The Proffitt Podcast
Are you thinking about starting a podcast? Launching a YouTube channel? Repurposing your old blog content into something fresh? Hi, I'm Krystal - host of "The Proffitt Podcast." And I'm happy to say you've come to the right place!
Business owners and content creators dream of building a platform where they can connect deeply with their audience, and marketing feels easy. But I also know what it's like to feel confused and overwhelmed.
Join us weekly as we strip down those processes and remove all the overwhelm with new tips, simple strategies, and great conversations with creators like you. Tune in to hear how I help creators start, launch, and market their content confidently. The motto here is, "We all have to start somewhere."
The Proffitt Podcast
Podcasting Made Easy and Modern Media Strategies
Curious about how ancient Roman strategies can revolutionize your modern marketing techniques? We sit down with Jeremy Ryan Slate, co-founder of Command Your Brand and host of the Jeremy Ryan Slate Show, to uncover the secrets behind commanding your brand's visibility.
Jeremy combines insights from his academic adventures at Oxford University with his expertise in leveraging podcasts for unparalleled exposure. He also adds a personal touch with stories about raising chickens and life in New Jersey, making for an episode that's both informative and delightfully entertaining.
Ever wondered what it's like to run a business with your spouse? We've got you covered. This episode dives deep into the complexity of creative business partnerships, where balancing big-picture thinking with detailed planning becomes an art form.
We'll discuss the critical role of audience feedback in branding and how to manage burnout without compromising quality. And don't miss our celebration of small victories—those milestones that keep the entrepreneurial spirit alive and kicking!
Lastly, get ready for a masterclass in podcast pitching and production. Jeremy opens up about his persistence in securing high-profile guests like Seth Godin and the importance of technological advancements that have transformed the podcasting landscape.
From AI tools that streamline editing to PR strategies that hit the mark, this episode is packed with actionable advice. Engage with us by checking out our updated show notes and sharing your thoughts for a chance to get a special shout-out. This episode is a must-listen for anyone looking to elevate their content creation game!
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.)
Looking for a podcast community that supports you on your journey? Check out Podcasters Connect today.
I'm excited to dive into today's episode because we are talking about visibility and marketing Just some of my favorite topics. Right, like we talk about marketing all the time, there's a reason, okay, there's a reason why we talk about content marketing, podcast marketing, getting your name out there. It's because it is that important. It is not one of these one and done, like oh, I figured out the copy for my website. Or I posted on Instagram a month ago, no, no, no. Marketing is an ever evolving, I guess, aspect, perspective, tool, asset. I mean, there's just so many different ways that we can describe marketing, but it should be the lifeblood of your business, if it's not already. So today's guest I wanted them to come on and let's chat about all the cool things that you can do with marketing, but specifically commanding your brand, because that is the name of today's guest business.
Speaker 1:So Jeremy Ryan Slate came on the show today. He's the host of the Jeremy Ryan Slate show and he studies high performers around the world on his own podcast. So he studied at Oxford University as well as holding a master's in the early Roman Empire propaganda. We're going to get into the Roman Empire. So if that's been like a phenomenon that you've been following on social. We're going to talk about it, but his podcast was named the number one podcast to listen to by Inc Magazine, as well as a top 40 under 40 by Podcast Magazine. So Jeremy and his wife Brielle co-founded Commander Brand, which is a new media public relations agency designed to help entrepreneurs share their message by appearing as guests on podcast. He lives in Stillwater, new Jersey, where he raises chickens and is a former competitive power lififter, if you like.
Speaker 1:Just from this intro are like wow, he sounds really interesting. He is like we had such a fun conversation. You're going to love the different twists and turns and directions where we take this conversation today. So I won't make you wait any longer. Here's my conversation with Jeremy. Let's get right to it. Welcome to the Profit Podcast, where we teach you how to start, launch and market your content with confidence. I'm your host, crystal Profit, 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 All right Profit Podcast listeners, we have a special guest on the show today. So welcome, jeremy, so happy to have you.
Speaker 2:Hey, crystal, I'm stoked to be here and glad to spend some time with you today.
Speaker 1:Yeah, this is going to be so fun. I have a silly question right off the bat. Yeah, and it's because my brother's name is Jeremy. Okay, so I have been made fun of so many times because I'll call him Jeremy, like it's just straight up.
Speaker 2:Most of my friends like, so most of my friends that have known me like since. So I have several groups of friends in my life, but the one that has known me the longest still call me that like, because I think it like became like, I don't know, like automatic, so like it's easier to say.
Speaker 1:It's like one less, like half syllable that you have to say. But I think also for me it was like when I was little, I was the third child and no one really corrected me. They were just kind of done parenting at that point and they're like that's fine, it's close enough, it's close enough. But when I meet other people and I realize oh, no, no, no, I have to say, jeremy, like consciously, I have to intentionally say it. So I wanted to make sure that I introduced you properly.
Speaker 2:But I was a country for a little bit.
Speaker 1:That was the most aggravating part. I was Germany for a while. You're like, oh my gosh. Well, this is going to be so much fun I can't wait to. I love it and my audience knows this when we get other people on the show that are just as passionate about content and branding and putting yourself out into the world, we just nerd out and have the best time. But let's just get started. Tell us who you are, what you do and all the things.
Speaker 2:So I guess, first and foremost, I am always thinking about the Roman Empire. My master's degree is in the Roman Empire, believe it or not, so I wasn't relevant until about six months ago, but I've had a podcast since 2014. It was originally called the Create your Own Life Show. It's now called the Jeremy Ryan Slate Show. I tried to force it to be called something else other than what my audience always called it, which was just my name, so we just went with it. In the last year or so, I run a company called Command your Brand and since 2016, we've been the PR firm for the podcast space and out here in Northwest Jersey I live on about five acres with two dozen chickens, a pig and three little girls, and including my wife.
Speaker 1:Oh my gosh, that sounds like so much fun and I love this idea. So I actually I just want to go jump right in and go right to the evolution and rebranding, because this is something that I found so many people in the audience. They are like okay, they're so excited to get started. Like ripping the bandaid and just launching your content out there feels like the impossible thing to do, the hardest thing to do. Then they do it and they're like oh, I think I picked the wrong title, or I think I picked the wrong person to speak to, or I should have done interviews instead of solo. And there's all these questions that they start having. So I would just love to know, first of all, how long so you said 2014 is when you first started putting content out.
Speaker 2:So yeah, but that show doesn't exist anymore because it was terrible. It was like the worst podcast any human being could ever create. It was just bad. And then I kind of took a little hiatus and learned how to actually do it the right way and I started my current show in November of 2015. So I guess we're closing in on year nine or something like that of the show, and it's developed over the years, I guess, as I've changed as well.
Speaker 2:When I started it, I had been through a bunch of business things that didn't really work. I was working at a friend's marketing firm and I just wanted to learn from people that were already doing it and doing it. Well, how do I write better marketing copy? How do I build a website the right way? How do I get my name out there? So I really wanted to learn all these things from the right people, and that's where the idea of Create your Own Life came from, because I wanted to really create something cool and build something, and we had about 10,000 listens in our first month, which is funny because you and I were talking about in the beginning. Oh, you don't always go right out of the bat. Well, it took me a year to get to that.
Speaker 2:As I said, because the first podcast was terrible, but when we kind of did things the second time around, I learned a lot and I had 10,000 listens in my first month and within about two years is where Command your Brain came around, because it was really. People were asking us for help like, hey, help me launch a podcast or help me do this or help me do that. And we did podcast production for a little bit, but we found that what clients really cared about was getting on the right shows. So we just focused on how do we do a better job with that, how do we help them tell a better story, how do we help them get positioned better, and we've been doing that ever since.
Speaker 1:Oh, I love this so much. So were you like from the very beginning, have you always been really mindful of your audience, or have you been kind of just switching things up and then looking at your numbers and seeing like, oh, the numbers are telling me that this is working. Are you actually having conversations with your audience, and what does that kind of look like over the years?
Speaker 2:So that's evolved a lot, because in the beginning I didn't really have an audience. It was. You know, what do I want to learn? How do I want to learn it? So I think that's kind of where it started and people came along with me on that.
Speaker 2:And one of the things that I started doing a lot more is, as I got a lot more involved on YouTube in the last two years, I've started talking to my audience a lot more, using the community tab and things like that, running a lot of polls which, by the way, image polls work way better than regular polls because they take up the entire screen on mobile. So I've used that as really a way to find out well, what time do you want content? How often do you want content? What type of content do you want? What do you want content? How often do you want content? What type of content do you want? What do you actually call the show and about I don't know about?
Speaker 2:Six months ago, we changed the name from the Create your Own Life Show to the Jeremy Ryan Slate Show, which is funny because one of my teaching points in the beginning was always don't name a show after yourself. You're so full of yourself and I got to the point where it was okay, that's what people are calling it. I'm hurting my discoverability now by trying to continually call it something different. So that's, it's changed a lot over the years. In the beginning it was kind of just me trying to figure out how to do a better job and learn, and as I did, got more into video in the last two years I really started talking to my audience a lot more.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's so interesting about naming and like what to do versus. You know, I always tell people it's like there's really no rules and podcasting there's guidelines. Sure, there's things you should do, you shouldn't do. You shouldn't have a 17 phrase, you know, 17 word phrase for your title and you also shouldn't like steal someone else's name. That's already like out there, but other than that, like it's pretty much anything's on, you know, on the table for you to try out and experiment. But I always do get that question about putting your own name in there and it's very contradictory because I'll tell people, well, you probably shouldn't do it, but here we are, we're listening to the Profit Podcast and this is my last name, and when I tell people that they're like you did, it Very opportune last name.
Speaker 2:By the way, they're like you do it.
Speaker 1:Very opportune last name, by the way. Right right, that's the excuse that I tell myself. It's like well I have a cool and everyone's like you have a cool business name.
Speaker 2:It's like the IndyCar driver, Scott Speed. He used to have such a great last name. Like wow, man, that's a great last name.
Speaker 1:It's like you have to capitalize on the opportunity, right, but I love that. You know, just being I love that you asked your audience like what do you call the show? Not like what is the name of it, because I'm sure they're in conversations or at a dinner party and they're talking about oh, you know, I listen to podcasts. And immediately if you find someone else that listens to podcasts, they're like what shows do you listen to? You know, maybe they'll even whip out their phone and say like, oh, you listen to this one. Like, oh, this is my favorite. Or I tuned into this one. So I love that you say what do you actually call the show Because it's so important. But what other lessons have?
Speaker 2:you learned. It's a bit of an internal disagreement, though as well, because the same. So my wife is my business partner and I had to run the poll three times because she didn't believe me. Because, like, she's like oh, we paid for branding, we paid for a logo, and you've been doing this for 10 years. You cannot change it. And I'm like. So now I'm like in unexpressed resentment about my show title, because I'm like my audience is telling me they want it to be that. And we finally had a really long conversation about like, well, listen, this is the third poll, this is what they want, and we have to kind of go in the right direction. Yeah, you don't want to shift on no data, but when you have the right data, you have to shift.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, oh. This is such an interesting conversation, just being in partnership, like in a business relationship with your partner, whether it's a friend, a sibling or a spouse what is a unique challenge that you see whenever it comes to some of the more creative stuff? Comes to some of the more creative stuff, like, if you do have data, yeah, sure, it is easier to say this is what to do, but whenever it comes to some of the more creative things, like strategy, like, oh, this is the goal that we're going towards or this is, you know what, where we want to be in five years, like it, is that an ongoing conversation or is that something that maybe you've said and you're like no, we're going to keep going this way until we achieve that goal.
Speaker 2:So I think the thing that's interesting is, like a lot of people that I've talked to say, hey, I don't know how you're in business with your spouse, but at the same time, like I don't know how, I'm not right.
Speaker 2:You know what I mean, because it's like you know, we get to travel a important for me and I think that when you look at kind of how we function, I'm a really big picture thinker of like this is the thing I want.
Speaker 2:I don't care about goals in the way there. If I don't get the end goal, I'm not happy. So the thing that she's really good at is kind of filling in that well, how do we actually get there and what does the plan look, look like and what are kind of the way marker steps look like. So I think we actually compliment each other really really well, because for me, as I said, if I don't have that big picture thing, I am not happy. And to her it's like, well, look at this point we got to, or look at this thing we did, or we're this percentage of the way there. And I do think you need that when you're trying to achieve a goal, because at the same time, if you don't feel like you're winning, and you actually are. You know a lot of people quit because of that, you know.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah for sure. Oh, this is such a good conversation already. I feel like we're just getting started and we've already like have so many nuggets of wisdom. But I want to get into. You know what's working in 2024, right, because you said you know you started that first podcast.
Speaker 1:I mean, it's been 10 years, which is congratulations, like first of all can we just like pause for a moment and celebrate the fact that you have kept going? And let's let me take a step back, cause I was like, oh, let's talk about what's working today. But I actually want to ask were there times along that 10 year span where you were like I'm done with this or I'm burned out, because I know that there's someone listening right now, that they may be facing that reality today, that they're like this just isn't working for me or this isn't what I thought it was going to be, and maybe they're in that rough, messy middle right now. Do you have any advice or stories that you could share for them?
Speaker 2:Well, I think when you're building a show or when you're creating content, the thing you have to consider is, yes, the end listener, like it is always about the person you're delivering it for, but, at the same time, if you're not engaged and you're not interested, then your content isn't going to be very good. And we had a big shift around 2019, 2020, where I used to talk about a lot more, like you know, business and personal development and things like that, and I got bored with it. I really did, because at this point in time, there's not that many people saying that many different things, right, like you do 800 interviews and you're going to find a lot of people saying very similar things, some of which you don't believe. You know what I mean and I think that's the thing I really ran into. So, for me, the thing I really care about is I really care about, you know, culture and politics and helping my family and things like that, and that's the direction we went as I started having more conversations that I felt like mattered to me, and the interesting thing about that is we lost about half of our audience at that point in time and they said some really mean things to me the people that left.
Speaker 2:But at the same time I'm having more fun. Now I'm making a bigger impact. I'm actually going on the podcast I've listened to for 10 years. You know what I mean. That wasn't going to happen for me before. So I'm really having a lot more fun and I'm looking bigger picture where I'm at. But sometimes you have to be willing to I don't know take a little bit of something getting smaller to get bigger, if that makes sense.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, I love that. And I mean even you just saying you did 800 something interviews is somebody's listening? It's like wait, did I hear that correctly? Like is that really? I want to know your wildest or worst or craziest interview story, if you have one to share.
Speaker 2:So I've got two that are pretty wild One that was cool and one that was like man, the guy's a jerk. So the second one, I'll leave the guy's name out of it to protect his jerkiness. But like we get on the interview and he's outside without a microphone, there's airplanes playing around, there's kids running all over the place because he's at the park like I don't know, meditating or something, and I'm like, is it possible you could go inside? Like you know, could we like maybe do that? Like this is an interview, and he goes you know, if you had a good editor, you could handle that situation. I'm like, okay, well, we're going to try and make this work.
Speaker 2:So we start the interview and in the beginning one of the things I used to do I stopped doing it is asking people just like hey, where can people find you? Because I want to give somebody two chances to be found. And he goes, oh, just google me, I'm that big. And I was like, okay, well, that's the end of this conversation. You have a great day, man. Um, best of luck to you being big. So that was one conversation.
Speaker 2:Another one was so I'm a huge music fan and, um, I got to interview Matas Yahu. He's like a reggaeton type of singer or whatever, and and he was another one that kind of did the interview like on the go, but it was really cool. So like he's in his car and like talking to me, like and we're having this really great conversation. Driving down the street he sees his guitar player and is like hey, bro, come on and talk on this podcast. So like it was just a really cool conversation. You know what I mean. So you could take that, that same situation, and do it two different ways. You could be like the first guy and just be like totally full of yourself. Or the second guy, just be like let's just have some fun and be a cool guy, you know.
Speaker 1:Oh my gosh. Well, the second one. I mean, I'm a planner to a fault and I like so much structure and I like, you know, to have everything. Okay, it's going to happen at this time, and here's my drink and here's my air. You know like I like to have the whole setup.
Speaker 2:I'm the same way. Trust me, Like I don't, I eat the same. I eat the same thing for every meal every day. So trust me.
Speaker 1:But I love that. You know you embrace the spontaneity of like okay, we're doing this on the go. Like we could have a bad internet connection, you know, like the call could drop. Like in my mind I'm thinking of like oh, my gosh, this would go so bad, but it turned out incredible. Right, you're like oh, my gosh. This is so much better than we could have predicted if it was in like a controlled studio environment. So that's so fun. Oh my gosh.
Speaker 2:That's such a cool guy too.
Speaker 1:I gotta say how long into your journey before that happened, like having that like kind of dream guest.
Speaker 2:I've had a lot of cool ones. I've been very lucky, like I've been very, very lucky, because one of the things that and I think people have different viewpoints on this, but when I look at, when you're trying to get busy people that have a lot of influence to do an interview, you have to bend to their schedule a lot. So like, typically I'm asking people what is your availability, not saying like these are the only dates and times I have. So for me that's, I get it. It's not how a lot of people do it, but it's worked really really well for getting a lot of people. I want that one. I'm trying to think. I think it was 2017 or 2018. That's around there, so it's about three, three years in or something like that.
Speaker 2:But I've had some cool people. Like one of my favorite authors is a guy named Brad Thor. I've had Brad on my show. I'm a huge Yankees fan and actually an even bigger Nick Swisher fan, so I had Nick Swisher on the show. Like I've had a lot of really cool athletes Johnny Damon, um so I've been very lucky. But, like I said, I've I've been, I've put their schedule first, which I think has actually helped me. When a lot of times people say this is my schedule and you have to fit into it. It's a lot harder to get busy people.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and actually that just made me think about, like you know, and actually that just made me think about, like you know, pitching these big name guests. Have you ever gotten a no that turned into a yes later? Because I think that there's a lot of people listening that they're trying to get bigger guests on their show, or they're like I, you know, I've asked all of my friends and now I've like inched out a little bit of my network, but I want to start asking these bigger people, but I'm so scared they're going to say no and I'm like you're going to get no's but it's what you do next. That can really be the magic. So do you have any examples of that?
Speaker 2:So I have two different stories. Number one is an author named Robin Sharma and when I had reached out to his team they had said initially he's not available right now, check back in the future. And I'm like, so for me, I'm always asking more questions. I'm like we'll check back when, and she's like I don't know, like about six months from now. I'm like I'm like you know, we could cause in six months there's going to be like trouble figuring this out. We could just set a date six months from now. And she's like okay, cool, let's do that.
Speaker 2:So the day of the interview and it was a great conversation, I really enjoyed it. Another one because I've always tried to reach big and just kind of hope if I fail, I fail. Who cares? And when I started out I had no podcast recorded yet and I reached out to the top 100 people I really wanted to interview. One of those was Seth Godin and he was actually super nice about it. He said best of luck with your new podcast. He's like but when you get to episode 400, let me know. So I sent him an email around 390. I'm like hey, seth, we're almost at 400. So how are we going to get this scheduled and when are you ready to go? And he got everything scheduled and he was episode 400 of the show.
Speaker 2:So I think it's number one holding people to the things they say to you, because sometimes it can be a put off, sometimes it can be, you know, like an opportunity, and I've always consistently run a spreadsheet of when is the last time I've caught up with them, what is the last thing they said to me, what is the last date that was done and when. You're that organized. It's a lot easier to follow up with busy people, but I think often what happens is people send one email or one social media message, they get a no or they get nothing and that's the end of it. So if you don't have at least a little bit of organization in the background, you're not able to really follow up and make those connections happen.
Speaker 1:Oh, 100%. I think that there's so much power in the follow up and when people pitch me, I will actually I will get an email. I'm calling myself out. I know I do this. So everyone that pitches the podcast, they will be like she absolutely does this. Everyone that pitches the podcast, they will be like she absolutely does this.
Speaker 1:It's not usually until the second or third email that I get from that same person and it's not out of like blatant disrespect or you know that I'm ignoring you. It's I'm busy and I even have someone managing my inbox and they've marked it like crystal to read this, but crystal does not get around to reading it until much later and I'm like, oh my gosh, this is the second email that we've gotten from them. So usually I love it because I'm like this person is perfect for the show and I would love to have them on the podcast and that persistency of like just, you know they follow up and maybe it's a week later, maybe it's two months later, but just reaching out again and saying, hey, you know, we still really think that this person would be a great fit for your show. Here's why and they give that really meaningful, powerful message of the connection that is to me is like oh, they've really done their homework and they are, I guess, intentional about. They want to make this work, not just okay here I am Cause.
Speaker 1:What gets a no so quickly and I'd love to hear your thoughts on this too is any pitch that starts with my guest is amazing. They're incredible. They're the New York Times best this and they've done $50 million in that and they've done this. And I'm immediately like stop, no, delete. What about?
Speaker 2:the one that says what about the one that says what about the one that says I'm a big fan of your show and then they call you the wrong show? Um, that's fun, or?
Speaker 1:the wrong name wrong.
Speaker 2:They call me my middle name very often because I just use it in branding, so I get it all the time well, I love when it's the placeholder email. Like you, gotta love that one when it was clearly it's like hello, first name fix yes, you got to love that one when it was clearly. Or it's like hello, first name fix, yes, email tags you see the graphics in there immediately and you're like, uh-uh, done, done, done, done.
Speaker 1:So, for everybody, listening, be intentional, be intentional with you, know what you're doing. But okay, so we kind of got on this.
Speaker 2:Can I add to that real quick before we move on, because I think, like, like this is just like, cause pitching is like what I do, so this is like I, I, I love this. And you have to think about, when people are opening an email, the number one way they're opening it as mobile. So your first like three, maximum five words are the most important things in that email. So you need to make those really important. Don't make the first two podcast guests, cause you've already wasted two words, so that's really important.
Speaker 2:I find asking questions in the subject line is more effective. And then, also, like when you're writing the body of that email, you have to focus on what is the single thing that that show can learn from you or that audience can learn from you. But I think far too often, as you said, people talk about like you know I'm this great and I'm this cool, and you know my mom hangs my stuff on the refrigerator, like like that's great, but like what are people going to walk away with? And you keep it to a paragraph at maximum because you have to really make it work. But anyway, I just wanted to add that because to me, pitching is something I'm always trying new stuff with.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and this is one thing and I'll tell you. You know, from my perspective and this is you know for you and for the audience is like, what gets my attention is those connections immediately with my audience. Not, I'm a big fan of your show, or even like the reference points of like I listened to blah. You know this episode and you're like okay, that was easy, that's low hanging fruit. It was just the most recent episode that came out right before this email was sent.
Speaker 1:So they went, they grabbed a byline or something in the in the copy that was like oh, this is what y'all talked about, this is great. We love this topic too and it connects here. But if someone immediately says I know you serve entrepreneurs or business owners or people that are creating content and we know this is important to you because, blank, we have a perfect guest, it's such and such, and then they make that connection, it just gets my attention faster. Because I'm immediately like oh, they did the work for me, right, they did the work of like how does this person connect? Because that's what I'm doing when I'm reading these pitches, it's how does this person connect back to my audience? And I don't know, I want to hear your thoughts about that.
Speaker 2:So 100% that's what I'm looking for. I will tell you that there's a couple times, specifically, when I haven't done that, when I've been the person reaching out. So like, for example, I was on a show with a guy named Tim Pool back in like March and I listened to his daily show and he was saying you know, we'd love to do a segment with a Roman Empire expert. So I emailed and the subject line is I'm your guy and in the subject line is, like I heard on yesterday's episode, you talked about looking for a Roman Empire episode. I'm that guy and I explained why and how it fits in and my thesis on it.
Speaker 2:So like there are certain things when you're listening to a show and you have like exactly what they talked about and it's real and you can speak to it and it works. But I think often you're right because they'll pull out something from like Apple podcast and they'll like look at the transcript or the show notes or something and try and figure out like what you said and you probably said the opposite. So I think most of the time it doesn't help you. But I think number one, like what I'm looking for is what is the unique angle? What is that particular thing, like what is something I can get from you that I can't get from anyone else, because otherwise you're just a number, and I think that's what you have to consider.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I love this. I love the. The unique aspect because that is something recently I've seen some really awesome pitches and it's why I've said yes to them is the uniqueness, because you've already said it a few times it's like we've all heard the same things. Like we've all heard you know how to do this and four steps to do that, and you know how to how to get your podcast up and running, and it's like okay, yes, yes, yes, yes, we've done that. What's different, what's new, what's novel, what's something that you can add to the conversation that wasn't covered in the first 800 interviews? Or you know everything else that we've had under the sun. So I think that those are all really great points, but I want to go back to 2024. Right, Because we kind of started this conversation and I completely derailed us. My fault.
Speaker 2:It's my fault.
Speaker 1:But I want to go back to here we are in 2024, where it's been, you know, easier than ever to get your podcast up and running. I mean, I'm imagining Jeremy back in 2014 starting a podcast and I'm just I'm cringing at the thought of how many things you had to kind of piece together or things that you had to like. Let's stick some duct tape on this and hope that that cause. That's what I did, and I started in 2018 and it was not pretty. So is there anything in 2024 that you just want to tell people that haven't started?
Speaker 2:That's like you just want to tell people that haven't started that it's like. This is how easy it is to do today. All recorder for Skype was the worst thing ever created. Oh my gosh, I can't remember like using that product. It used to lock up all the time and it would like fail to record sometimes and it just terrible product and it's just like did you ask everybody to have a backup?
Speaker 2:Like you had to do the backup and 90% of the time they'd say I can't do that, right, like most people didn't know how to do it. So like that was, or even like in-person interviews before I like cause, once again, like I was very low tech when I started my podcast and I guess I'm very like I don't know high tech now and I had figured out like, okay, I didn't know that there were these things called digital recorders which I use all the time for in-person stuff. So I had figured out, okay, I can split the MIDI inputs on my MacBook if I use this certain recording app. So in-person interviews were a nightmare. And even a lot of microphones.
Speaker 2:You couldn't hook an XLR up to a computer, you just couldn't do it. And now the interfaces, you just plug them in by the USB type C. It's ridiculous. So the availability now is incredible. And I think even the bigger thing I've been doing is we've been using a lot more AI tools, which has cut down exponentially in our production process and we're actually getting a way better final product because of a lot of what we're doing. I think now, if you're making good content, there's never been a better opportunity to create a podcast and create a good podcast, right, don't just recreate the Joe Rogan show, because unless you're famous and people already know who you are like, that's not the show people are looking for.
Speaker 1:Right, exactly, oh, this is such a great conversation, and actually one about AI, like. So my audience is immediately like oh, ai, we were hoping we would get here, because every conversation this year has something to do with AI. But what are some tools like? What are the ones that you're like? This is a must have, this is our favorite, and can you give us a little bit about what it does for your show, like does it save you time? Is it planning? What are the things that you use?
Speaker 2:So I'll say first and foremost is I think, like with the AI thing, I think people are also taking marketing. People are also taking marketing. People are also taking advantage to a lot of people out there listening like half the things they're telling you are AI aren't really AI. It's just a kind of a good tagline. They're just algorithms that have existed for the last 15 years. But for us, like, we've cut down on production big time.
Speaker 2:So I've always used Premiere Pro for editing because I just I really like the quality of the product you get. But there's a plugin called Autopod that we've been using for Premiere Pro and you can put in so we put in a three-camera edit. So it's one of the guests, one of the hosts and a guest and host side-by-side and it'll cut back and forth almost like a TV interview. Oh wow. And there's another app we use called Video Bolt and we make all of our graphics, our intros and outros, like our social media graphics, to go in the interview. So like we get a really really good looking final product and it's taken so much of the time out of it we also use. It's interesting.
Speaker 2:I had stopped using it for a long time, but the new version is really really good. It's called Auphonic and we do our audio leveling in it because it helps with the audio leveling and also, like for any of you sound engineers out there, you know if you're not using a noise gate when you record, getting background noise out of an interview after is a real pain in the butt, so Auphonic is really really good for that. I'm also using an app called crispai and I'm using it right now. It's a background sound filter and it filters out a lot of noise and things and reverb or whatever that you might have in your environment. So that's a few things I've been using a lot. Now I don't know, crystal, have you ever had a situation where, like you've recorded a podcast, you're really excited about it, you go to edit it or your team goes to edit it and you're like my microphone wasn't plugged in, so it's just kind of you like yelling at your computer you know what I mean.
Speaker 2:Like it's like. It's like recording your computer mic. Has that ever happened to you? Cause it's happened to me.
Speaker 1:Oh, it happened on my very first interview and ever since then like I have been so crazy. No, it still happened. It still happened, but I like I had that two weeks ago so. I'm just like oh, my God, yeah, so it still happens.
Speaker 2:We were, we're pros, but this still happens, yes, so there's a product from Adobe it's called Adobe enhance and what you can do is actually take that file. That sounds like it was not a microphone and it sounds like it's on a microphone after it goes through.
Speaker 1:Oh, wow.
Speaker 2:Like it is like to handle, like maybe the guest mic was bad or you're like me and you forgot to plug it in because I've done that and you hear it and you're like, oh my God, this is like from not even my computer, this is my webcam. So it's called Adobe Enhance because Adobe has a suite of podcast tools now if you already pay for Adobe. Adobe Enhance because Adobe has a suite of podcast tools now If you already pay for Adobe. It's been so good that it's handled a lot of different things. We're also using videoai to do a lot of our chapters and clips and stuff like that. And then my other really, really favorite product is called tajaai T-A-J-Aai and what it does is you put it in the link to an unlisted YouTube video or a live YouTube video, but if you're trying to not have it published yet an unlisted link and it'll write the title, it'll write the description, it'll write the tags and it'll also score them on zero to 100. And then it'll give you different thumbnails that you could use for that episode too.
Speaker 2:Now here's the thing I found AI can't spell in images, so a lot of the things have misspellings and some of the concepts like don't quite fit. But so I want to do some editing after I've always used Photoshop for everything, but the new Canva like the paid version, the AI tools are incredible, so what I will do is take that image, put it into Canva. We can actually edit or remove the text altogether, and you can also like, you know, silhouette in somebody's head or something like that. So there's like so many different things you could do with the new Canva. That's incredible.
Speaker 1:Yeah, oh my gosh. So we'll we'll have to make sure that those are linked in the show notes, because some of those I mean I, I personally don't use Adobe for a lot of stuff, like cause I've recently hired a video editor, which is the best gift that I've ever given myself. But I do know that.
Speaker 2:Me too. It's just that I like to do a lot of processes first, so I know how they work. Like if they break and I hire somebody different, I know what's happening, but yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, 100%. But I think that Adobe is the way to go, because I've run into so many other and I know there's a lot of people listening that do their own editing. Still, I used Camtasia for a long time and I think that they've tried to kind of, you know, be be up there like as a mid range. You know, video editing and podcasts are like audio editing, but it's still so many limitations. So I love all of these tools within the Adobe suite that you can use, that it's not just one and done, it's multiple things that kind of tie in together. So that's super, super helpful.
Speaker 1:But I want to talk about, you know we've talked about AI. We've talked about, you know, pitching guests and you know what that really looks like. But whenever it comes to marketing, branding and growth, like for this year, like let's let's just say we're casting out for the next 12 months of what that looks like, what are some things that you're doing intentionally for your brand and your content to get out there in front of the people that you're really trying to reach. Not just have that broad like super viral but irrelevant people like in your audience, but it's like really intentional growth that's happening for your business and what you're doing.
Speaker 2:Well, I think number one like so everything for me is going to come from a public relations perspective and I think, when you think of PR, like people often have this confusion between PR and marketing and they're complimentary right, they work together. Like PR basically lays the groundwork, so your marketing is more effective. And so you actually like close sales, and I like to refer to PR as like the sale of an idea. If you can get someone to believe something about your brand or yourself or what you're doing, it's vital. So we're looking at a bunch of different things and we're looking at making an impact. But, as well, you have to look at what are the trends out there or what are the things people are talking about that can impact, you know, really work to our advantage. And, as I mentioned, I think it was like late last year and I was even late to the game. But this whole like how often do men think about the Roman Empire thing came out on TikTok. I'm not even on TikTok, like I have an account but I don't post it. Other people post it for me and my wife's like honey, you're relevant, I'm like I'm relevant, like well, she's like you know, you have a master's degree in the Roman Empire which you didn't think you were going to use and now people suddenly care about it. So I started reaching out to a lot of shows, because when we look at our client, our client is typically a CEO and founder, so there's somebody that's going to want to have a high level conversation and looking for certain things out of that conversation, and a lot of the shows that would talk about things like the Roman Empire and you know, cultural things and free speech are like where our client is gonna be. So for me, I was able to like I was on all these different shows because it was very, very timely, and I've told myself several times that I thought this campaign was because at some point in time, like a media cycle ends right and it goes on to the next media cycle, it's still going and we've been doing this since February, like it was on the James Altucher show, I was on the Tim Poole show, we've been talking to Glenn Beck's team. We've had a lot of different things going related to the Roman Empire.
Speaker 2:So I think you have to know what's happening out there and not just be in your little bubble, because those are the things that you can grab either a news item or something that has to do with what you're doing and really get out there and get seen and heard.
Speaker 2:So I think that's one part of it. The other part about it is you should also be running a campaign where you're speaking directly to, on a micro level, the people that you're going to help, and I think when you look at that, it's how do they communicate? What do they think? Because I think often, as I mentioned the Roman Empire campaign, it's a very broad campaign and it's going to be different than when you're thinking about okay, I want to be in front of this particular type of person. So when you kind of really shrink it down, you're talking to a much smaller audience about a very specialized topic, like we're talking about podcasting and things like that today. So you have to be understanding like there's different lenses people can see you through and you have to be running several different types of campaign in order to get people to understand who you are.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I think that's really important and I hope I hope everybody heard, like the. The subtext of that message was you can't just write a pitch and use it for 50 different podcasts, like it's not going to work. It's what's not going to work with the amount of impact and what you really are trying to achieve. Like those goals, you're probably going to get those nose or no one cares or no one even answers you back because it's not relevant to the host. So maybe making that like narrowing that reach and getting very intentional with the people that you're trying to go after and like that, just it's so much more impactful and I just think it's such good advice. Like, use what's relevant in your you know your toolkit, your toolbox for that specific show and then just go in like late, lean in super hard, so it'll make it a lot more. You know, likely that you're going to get that yes, or at least a maybe right, at least it may be, or in six months and, like Jeremy said, he's a window.
Speaker 2:You can work with a maybe like a way and windows a may. A maybe is a window, and I think one of the things that it's why I like to say what we do is like I think there's a lot of companies out there booking podcasts, but I like to say what we do really is PR, because I think, when you look at it, pr is you're looking for something that is disruptive, you're looking for something that stands out and you realize the news cycle changes and the media cycle changes. But I think often a lot of companies that are just booking podcasts are like all right, so this is the pitch we have. We're going to try and get you on this many. Oh my gosh, it just got too hard. We can't do it.
Speaker 2:You have to look at how does the? It's not a stagnant thing. It's not a static. It's something that changes and ebbs and flows and you have to be continually trying to get that right positioning. Really great book out there Al Reese and Jack Trout. It's called Positioning the Battle of your Mind. It's like from the early 80s, but it's a great book and it talks about what positioning is and how you get it. Positioning is like you're trying to get that area in somebody's mind with something they already know. So, like you know, you're saying you're for something or against something. For example, people say we're the Uber of blank. Okay, well, you're taking something people know which is Uber and you're comparing yourself to it. So part of what you're doing is achieving the right positioning so you get an easier way to be remembered, and you have to always be considering that with a media placement.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I love this. I love this and I like to say I'm the Honda Odyssey of podcast coaches because I'm reliable. I'm honest, I'm reliable. It's not fancy, it's not flashy around here. We're just like, that's the go-to. We're safe, like come on, come on, just get in. Like the AC is on, I got snacks, I got water in the back. Like you're, you'll be good to go. So I totally understand the positioning. I love that. I love that aspect. But, jeremy, this has been so much fun and before you know we dive into, I have some rapid fire questions that I really like we ask all of our guests but before we get there, you know we've mentioned several times about how you you help people, you know, with PR and being strategic with that. So tell us a little bit about, like, what does that look? Like? Like, how do you, you know, are you typically working with business owners, content creators? Like, who is, you know, your ideal client? And if someone's listening, like, where can they learn a little bit more about you?
Speaker 2:So typically the person we're working with is the CEO and founder of an organization that, like they're kind of at that next step where they have a team and they they're they're surviving well enough that their main idea now is the need to get attention and get out there, and they're kind of like carrying the banner for their companies. That's typically who we work with. We lot. We work a lot with natural and holistic health and it's because you know a lot of where my personal life has come from, my wife's personal life has come from.
Speaker 2:We also work a lot in in, you know, businesses and charities and stuff like that too. So like those are two like really main verticals we work in and we've changed our process a lot over the years. We used to work with people for either six months or 12 months, and what we've found is with PR, there's this lag time of when you do it and when you actually get an impact from it, and it can be anywhere from six weeks to three months, and what we've found that running somebody on a six-month campaign was just not enough to get them the result we wanted. So about a year ago we changed it, so we only offer one-year campaigns. So we're typically doing that and we do promise the number of placements we're getting somewhere over that time period to really do a good job in that time period.
Speaker 1:Okay, awesome, awesome, and this is all under your command. Your brand umbrella, right.
Speaker 2:That's correct, yeah.
Speaker 1:Awesome, awesome. Well, I think everyone's going to have to check out, jeremy. We're going to have everything linked in the show notes, but we are going to move over to our rapid fire questions, so are you ready? Let's do it. Okay, all right, my first one is what piece of advice would you give to a brand new podcaster or content creator?
Speaker 2:Be willing to be in it for at least a year, Cause I think most people like do it for a couple of weeks and then they quit, you know when they're not like famous and laying on every magazine or something. Be willing to be in it for a year and then longer Like that would be the biggest piece.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's good. That's really good advice, actually. Ok, my next one's a two part question who is your dream podcast that you would love to be on and who's that dream podcast guest that you'd love to interview?
Speaker 2:Oh geez. So I'm actually close to both, if that makes sense, like because I'm a huge Yankee fan. So Mariano Rivera is one of my favorite players and we've been talking his representation for like literally years and I'm hoping eventually we get that one book. So for me that would be like amazing um and I'm I'm hoping eventually we get that one book. So for me that would be like amazing um. And in terms of like podcasts, I'd want to be on um gosh because we've done so many cool ones like we've. This has been like such a cool stretch um. Like I guess it would either be london real um or joe rogan, which would be kind of cool. We've we've talked to rogan's team quite a bit and like the kind of the position we're at now is like where they're like check back in July and we'll see if we can schedule it. So I guess we'll see. That'd be kind of cool. But for me I guess that's kind of where I'm at on it.
Speaker 1:That's awesome, those are great, those are great.
Speaker 2:Okay, my last question is do yes In some ways, okay. So in some ways yes and in some ways no, if that makes sense. Like I'm not going to be a perfectionist where like I'm going to write an email and it's going to have 50 misspellings and my wife's going to have a heart attack and I don't care, but I got it out there. So like that's kind of one side of it. But at the same time, like if you give me something like that has an aesthetic quality, so like an image or a video or a graphic, like it has to be perfect, because I care so much about aesthetics. Aesthetics are like vital, because it kind of communicates to a being in a different way. So if it's something related to aesthetics, I care way too much.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and the reason why I started laughing if you're only listening on the podcast is Jeremy's smile got so big when I asked that question and he was just like yes because it's like yes and no Cause, it's like I like to me.
Speaker 2:there's so many times I'd rather get it out there, but at the same time it's like something of aesthetic quality. I realize the impact it has on someone like how important the aesthetic aspect is.
Speaker 1:Yeah, oh, it's so good. No, whenever I ask this question, I get so many like I'm a recovering perfectionist. But it's like, even if they like claim to have been like a hundred percent perfectionist in every aspect of their life, they're like I usually look, I'm good, I'm good, I'm good, but there's still this one thing. So you are not alone. And having like a one thing where you're like no, no, there's still this, that's got to be like, I'm meticulous about it until it is done and it is perfect. So I totally get it. I understand, I understand Well and I'm a tinkerer too.
Speaker 2:So, like I'm somebody that like, like my podcast production team like tells me to go away half the time Cause I'm trying to like figure out like well, if we could just do this one thing, or if we could just change this, or you know what I mean. I'm a tinkerer and I, which is kind of a problem.
Speaker 1:Oh, that's so thing. We got to ship it. It's got to get out the door and no more touching it, it's done. It's done here. Here's five other you know, images you can play with or other videos that you can edit, but this one is done. Don't touch it anymore. But this was so fun, jeremy, thank you for sharing all your information. And again, is there anywhere else that people can find you learn more about what you're doing?
Speaker 2:Yeah. So you know we've talked a lot about, you know, growing brands and getting out there, and you know it's interesting because I feel like our economy is not in the best place and creators have to work harder than ever to not just build what they're doing but really make it grow. And I wanna help people command their empire. So I put together a really great piece for your audience. It's called Command your Empire and it's the seven different PR things you need to know and how to actually put them into motion. So if you head to commandyourempirecom, you can grab that. It is 100% free and it's gonna help you get in motion today.
Speaker 1:Awesome, awesome, thank. Get in motion today, awesome, Awesome. Thank you so much for this conversation and for joining us on the show Absolutely. Thank you so much for having me Again.
Speaker 1:I cannot stress enough how important marketing visibility getting your name out there is, and I think that what's really cool about guesting on podcast is you have the ability to make this intimate connection really quickly, not only with the audience but with the host, like this is something that I think back on. You know we'll give you know, jeremy's a great example If I thought of a collaboration opportunity of you know I should really reach out to some podcast PR agencies, you know, to either get my name out there or to recommend other people go and do this, like I have so many people in my back pocket that I can contact and say, hey, you should really reach out to them, they can help you boost your business by guesting on podcast. Or, if you know, I had another idea about I really want to make sure that visibility is top of mind for my people. I'm gonna give them recommendations to go to a podcast guesting agency, just like Jeremy's, and I really think that you should check it out and go listen to his podcast, like he was such a fascinating guest, like his different background and all the things that he talks about Super interesting, super fascinating. We'll have all of that linked in today's show notes. But that's all I have for you. So make sure you go check out today's show notes. And I want to give another fan mail, shout out. These have just been so much fun.
Speaker 1:So today's is from Kim, and Kim said girl. Today's is from kim and kim said girl. Today's episode is fire, and I love that you can put emojis in there because, again, it's a text message and she says any chance you have the links to the speakers that you mentioned. Also, when I click on the episode website in your show, it gives me an error, kim stewart. So thank you. So, kim, like I'm like pointing her fan mail out specifically because there was an episode for the first day of the craft and commerce recap and I did not have all the speakers listed in there. I know my bad. Like she called me out. Thank you so much, kim, for calling me out. Plus, she said like uh, and I got a 404 error on the page, which is a red flag for me, but let me tell you what happened real fast, so we just went through a big rebrand of our website and there were lots of pages broken, but I am happy to report we have fixed them. We have fixed so many. So if you were getting errors you're like, oh, I'm not going to Crystal's website, like no, no, no, we fixed it. All of that is fixed.
Speaker 1:So go back to those episodes that you love and go to the show notes and make sure and check them out and look at the new format. Maybe you could send in your next fan mail and let me know what you think about the new podcast show notes format and the new website, because I love it. It's so, so pretty. But thanks so much, kim, for your message today. Kim is texting in from Grand Prairie, texas, and I am just so grateful to have you in this community. If you want to have your shout out read, make sure you go to wherever you're listening on the audio version of this podcast Apple Podcasts, spotify, any of the podcast players. At the very top of the episode description it will say send Crystal a text message. Send me a text message. We want to hear from you, but that's all I have for you today. Make sure you are subscribed or following wherever you are listening and, as always, remember, keep it up. We all have to start somewhere.
