How to Throw a PR Party for Your Podcast 🎉
Isabella Di Stefano shares her season one takeaways
Hello Besties!
There’s a lot going on behind the scenes at Podcast Bestie that I can’t wait to share with you… stay tuned! 🤗
One thing I CAN share right now is the first episode of Podcast Bestie, the Podcast — and it’s a goodie. Our guest is the ever-charming James Cridland of Podnews.
If you haven’t heard it yet, I’m sure you’re gonna love it. And I want to collab with all my Besties on spreading the word, so if you give the show a 5-star rating and review on Apple Podcasts, you’ll get a free shout-out on the next episode. All you have to do is email me a screenshot with your name and the name of your podcast.
For today’s newsletter, I’m thrilled to take you inside the making of the first season of my client Isabella Di Stefano’s ISA Game podcast — namely, the press and influencer party she threw this fall. She shares so many good lessons from season one in this Q&A, especially about leveraging your network for meaningful collaborations.
But first, a quick word from our sponsor (that just so happens to be one of the best podcasts I’ve ever heard produced by a non-profit)!
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First, introduce yourself and your podcast.
ID: Hi, friends! I’m ISA, aka Isabella Di Stefano, and I host a Podcast Game called ISA Game. I wordplay with world-class creators, marketers, artists, and entrepreneurs to help you uniquely get inside their minds. This format leads to unexpected personal and professional conversations that inspire others to pursue their passions and find what ignites them the most.
Give us the deets for the party — who, what, where, when, and especially why.
ID: My dear friend of over a decade, the expert community-builder, Savannah Engel, did a skill swap, and I rebranded her agency in exchange for PR support from her team. Savannah was eager for me to host an intimate launch event to coincide with early episodes of ISA Game and invite a diverse group of working women in NYC to get to know each other while feasting and sipping in a fun-filled space. The event was not only a dynamic and engaging way to connect with my community, but it also gave me the opportunity to drive awareness for my pod within a highly influential group in a hands-on way.
I chose to host the event at one of my favorite restaurants in NYC, Pietro Nolita. Pietro is a dear friend and a creative inspiration — he created a little pink nook in Soho where you can eat healthy Italian food and sip on pink frozen margaritas while you soak up the flirty and fun interiors. The space was perfect for my event because it is small enough to ultimately take over and make my own. Pietro also let me use the outdoor eating area as a photo and seating area. And another dear friend Parker Voss, a visual and creative genius, created a J’ADORABLE cloud-filled corner for guests to capture cute pics. I was so impressed with what Parker achieved with almost NO budget.
Every guest had a fab goodie bag waiting for them at their seat, hand airbrushed by my friend Brielle (@femlorddd on IG), and filled with values-aligned brands that generously contributed products. Additionally, Rosaluna kindly donated tequila, and Fancy Sprinkles sent us edible glitter to decorate the drinks and give away to guests. Otherland was SO generous, sending candles and silk scrunchies that we used as napkin rings and also put in the gift bags. We strategically created social videos for every brand that contributed to the event to create additional value for them beyond exposure to the crowd.
I also included a mini card game version of the game we play on my podcast for guests to use as an icebreaker or fun game to get to know friends or lovers in new ways.
My friend Stephanie Ketty kindly worked with us to have BFA on site to document photos of the event and post them on their site for additional exposure to the media the next day!
We structured the party to start with a casual cocktail hour before sitting for supper. During dinner, I gave a quick speech about the podcast and thanked everyone for their support. It was an excellent opportunity to get the info I wanted in the right hands and also express my gratitude to the group for showing up for me.
Savannah also invited some women I knew of but didn’t know personally yet, which led to recruiting a few iconic guests for season two — this was by far the biggest payoff of the event!
You had some really cool guests in attendance, and it looked awesome on social media. How did the party go, and what were the biggest benefits of having it?
ID: Overall, the event was a success and was a great networking opportunity for guests, as well, since many hadn’t met before. I really liked bringing together a range of women in my network to spark inspiration and facilitate new friendships. Savannah also got a few press pieces on the event, including The Cut and Guest Of A Guest. That said, the most significant benefits of the event were that everyone genuinely had a great time (which gave them a fun memory and a positive association with my pod), and I met terrific talent who agreed to be in season two and may not have if they hadn’t been exposed in this way IRL. It was also a good test and learning opportunity to set the stage for future in-person events related to my podcast.
Give us a ballpark for how much the party cost and the most expensive components.
ID: I spent just under $10K pulling off all aspects of the event, including taking over the Pietro Nolita restaurant for the evening (cocktail hour and sit-down dinner for ~35 people), creating a photo opp installation, producing 30+ gift bags filled with some donated and some paid for goodies, having BFA capture and feature the event on their site, issuing a press release on the wire, and buying glasses napkins and other small decorations to enhance the event space further.
Would you throw another press/influencer party for your podcast? If so, looking forward to the next one, what aspects of the party are you definitely going to repeat?
ID: I hope to be able to host another IRL gathering to coincide with the launch or finale of season two in a few months. I will most definitely still do some sort of photo/video moment, provide gift bags, and have BFA cover again.
What will you skip next time or do differently?
ID: Next time, I will not bother putting a press release on the wire as it didn’t lead to that high-value coverage, and I also most likely won’t need to repurchase event decor as we stored everything for reuse. If the budget allows, I would also like to do something a bit bigger where we can invite more listeners and community members.
What would be your advice to another indie podcaster trying to throw a press party or live event on a budget?
ID: It’s not worth doing it unless you can create a 360, somewhat elevated guest experience. Also, the event should have a clear purpose, ownable solid aesthetic, and interactive elements (e.g., installation or activities during the event). Also, tap into your own network to bring in other values-aligned partners who can contribute to the experience meaningfully.
You’re about to wrap/just wrapped the first season of your podcast. In general, what are the biggest things you’ve learned from making the show and putting it out there?
ID: I had no clue what I was doing when I started this, and I am proud of how far we’ve come in season one. I couldn’t have pulled this all off without your leadership and guidance throughout every step of the process. We knew we had much to learn when we started, and I wasn’t afraid to put less-than-perfect content out there and optimize it as we went. This space is all about testing, learning, and optimizing, and it’s incredible to see the progress come to life. You’ll probably notice that the pod gets better as you go through the episodes — also, in the beginning, I talked WAY too much (I was nervous!), and now I am much more focused on prompting and listening. We had so many wonderful guests in season one — still, we will be taking a slightly different approach for season two and focusing on working with people who are fully committed to promoting this content on their channels. We had a few guests that didn’t follow through on that, which makes a massive difference in overall listens and engagement across social.
I’ve truly loved every step of the development process and have so much fun shooting each episode, but there is still so much room to grow. Speaking openly, I had a significant life event happen about halfway through the roll-out of season one, so we had to pause for a moment while I was dealing with that, which meant we weren’t on as consistent of a publishing schedule as we should have been for the back-half of the season. Furthermore, we missed some opportunities to amplify further across all of our social channels and had to focus on TikTok and IG to lessen the workload slightly. In season two, we will be far more aggressive with YouTube Shorts, building the Substack and driving traffic from Pinterest, as we did see early success with those channels.
Overall, I am so incredibly grateful for the team that came together to bring this concept to life. Everything from the branding through the guests was made possible because of the incredible people in my orbit who were excited to support me on this journey… which leads me to tell you about the season finale — insert drumroll! 🥁🥁🥁
Atoosa Rubenstein, the former editor-in-chief of Seventeen magazine and creator of CosmoGirl, is my season one finale guest of honor! This is a very special episode because Atoosa is my mentor I’ve known for nearly 20 years, and I actually met her because she cast me as a “real girl” model in her magazine when I was a teenager. I am so excited for you to get to know this fashion and editorial icon, who also happens to be one of the most authentic people I know in NYC and the industry. Atoosa spills some saucy tea while we discuss everything from social media to napping!
Anything else you’d like to add?
ID: The best part about launching ISA Game podcast has been learning a new storytelling language and expanding my skills to include audio-first content. This process has also allowed me to tap into a side of myself I haven’t been that in touch with for a long time: being on camera a lot. Fun fact: I got my BFA in Drama at NYU Tisch and initially had my heart set on the big screen. When I graduated, I was quickly swept into the business side of the entertainment industry and took a different path. While this differs from playing a character, I’ve loved leveraging some of what I learned during my training and am having a lot of fun getting more comfortable in front of the lens again.
Thanks, ISA! It’s been a pleasure to sherpa your audio journey. 💕
➡️ Check out ISA Game wherever you listen to podcasts!
➡️ Follow ISA and the podcast at @dizzlebella and @isagamepodcast on Instagram.
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So… ROLL CALL! 🗣
Have you thrown a PR event for your podcast? If so, share your takeaways in the comments below.
Follow me @courtneykocak on Twitter and Instagram. For more, check out my website courtneykocak.com.
This PR party is the GOALS! I love taking a digital presence and turning it into an IRL event. Brilliant.