Tag: Podcasting

What My Producer Learned From Me About Organizing

I recorded the 15th episode of my podcast last week.

15 episodes.

15 Episodes!

Since I launched my podcast in November, the process has become smoother. Thank GOODNESS! Not that the process was hard, but getting over the initial fears and and bumps in the road took a little time. Everything was new and different, so I had to adjust and also learn how to make the process a sustainable habit integrated into my typical weekly schedule.

And I learned. Hooray!
And I had help. Also Hooray!


My producer Chris Lanuti with BroadcastBasement.com set up my accounts across all the podcast platforms and created my graphics. He makes me sound good every week, writes my descriptions every week (I like his better than mine), and continues to guide me along the podcasting path.

I am gratified to say that while I have been learning SO MUCH from Chris, he mentioned that he has learned a lot from our time together, as well. He is present as I record every episode and then he produces the episode, taking out all my goofs and ums / ahs, adding my theme music, etc. So the poor guy listens to me at least twice through every episode and content area! And he has learned a few things in all that listening!

As I grow professionally and grow my podcast, I would like to have guests with me for some episodes. Chris offered to be my first guest, and here are highlights from our recording session!

What My Producer Has Learned From Me About Organizing:

Prioritize Your To Do List!

Chris says he has always been a list guy, but sometimes he would look at the unprioritized list, only cross off a few things in a day and feel frustrated that he didn’t get anything done.  And yep, I feel the same sometimes!

But the better quesiton is, for Chris and for all of us, did he get done the work that NEEDED to be done TODAY? After listening to the organizing podcasts, he is better about prioritizing what is on the list.

For example, using the Eisenhower Box idea (Podcast Link, Blog Article Link), his tasks are broken into three categories: “Top”, “Next” and “Ahead”. And he gets more done more easily, without tasks slipping through the cracks.

  • “Top” tasks are both urgent and important and need to be done today.
  • “Next” tasks are important tasks that can perhaps wait a day or two or more. They’re important but they are not yet urgent. And
  • “Ahead” is a parking place for ideas for later, in the next month or two, or longer.   The ideas are safely kept on the list until it’s time to work on them.

How can you better categorize your to-do list to get more done?

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Client communication / Newsletter:

In January, as we recorded one of my episodes, we were discussing “unsubscribes” from our client email platform (we both use Constant Contact).  I think we both had maybe 2 unsubscribes one week. He mentioned he didn’t usually click to see who unsubscribed but he did that week and was suprised to see they were people he knew pretty well and saw occasionally. And it felt personal!

So we both had to get over the fact that Yes, subscribers may come and go sometimes, especially in January when folks are cleaning out their inboxes! But that lead to the conversation around newsletters and communcating with our clients.

A Podcast is a tool of communication in itself!  But we have to communicate more directly, too, so let’s talk newsletters!

We both use newsletters to reach out to our community. Consistent, value-added communications are the best way to keep in touch. Recently, he changed the format of the newsletters he sends out. He said he “stole” the idea from me, but it’s a generally accepted practice, so I called it “incorporating a good idea”: In the same way that I have sections of my weekly newsletter to highlight my different product offerings, he now has info on the current episodes, an “if you missed a recent episode, here’s where you can listen”, and calls-to-action to check out and actually subscribe to the podcast plus check out other podcasts he also hosts.

Chris is better about segmenting his address list than I am.  His lists segmented by which podcast a person listens to, current advertisers, possible advertisers, etc. My address lists are segmented, depending on where I met someone (networking, classes, clients, etc), but I send out the same newsletter to all my subscribers every week.  Because…

  • I’ve been in business for 20 years, and the lines have blurred for many of my community members!
    • Organizing clients have become friends or networking partners or coaching clients, class participants have become coaching or organizing clients or friends, etc.
  • I consider you all my Community. And
  • Any subscriber can reach out to me for any reason, to hire me to coach, to organize, to set up a presention, to share an organizing or recyling resource, etc.

How can you better communicate with your community?

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Experts: In business and in life, Find your experts.  Use your experts.  Be the expert for others.

Chris and I talked a bit about who our experts are, and how we use those connections that we have.

An example of how I use my experts is hiring Chris to set up and now produce my podcast. Since 2020, the not-knowing-how kept me from starting my podcast. Chris and I had talked about it, but it took me two years to take the leap. It took some courage, but I had the idea and the expert to help me get from idea from to finished product.

In the interview, I also mentioned how I puzzled for months over how to set up my business – C Corp, S Corp, LLC? I pondered, I read lots of information, I worried. And then I realized I had an attorney, my friend and networking partner, who could tell me what sort of business structure would best suit me and my situation. One phone call and about 15 minutes later, I was on my way (and she is still my legal expert, www.KerlinWalshLaw.com).

We must consider how long something will take us to figure out versus how someone else – our expert – can complete a task more quickly and competently than we can. This is a slow lesson to learn sometimes, but when we step out of our own way and let our experts practice their art, we can regain time (and therefore money), mitigate stress and have things done right the first time!

What expert do you know that could make your life easier today? Call Them!!!

Give a listen this week!

If you would like to know more about getting started with your own podcast, or if you want to check out any of the other podcasts from the Broadcast Basement, check these out!