My podcast, Grab Life by the Goals, relaunches on February 13th! I’m here to spill the tea on the good, bad, and ugly of the podcasting game…and I’m holding nothing back!
I agonize over the episode outlines
It takes me 90 minutes on average to write the solo episodes. It’s like writing a freakin’ keynote speech! I want them all to have structure and a clear takeaway, but be infused with personal anecdotes and raunchy humor. Whew! My ADHD brain can’t wax poetic in a coherent way…so drafting the episodes is a labor of love.
That said…the imperfect episodes perform well
Two of my most downloaded episodes are Everything is F*cked (when I was crying into the mic) and Let’s Talk about Weird Sh*t (literally the dumbest episode in the history of podcasting).
A podcast is an ah-mazing sales tool…put probably not the way you think.
Starting a podcast does not mean oodles of sales flying at you after each episode. It’s much more of a slow burn. Only once has someone reached out directly and signed a contract because they listened to the podcast. However, nearly everyone I have a sales call with now HAS listened to it as part of their discovery journey with me.
My favorite thing is to send a relevant podcast episode to a lead I’ve already met through another channel. It allows me to give tons of free value, asking nothing in return.
I hate the sound of my own voice
It’s the f*cking worst listening back to the episodes. I cringe every time. That said, here are my hacks to sound better on audio:
Speak more slowly (I suck at this)
Inflect more than you would in real life…otherwise you sound monotone and dead
Laugh out loud (or at least, smile) whenever possible – it warms up the episode
Put the mic one millimeter from your mouth. Literally make out with it
You can’t predict what will resonate with people
I am personally obsessed with the When Life Feels like a Fake Orgasm. The title is salacious, and the episode contains a surprisingly elegant metaphor. However…downloads are low.
Become the CEO of your Career with Keith Alyea is the #3 downloaded episode…which is all about how to thrive within corporate. This (pleasantly) surprised me since I mostly talk about business ownership and this was a different angle.
The #1 most downloaded episode (by a lot) is Make Time Your Bitch
…which astounds me because it was my first episode ever and I sound like a constipated robot. I was literally reading from a piece of paper…like a middle schooler rehearsing lines of a school play. But the content is fire, I'll admit.
I don’t have a good closing line
At the end of every episode I awkwardly say, “um, yeah, okay, that’s it…uh, that’s the episode! Um, as always…Grab Life by the Goals!” #workingonthis
I’m still shocked when people listen
It literally means the world to me that you listen to these episodes. When you share an episode on Instagram Stories, I literally cry. My sole desire with this podcast was to turn you on, make you laugh, tell you how much I’ve f*cked up and what I’ve learned and help you in some way. Yes, it can help with sales but it’s honestly not why I do this. I feel like MYSELF when I’m talking to you. I feel like I’m doing the right thing by sharing my war stories. It kinda…feels like home.
I would LOVE your feedback on the podcast. Which episodes do you love (or not love)? What would you like to see more of? DM me on Instagram @laurenwidrick and let me know!
Be sure to subscribe to Grab Life by the Goals wherever you get your podcasts…and I'd be honored if you left a review about your fave episode on Apple Podcasts!