Armchair Expert Podcast, Content Case Study

"Yes, I'm an Armcherry!" That identifying marker may sound strange to you if you're not a listener of the Armchair Expert Podcast. But if you listen to the show, you get it. 

Today, I'm doing a case study that I've waited for months to share with you. The Armchair Expert Podcast, with hosts Dax Shepard and Monica Padma, is one of my top 3 favorite podcasts! 

In today's episode, I'm breaking down the significance of their content and how their journey has unfolded. Plus, I fangirl a bit about how their show is produced. (I get a little nerdier than usual. Please bare with me!)

These case studies help all of us creators take a moment to understand how some of the biggest shows in the world do what they do. 

Armchair Expert takes the cake in producing raw and honest conversations with their guests while entertaining the audience - and making us all laugh until we pee our pants! It also allowed me to "fact-check" myself in the show notes. 

As Dax would say, "Please enjoy this episode..."

If you've wondered why nothing is working in your business in 2025, you need a clear strategy. Download our free guide, Build Your Business's Strategic Foundation, where I'm walking you through a business model canvas and a customer journey map. You'll see how we use this at Proffitt Media, plus find templates for you to create your own. Go to krystalproffitt.com/strategy to download today.

Click the "Send Krystal a Text Message" link above to send us your questions, comments, and feedback on the show! (Pssst...we'll do giveaways in upcoming episodes so make sure you leave your name & podcast title.)

Transcript

Intro: 1:55

It is officially time for us to do another podcast content case study. And I'm really excited about this one. Oh my gosh. So if you're new around here, or you haven't listened to my previous case studies, you're going to have to go check them out. I did one on online marketing Made Easy. One of the best podcasts you can listen to if you have an online business or you're selling digital courses, you're trying to build your email list like, absolutely go listen to Amy Porterfield podcast. It is incredible. But I also did one on the office ladies, whenever they were launching their show I did What is so funny because in hindsight, I don't think I said the word deep dive as much as I did, before I started listening to their show because they say it 1000 times. And I think that that's where I get it from right, you pick up these little quirks when you're hanging out with all these people all the time in your head. And doing a deep dive on the office ladies podcast was so much fun, but it was all about the launch. So it was right. Whenever they were launching their show, I went into the promotional marketing cool things that they did, maybe I should do an updated version of that. Okay, we're gonna put a pin in that because today, I am doing one on the arm chair, expert podcast, and I'm so excited. I've had this on my content calendar for probably two quarters, like, two quarters of the year, I was like, Okay, I have to make time for the armchair expert podcast case study, when is it going to happen and I kept having to move it because there was a launch here, there was something else I need to do. And it is time, it is time. I am so excited about this, we're gonna break down their show what it's looked like over time, kind of the evolution of it and the different fun things that they have had the opportunity to do, but also how much their show has evolved. Because if you are a content creator, you're a brand new podcaster or YouTuber or Blogger like wherever you are in your journey, I want you to think about your content as an evolution. Because what I do today looks drastically different than when I first started in 2018. And it just so happens to be the same year that they got started was in 2018. And things have changed. So so much. So let's get right into it. Here is the case study for the armchair expert podcast. Let's get right to it. Welcome to the Prophet podcast where we teach you how to start launch and market your content with confidence. I'm your host, Krystal, Proffitt, and I'm so excited that you're here. Thanks for hanging out with me today. Because if you've been trying to figure out the world of content creation, this is the show that will help be your time saving shortcut. So let's get right to it, shall we?

Fan of the Show: 5:03

Okay, so one of the first things to note is that I became officially an arm cherry, right, this is what we are called, if you are a mega fan of the show, I officially became an arm Chery back in 2020. And I think it was probably around COVID, right. We're all trying to find new things to watch new things to listen to. And I think that it was one of those that I found it and I was like, Oh my gosh, like, look at all these incredible people they've had on their show. Let me go back and listen to it. And in doing so, I just fell in love with the host. We're gonna talk about them in a second. But I just fell in love with everything about this podcast. And now today, having listened to it for over two years, I mean, I guess it's close to two years at this point. But I love everything about it. I love the evolution of it. I love the direction of it. I love how successful this show has been. Because I believe, again, as a fan of the show that it is incredible. But don't worry, if you're like I've never listened on that show. If you don't know anything about it, it's fine. That's really not what we're going to talk about today. Like all the different guests that they've had, we're gonna break it down by the logistics of their show. We're gonna break it down by what they've done with it and the evolution of it.

The Beginning: 6:30

So let's go back to the beginning. So they first launched episodes on February 6 2018, with a three minute and 35 second trailer. Now why is this important? Right? Why is this important? Well, it's usually one of the first questions I get asked Whenever someone's talking about launching a podcast or like Well, should I have a trailer episode shall not have a trailer Episode What needs to be in it. And I have a lot of YouTube videos that you can go check out about, you know what, what is involved in a trailer episode that you'll find in the show notes to this episode. But I believe having something that explains what you can expect whenever you listen to this show. And I went back and listen to it. And it was so fun to hear them because they've come a long way and how comfortable they feel behind the microphone like you can kind of tell that they're a little bit more like like, buttoned up or maybe a little bit more just nervous about getting started, because here they are. And they're four years in at this point, almost five years into doing their show. And they just are so much more relaxed so much more themselves. But the host are DAX, and Monica, and in the trailer episode, they're explaining what you can expect. So from the get go from the very, very beginning, the host take two different positions. So you have someone who has a lots of confidence and lots of conviction, the armchair expert that is Dax, then you have someone to call them out on their BS, that is the fact checker and that is Monica. So these two, like have been really good friends for a long time. And it's just been really cool to see their dynamic and how everything shakes out. So Dax Shepard and Monica Patman plays each of their respective roles beautifully in the host position. So DAX is an actor, comedian, filmmaker and a podcast host. And my favorite role that he's ever played was Cheeto in Idiocracy. Maybe because maybe you're like, Oh, who is that? So he was on punk way back in the day. Of course, I remember punk. Like whenever that show came on and hearing him talk to Mandy Moore. He interviewed Mandy Moore, about one of the pranks he he pulled

Intro: 8:55

like, Oh my gosh, I forgot. Like, I saw that on MTV. on her. I was Like when it happened back in the early 2000s. Or whenever, you know, whatever that episode aired, I was like, Oh my gosh, like I remember when that happened. I remember watching that as a teenager. And it's so crazy to think of, you know, I've been following this person for a really long time, but never had what I feel like is such an intimate knowledge of who He really is at its core, because I've listened to him every single week since 2020. So that's the power of content. That's the power of podcasting, you can really get to know who someone is and a little bit more of their quirks. And so Monica, Monica padman is an actor podcaster and producer, and she is my age, like if we went to high school, the same years college the same years. So listening to the show, from her perspective, and her references, helps me relate even more to what they're talking about whenever they're interviewing guests, because DAX is older. He's in his late 40s. And Monica is I think she's 35. But I'm turning 36. Very soon, actually, when this episode airs, it'll be the Friday after this episode airs. But we just synchronize like she was a champion state cheerleader. I was never that. Okay, let's be very clear on that. But I was a cheerleader. And just the things that she adds to the conversation. I'm like, Yup, I know exactly what she's talking about in their producer and the guy that's behind the scenes of it all. You'll hear him in the background from time to time. But Rob, he is also his name is Wabi wahb. He is also our age too. So he'll chime in with his little references. And you know, Dax will turn around and be like, hey, you know, what do y'all think about this when you think about that, so it's cool to see that dynamic of him being older, which my husband is older than me. So I understand all of DAX is references, but it's just a really fun dynamic that they have on their show. And they've had several guests that you're like, oh, okay, they have some really high profile people, but it's mostly celebrities. So dozens, hundreds of celebrities at this point. And anywhere from Ashton Kutcher to Mila Kunis to I mean, they just had Edward Norton. They've interviewed Barack Obama and Bill Gates they had Richard Branson on recently they had Prince Harry, like, there have been so many incredible like, you have to go listen to this show. If you have not listened to it. You will love it. It is so fantastic. But the premise of their show is to interview people and they'll enter the conversation. And then at the end, like so they'll have a segment of the show, which is the interview and then at the end of it, Monica goes through the fact check where it just starts out at is a casual conversation. And then she goes back through the interview that they had. And she'll say, oh, you know what we talked about this, but we were wrong. Like, maybe we made the wrong reference, or it was the wrong date that somebody mentioned or the wrong figure, like she goes through, and they talk about the facts that they needed to correct for the episode, which I think is really fun. I think that having someone fact checking things after the fact is just really cool. And it's almost one of those things where I'm like, oh, you know what, I probably should do that for this show, too. Like, after we do an interview, go back and listen to the whole thing. And I'll do that from time to time. Like if someone forgets to mention something, or we were supposed to talk about the thing that they wanted to promote, and we just got so carried away in conversation and never happened, I'll do those little add ins. But this is just next level as far as the facts go. But that is the overall premise of the different things that they have. So the interview celebrities, they'll interview experts, which I think that that's been just really revolutionary for me, because here I am, I started listening to the show as a form of entertainment. I've learned so much. So so much, I've been introduced to even more really incredible minds, like people that are in academics, or in like a financial sector that I would have never been introduced to, because that's not really my thing to follow those kinds of people. But they come on the show, and they have honest conversations, and all of a sudden, I'm like, oh, I want to buy their book, I want to go see what I'm gonna go follow them on Instagram, I'm gonna get on their email list. So it's just really cool to be introduced to these different people via this medium right of this podcast. And that's typically not what it's like. It's not just business and marketing, which is what I really enjoy listening to as well. This is a way for me to get entertainment and education. So full entertainment for you, right.

Changing & Pivoting: 13:55

Alright, so now let's talk about changing and pivoting. Because what happened is, they went from their original show to multiple segments and spin offs. And I actually didn't, I put these in bullet point form, which should have put them in number form. So let me count these we have 123456. And I feel like I'm missing one. But they have six episode spin off show spin offs that are under this umbrella. So they'll call it the arm chair umbrella. And what they've done is they've created these other side shows which that sounds funny, right? They have these little sideshows. It's not the circus promise. It's like it's a really good, really good thing. But they kind of found their groove. And then thought, Well, what else could we talk about? Like we enjoy talking to people? We enjoy interviewing these experts and talking to our friends like what else could we do with this medium of podcasting? And so one of the first spin offs was Monica and her friend Jess created a podcast called Monica and just love boys. And then from there, they started armchair anonymous, which that's out of order. Because armchair Anonymous is actually a very recent addition, like in the last 12 months, that was something that they added. And that's another spin off of arm chair, umbrella. Then they have flightless bird, which oh my gosh, Shaw, I think that that one is my second favorite is incredible. So it's David farrier, who is the most unique person. He's incredibly weird, and just so different. So he's from New Zealand. And he was stuck here in the US in Los Angeles to be specific, over COVID Because New England, New England, New Zealand had very strict guidelines on getting back into the country, and he was just never able to make it happen. So they said that he was marooned here in America. And he wanted to figure out, like, have the opportunity to ask people about our weird American quirks that as someone who is not from this country didn't grow up here. He's very observant about all the weird things that happen. And he wants to dissect like, why does this happen? Y'all? He did one recently about leaf blowers, and I was dying, laughing. I was laughing so hard. He was like, why why do you do this? Why as Americans, do you blow leaves basically from one side of the street to the next. And I was cracking up because like, literally, two seconds later while I'm listening to this, they're leaf blower like a whole lawn crew shows up on my street and they're immediately blowing leaves everywhere and grow brass and I'm just cracking up so that so you have to check out that segment as well are those episodes because it's a different show, but technically it's all released under the arm chair umbrella, which I think is just so so fun. So that's a great, great one to check out. And that's David farrier, and Monica Patman. Run that show. Then there's armed haired and dangerous. This is one where David David Ferrier, I was just talking about, he started doing these episodes, and it's where they go into conspiracy theories. And now I'm not a conspiracy theorists and I have never really been too interested in them. But whenever it's served up to you by these incredible people that can talk really well and like tell these incredible stories, they have this like, cinematic feel to them, because of the way that everything is produced and edited. It's just like, it's really good. Like, it is really, really good to learn about these different conspiracies. When it's presented in this way. Again, we're going for the edutainment and the ability to consume something that's in a totally different form of content. Then, if you were just scrolling through Netflix, and you saw a documentary on cannibalism, right, you're like, Oh, I probably wouldn't watch that. I did listen to their episode on cannibalism. It's like, oh, my gosh, okay, this is really interesting. But if that's your thing, conspiracy theories, that's another one to go check out. Then there's two more shows that they've done. So one of them is called Race to 270, where DAX like some of his like, Bro friends, they all got together, and one of them was trying to lose weight to get down to 270. And the other one was trying to gain weight to get to 270. So it was this, the show, you know, it wasn't really for me, I'll admit, it wasn't like the thing that I ran to listen to. But it was a really cool addition to add in their friends and other people that are important to their lives into this really cool atmosphere that they had created within the podcasting space. But I want to talk about one of the most recent shows that were a spin off. And that was race to 35. So as this is airing, the last episode of that podcast just recently came out, and they're gonna have a bonus episode, but technically, the whole thing is over. And this one just really inspired me, because it was Monica and her friend, Liz, who is also 35. They decided to freeze their eggs, like, yeah, like their, their literal eggs, eggs in their body, they decided that they wanted to go through this process and document it. And I have to say, as someone who is a mother of three, right, and I had kids young, like I was 22, when I had our oldest son, and I was done having kids by the time I was 29. So I've had you know, in a span of seven years, I had three kids. And that was it. I didn't have any fertility problems. I didn't have any issues that I know, I've seen several of my friends go through, I've seen friends have to go to a sperm donor. I've seen people that deal with IVF. I've seen people that, like it's all this kind of external world to me that I didn't really feel that I have the right to ask a bunch of questions, if they were struggling, like I didn't want to put that burden on them to explain to me exactly what was going on. And so having this podcast to go to was so awesome, because I got this peek into this world that I've never known about never been exposed to. And it was just really interesting. So if you know somebody who's thinking about freezing their eggs, or going through the fertility process, or any of the other things that have to do with what those decisions can look like, and just y'all they give each other shots. And it's so funny. Like, it's so funny, because I don't have to do it, right. I didn't have to live through it. So I'm laughing at the fact that they are doing this together as friends. And they're talking about it like actually talking about the things that they're going through. And it was just it was really cool. So I highly recommend go and check out that podcast as well.

Episodes to Date: 21:26

So all of that to say, y'all that is a lot. That is a lot of content that they have put into all of these different episodes, and I looked online to see how many episodes of all their shows they've published to date. And as of me recording this episode today, there have been 381 episodes published. Now. I didn't get clarification. This is where my fact checked would come into place right now. I didn't get clarification, if that encompassed all of their spin off shows, or if it was just the main armchair expert, like the main ones that they put out all the time, but 381 episodes in four years. That's really incredible. And it's funny because like, Here I am, we're at 383. Like, this is episode 383 today. So we're like, on kind of the same pathway. But I went through a period of publishing a ton of episodes. And now we're down to once a week cadence. And so it just kind of goes to show that there's some really cool similarities and parallels to my journey in their journey. And I just love being able to learn from them and the incredible things that they're doing, because this is a really fun thing that I wanted to tell you about...

The Spotify Deal: 22:45

The Spotify deal. So if you have heard of this podcast, it's likely that you know, it is exclusive to Spotify. And this is something that happened. So in May 2021, the two hosts so Daksa, Monica announced on Instagram, that they were going to be going exclusive to Spotify starting July 1 2021. And I have to be really honest with you. My initial reaction was frustration, I was really, really frustrated. And the reason why it's not because of them, it's because I'm not a Spotify first podcast listener, I don't like the idea of exclusive shows. And their show is the only one the only one that I listen to on Spotify, I listen to all the other ones on good pod. So shout out to JJ and her team over at good pods. It is my favorite podcast app. But I just didn't like the idea of them going exclusive and going over there. But you know, I don't know, they didn't ask me my opinion, but it's just how I feel about it. And I'm just not a Spotify first listener, I prefer good pods because I like the interaction and all the you know, star ratings, the comments you can do all that stuff is super, super fun. But there's some speculation as to how much money the to made on their Spotify deal. But it was an undisclosed amount that's easily in the 10s of millions. Like if I were to take a guess I would say it was anywhere from 20 to$80 million. I have no idea how much it really was. But I just love that they are doing so well, like they're doing so CES. I love these shows. I mean, if anything has, you've learned from this today, like I picked this podcast to do a case study, because I love it. So so much like I could tell you so many fun facts and weird things about it. But we don't have five hours for me to sit here and dissect everything. I just wanted to share a little bit about what the show is what it means to me. And the reason why that you shouldn't get so bogged down in how everything is performing today in your content. Because you never know what can happen over time with your content. It's going to ebb it's going to flow, it's going to go up, it's going to go down. It's going to go round and round, you may go in a totally new direction. But the thing is, is that if you love podcasting, like I love podcasting, you're going to find a way to make it work for you. Because at the end of the day, you know, I think back to whenever I started my show, I loved the idea of podcasting. I just wasn't in love with the content that I was creating at the time. So I pivoted, I changed, I did something different. I've pivoted, I've changed since I've made changes, and it's one of those things that we can't get so stuck in

No Video Podcasts!: 26:36

And one final thought on one of the things that they do that I really, really respect the heck what we're doing today that we don't allow for evolution and out of is they refuse to do video for their sessions. Now changes and taking things to the next level. You have to be open hear me out on this because people are gonna be like, Oh, well video podcasts like that's the way to go and all these to the idea that things will change in the future. And that's other YouTube Experts told me, I have to have a video podcast, okay, that's totally okay. One of the things that I love about I'm just going to sit through it and make myself uncomfortable the armchair expert podcast is the host get guests to really and totally do. This is the best thing that I heard. And DAX said this, and it was just so so good. So things get awkward when open up and be raw and human. And one of the key phrases that the camera is around. And I'm paraphrasing him, of course, but they have is the messiness of being human. I love it. I love he said something about video is so distracting. I don't want you it so much. I think that that should apply to us as well. Like worrying about the logo on my shirt, instead of actually listening to the conversation that we're having. And I let yourself be human, let yourself make some mistakes, let thought, oh, my gosh, I do that. I do that, like whenever I'm yourself just be someone that is creating a message that can help watching a YouTube video, or I'm watching people on TV. I do, I'll think, Okay, I'm listening to what they're saying. But also someone else. Drew Barrymore's hair is really cute. Or Jennifer Aniston, like, look at her nails. Did you see the the bracelet that she's wearing? Did you see that color? Like, I want that color? I want that nail polish or look at a makeup like you just do these things very differently. you process information very differently whenever it's in a visual format, as opposed to whenever I'm listening to a podcast, maybe you right now. You popped in your earbuds and you're going on a walk or you're folding laundry, are you doing dishes, you're cooking, like you're driving, you're doing something totally different, and you are submerged in this audio world that we've created. And you're not distracted? By wondering what does Krystal have on? What does she look like? I'll tell you exactly I have on sweatpants, a hoodie and a hat with no makeup today. That is what I look like. And I can tell you right now that the audio version of this is way better than what it would be if it were the video version today, because it's just it's not a pretty sight. We'll just say that mom was looking a little rough today. And that's okay. It's what I love about podcasting. It is why it is incredible.

Outro: 28:50

But if you want to hear other case studies, send me a DM on Instagram, because these are a lot of fun. It's really I enjoyed this. So so much doing these deep dives, looking into the content, kind of pulling back the curtain even though I don't own the curtain, right, this isn't my show. But I love dissecting what other people have done and looking at it from the sense of how can I take pieces of this and teach other creators how to infuse their own brand their own message in a way that helps them reach other people as successfully as these huge shows have, I mean, because they're like, they're like top five in the world. I don't know if they're number two or number three, but y'all they're up there, they are up there as one of the biggest shows in the world. And so I think that we can look at what they're doing. And if I had to boil all of it down to one simple thing. They're having fun, they really are, they are truly having fun with the conversations that they're having with people and the things that they're talking about. So that's what I'm gonna leave you with today is find a way to have fun in the content that you're creating. But if you're listening to this right now, and it is the It's almost the end of 2022. That's wild, right? It's 2023 is right around the corner. And it actually created a free guide that I want you to go download. So it's called the seven steps to create a better content brand. And it's going to be linked in the show notes but go to Krystalproffitt.com/betterbrand. And I want you to go download this because if you're struggling with your own brand and your messaging, you're going to find the seven steps in here. It will help you get clear on what you can do to make a bigger impact in 2023. But that's all I have for you today. So as always remember, keep it up. We all have to start somewhere.