schedules you have to think about and two personal lives you've got to think about. So just keeping a head like that, I think is really, really important. Really good to keep in mind.

    Brittany N. 20:09

    Yeah, I agree. A co hosting gig is like double the audio tracks, double the schedules, double the links, you have to put in, you know, it's, in some cases, it's kind of double the work. So just be prepared to think about the planning time it's going to take and how much work you're going to have to put in. So be ready for that it does take a lot of time. So make sure you have the time.

    Ellie 20:37

    Yeah, on the plus side, it does cut down some of the work in some ways to like it's double the work. And yet, the ideas maybe flow a little better and faster, and it's more collaborative. So that makes things work a little bit more quickly, sometimes. So there's that that plus side to it, too.

    Brittany N. 20:53

    I love the discussion and the camaraderie we have. I love being able to bounce ideas off of each other. And just how natural it feels just to have a discussion together. And yeah, and share ideas.

    Ellie 21:08

    I always feel bad though, when I'm like, Oh, wait, here's this idea. And then I interrupt you.

    Brittany N. 21:13

    Sorry. You know, you're great. I love it.

    Ellie 21:16

    Well, thanks. Yeah, I

    Sara Whittaker 21:18

    mean, from my perspective, like I said, you all are you all are great at this. You're doing a great job. Like, yeah, it's hard to when you get when you get something that pops into your head when the other person's talking. It's hard to contain it. I always I keep my sticky notes in front of me. So I can write it down because it'll escape my mind. Just I should start doing that good tip. Yes. Yes, that's been very, very helpful for me to try and limit my interruptions. Well, this has been great. Thank you both so much for coming on. And just sharing about your experience with CO hosting. Can you tell us where everybody can find both of you online?

    Brittany N. 21:59

    You can find us on Instagram at teaching Toolbox Podcast, or on the web a teaching toolbox. podcast.com Perfect.

    Sara Whittaker 22:09

    I will put that in the show notes. And if you are a teacher or if you have a teacher friend, be sure to pass that along to them. Sounds like it would be a fantastic resource. Thank you both so much again.

    Brittany N. 22:21

    Well, thank you for having us.

    Sara Whittaker 22:23

    Thanks again to Brittany and Ellie for joining me today. If you are considering a co hosted show, I hope you feel better prepared now after listening to their advice. If you need some support and launching come and join us in the prep school community at podcasting for educators.com/prep school. I'll leave the link for that as well as Brittany and Ellie's resources in today's show notes. Thanks for being here and I'll catch you 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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