Hey Besties!
It’s been a busy week. I’ve been hard at work on our latest series for Private Parts Unknown — we’re taking listeners to Belize, baby! I’ve discovered a podcast tech application while working on it that I’m excited to share with you in the future.
In the meantime, I dropped the trailer for MY BRAND NEW PODCAST, THE BLEEDERS!
It’s a podcast/Substack/support group for writers, book lovers, and people in the publishing industry. I’m eagerly awaiting the June 9th launch date because I can’t wait to start sharing the awesome author interviews I have in the can. If you love convos about writing or you've ever toyed with the idea of writing a book, this show is for you.
I was also a guest consultant for Podspike’s The Podcast Clinic, answering Jeff De La Rosa’s question, “Is starting a newsletter or blog to supplement your podcast a good idea?” Check out my response.
And now, I have a special treat for my Besties! A few years ago, Billy Procida, a hilarious NYC comedian and host of The Manwhore Podcast, was a guest on my podcast. It was back in the in-person recording days, so we had a great chat beforehand, and he shared some clever ways he grew his podcast to the top of the sexuality charts. Today he's going to share them with you!
What’s the premise of The Manwhore Podcast?
BP: When I was 24, I started interviewing my exes about sex, dating, and why we didn’t work out. Now, I host sex-positive conversations with sex educators, porn stars, dating experts, feminist authors, and comedians.
You started the Manwhore Podcast back in 2014, so you’re eight years in. What do you know now that you wish you would have known when you first started?
BP: It’s all about video! In the beginning, most of my guests wanted to be anonymous — I don’t blame them. If I fucked me, I also wouldn’t want people to know about it. But once I started hosting public personalities, I should have invested in some sort of video setup. The benefit to me at the time was having a very mobile-friendly recording setup. But podcast clips go viral now! Some shows have risen in popularity solely from their clips getting passed around Instagram. It would have been great to have captured hilarious Manwhore Podcast moments on camera.
How has the industry changed from where you’re sitting as an indie podcaster?
BP: More people are listening to podcasts than ever before! Your potential audience grows every year as people are discovering that purple podcast app on their phone or check out an interview with their favorite performer on Spotify. Ad money in podcasting is at its highest ever, and monetization platforms are popping up all over the place because Silicon Valley sees a lot of money in the creator economy.
There are also podcasting jobs now in a way that didn’t exist outside of NPR and WNYC a decade ago. Legacy media companies are seeking producers and editors to launch shows at a rapid pace. It is now plausible to make a living at podcasting!
What did you do for your launch, and, in retrospect, was it effective?
BP: I didn’t really do anything special for my launch. I had no pre-existing following outside of family, friends, other comics, and a couple hundred followers. I posted on Facebook and sent an email blast to ~1,500 addresses my dad had shared with me of local business contacts. I don’t think he understood I was going to send out “manwhore” emails. Oops. That was a fun phone call.
What was your first big bump in listeners? Where did they come from, and how much did it impact your listenership?
BP: One of the best ways for a “nobody” to gain new listeners is to appear on a bigger podcast with your target audience. And then, you have to be a great guest. About six months in, I was invited on the hit show Guys We F****d. That instantly tripled my audience and referred me new listeners for years! I still get emails from people who were binging GWF, heard my episode, and came over to my feed.
On the flip side, the next year, I was invited on Legion of Skanks after a feminist writer at Salon had some opinions about my show. They have a huge following, but their listeners aren’t my target audience. No bump.
I remember you telling me about some of the hilarious and ingenious indie growth hacks you tried. I’m thinking in particular about the gangbang you organized where you made applicants rate and review your podcast (LOL). Can you share the various growth hacks you tried and what you learned along the way?
BP: Yes! When recruiting dudes for group sex events, I asked for a series of information plus a screenshot of them subscribed to The Manwhore Podcast. Then when the woman involved does the show, I can email all the guys who applied so they can hear her perspective, and I can post in the subreddit the podcast version of a success story.
I tried raffling off a Motorbunny — a $1,000 vibrator — at the Brooklyn Sex Expo (thanks to the brand gifting me a free unit). People got raffle tickets for subscribing to the podcast, following me on socials, texting a friend to check out the pod, etc. I got new social media followers and a few hundred emails for my mailing list but didn’t get a big bump in downloads (though it did boost my Apple Podcasts rankings for a few days with the influx of new subscribers). I’ve also tried starting a Discord server, paying for a feed drop on another sex podcast (fail), driving cross-country with the podcast name on my rear windshield, and handing out custom Manwhore Podcast condoms at a blowbang. Get creative!
When were you able to monetize your show, and which methods have been most successful?
BP: After a year, I had about 1,000 downloads per episode, and I launched a Patreon. Maybe a year after that, I was able to scheme a sponsor here and there. 2017 was the first year I really started hustling cold emails to gain advertisers, and now many of my sponsors reach out to me as one of the established podcasts in the sex space. Live podcasts have been profitable for me. Merch has been hit or miss.
Patreon is my most consistent and fulfilling way to monetize the podcast because it’s coming directly from my fans. Sponsors are great, of course, but I love having an intimate financial relationship with my listeners!
What’s your strategy for community building and social media, and how does your digital ecosystem work together in service of your show?
BP: Community building is super important to my podcasting business. My most loyal supporters have been in the same group chat for years, a private Telegram group called The Peep Show. We share nudes, gifs, and compliments all day! There’s also The Champagne Room, my sex-positive Discord server, which gets people into my ecosystem and, eventually, the podcast. My Discord server and my OnlyFans act as funnels for people to find the podcast. Oh, you like my dick pix? Wanna hear that dick have entertaining conversations??
I also ran fan meet-up weekends in the pre-quar. Fanwhores would fly from all over the country and pay me to hang out for a weekend. We’d do workshops, bar crawls, parties, and more! ManwhoreCon will hopefully return soon…
You’ve been VERY effective at attracting your own press? Share some of your wins with us, and explain how the hell you do that?!
BP: Approaching my first podiversary, I contacted every writer I could find who wrote about Guys We F****d. After all, we both had similar show formats. The elevator pitch of "I talk to my exes about why we didn’t work out" certainly catches people’s attention in the way that a generic comedy show with a group of buddies talking about "stuff" just doesn’t. Think from an editor’s perspective: Why will readers be interested in hearing about you? Have humility when you think about this — you are more interested in yourself than Buzzfeed’s readers are! Unless you are famous or overwhelmingly unique, it helps to do this approaching some sort of event: a podiversary, an upcoming live show, a very famous guest appearance, an album release.
Leading up to my first live podcast in New York City, I contacted a ton of New York publications. But since I grew up in nearby northern New Jersey, I also reached out to my local newspaper, putting “Norwood native” in my catchy subject line. What was so special? Well, I was going to be on stage with four of my exes! I made the front page of the arts section and the front-front page of the even more local Suburbanite: Norwood Man’s Sex Life Subject of Podcast. Delivered to every house in the Northern Valley.
But others are random! I've been featured on the Best Sex Podcast lists at Esquire and Uproxx, and I had no idea until I was tagged on Twitter!
Anything else you’d like to add?
BP: If you follow The Manwhore Podcast on your favorite podcast app, you’ll prove that this newsletter was another effective way for me to attract new listeners! If you don’t, your favorite position is probably missionary with no eye contact.
Thank you, Billy!
➡️ Follow Billy on Twitter and Instagram.
➡️ And check out the wildly fun Manwhore Podcast now!
CoHost Released Their First Annual Podcaster Insights Survey - Podcast hosting platform CoHost asked professional audio creators to share the top challenges in producing and promoting. Data shows the biggest pain point is audience growth, even among professionals. Discovery and analytics aren’t too far behind.
Six in Ten Podcast Listeners Prefer Podcasts With Video - A study from Cumulus Media and Signal Hill found that Youtube edged out Spotify, by a nose, as the most used podcasting platform. Other insights include how women are taking over the space (woo!), advertising trends, and more.
Summer of Sound Audio Intensive Applications Opening Soon - Okay, Substack, you have my attention. In this month-long immersive workshop, a select group of writers and audio creators will learn how to build strategy, test techniques, and turn their passion into something sustainable. Applications for this audio intensive open June 9th; watch this space!
Public Health Podcast Audio Producer (contract) at Pizza Shark | Remote
Producer, The Michelangelo Signorile Show (full-time) at SiriusXM | New York, NY
Assistant Producer, Radiolab (full-time) at New York Public Radio | Remote
Podcast Producer (full-time) at Dear Media | West Hollywood, CA + Remote
Audio Producer, TechCrunch (full-time) at Yahoo! | San Francisco, CA + Remote
Senior Producer, MPR News with Angela Davis (full-time) at American Public Media Group | St. Paul, MN
BASIC!: JIMMY KIMMEL - I always appreciate an honest reflection on things that haven’t aged well, like “Girls on Trampolines.” Jimmy Kimmel looks back on The Man Show in this episode of Basic!, a new show bringing you the unofficial history of cable TV hosted by Doug Herzog and Jen Chaney. Full disclosure: Of course, it's cringe in retrospect, but I loved The Man Show (and I also love that the times have changed).
THRESHOLD: 1.5 TO STAY ALIVE - After decades of scientific study and political wrangling, the world has agreed — at least on paper — that 1.5C of heating must be the upper limit of our impact on the climate system: It’s a matter of life and death. In reality, we are not on track to meet that goal. But the window is not yet fully closed. Season 4 of Threshold, hosted by Amy Martin, grapples with the responsibility and privilege of this pivotal moment in human history.
RADIOLAB: NO SPECIAL DUTY - What are the police for? GOOD EFFING QUESTION! I’m more confused than ever after listening to this excellent episode of Radiolab, wherein I learned that most of the time, they’re not legally obligated to protect us. Even though they have “to serve and protect” literally painted on the doors of all their cop cars. Thank you to B.A. Parker and Sarah Qari for producing this mindfuck, and Taylor Haney for the Twitter rec.
So… ROLL CALL! 🗣
What podcast growth hacks have you tried? Which ones actually worked? What didn’t?
Follow me @courtneykocak on Twitter and Instagram. For more, check out my website courtneykocak.com.