My 2022 Podcasting Report Card ✍️
Plus, Swap Society's Nicole Robertson on making her branded podcast
Hi Besties!
In the last issue, I shared lessons from my first year on Substack. This week, I’m grading my 2022 podcasting performance. I plan on making a lot of improvements in 2023, so I wanted to get a baseline of the previous year for comparison purposes. You’ll see that I’m a strict grader, especially when I’m the student. But the good news is we can all learn from my mistakes!
The Bleeders
I launched a brand new podcast, The Bleeders, about book writing and publishing. The trailer came out on May 25th, and the first episode dropped on June 9th.
Launch: C+
I don’t have anyone doing PR for me at the moment, so it’s all up to me, and I was super busy during the launch — also true for much of 2022 and my entire adult life — so I didn’t have a ton of time to execute my ideal launch plan. However, I did what I now consider an essential round of eleven emails to other podcast newsletter writers, which was fruitful. I got the following coverage:
Mentally? A Magpie review: Episode Highlight: Chloe Caldwell Does it Her Way...
Ear Worthy: Introducing “The Bleeders:” A New Podcast On Book Writing And Publishing
Podcast Reports: Introducing "The Bleeders:" A New Podcast On Book Writing And Publishing
Next season I’ll spend more money on ads, but admittedly I didn’t have much of a launch budget, so I was only able to make a couple of strategic ad spends. Luckily, I had the foresight to purchase some very cost-effective ads in a newsletter for writers. In those ads, I linked to The Bleeders companion newsletter, and I captured quite a few subscribers that way, most of whom have stuck around. That’s part of why I was able to amass nearly 500 Substack subscribers for The Bleeders companion newsletter in these first seven months.
🚨 Tip Alert! If you’re promoting your show via a newsletter classified, it usually converts better if you include a link to your podcast’s companion newsletter sign-up page rather than a link to your podcast or an episode. Plus, capturing that potential listener as an email subscriber is more meaningful long term.
Consistency: B
I published 20 episodes total. I started two times per week to pad my feed the first month, then went to weekly in July. In August, I further reduced my release schedule to every other week because of my bandwidth and other obligations. I communicated the changes to my audience, and I’ve been consistent within my own guidelines. I’m happy with the current cadence, and it doesn’t stress me — both crucial for sustainability — and, most importantly, I have time for promotion.
🚨 Tip Alert! Sometimes less is more in terms of content. There’s no use making content if you don’t have time to promote it.
Collaborations: C
I’ve only done one collab for The Bleeders, but it was a good one, and I’m giving myself credit because I did the initial ask. It was a feed swap with Paul Zakrzewski of The Book I Had to Write. I selected one of his episodes that I really liked featuring Lilly Dancyger, an author I’d wanted on my show anyway. I know at least a few people have found The Bleeders through that crossover because they’ve messaged me.
🚨 Tip Alert! I found this Paul through Tink Media’s Podcast Promo Swap List, and I’ll be using this resource to plan more collaborations in 2023.
Audience Growth: B-
My downloads are growing slowly but steadily. My latest episode was published on December 26th and already has 163 downloads, which is about double how episodes were performing six weeks ago. My advertising experiments are definitely helping — though the ROIs are vastly different, so it’s essential to test and learn before doubling down on any particular method.
🚨 Tip Alert! You can buy a Podcast Bestie paid subscription and learn from my advertising misspends.
Private Parts Unknown
This show has been going for years — it originally started as Reality Bytes in 2016. It found an audience in its first year, and it’s been solid but stagnant since then.
Ongoing PR: B+
As I said, I’m doing my own PR right now, but I’m actually doing decent at it for this show. That’s because I’m also a writer. And since I do both, sometimes I’ll do an interview or series of interviews for the podcast and think, Oh, that should be an article, or That should be an essay — or vice versa, Oh, I want to do an audio riff on that piece of writing. This year I’ve done an excellent job of pitching those stories to other outlets and getting yeses.
I used most of the same reporting for this two-part podcast series and an article version for InsideHook (where I’m a regular contributor):
Episode - LA Sex Work State of the Union, Part 1
Episode - LA Sex Work State of the Union, Part 2
This episode inspired a radio story I reported for KCRW:
Episode - Mind Trip: Courtney on Ayahuasca & Learning to Let Go
Radio story/digital article - SoCal ayahuasca retreats can bring healing. Not all are safe
A podcast-related tour of the Doc Johnson factory back in 2018 led to this episode and its companion article in InsideHook:
Episode - Meet Anjani Siddhartha: The Artist Behind Doc Johnson's Sex Toys
Article - InsideHook: Meet the Artist Behind Doc Johnson’s Sex Toys
The first episode (part of a larger Tokyo, Japan series) inspired an essay (and earned me a Cosmo byline), which in turn inspired another episode:
Episode - American Sex Tourists in Tokyo
Obviously, a written story is extra work, but I LOVE IT. Iterating on an idea in different mediums is one of my all-time favorite things. It also earns me another byline, I’m usually able to mention and sometimes even link to the podcast, and I get paid, which helps offset my expenses. I want to do a lot more of this in 2023.
🚨 Tip Alert! If you’re a writer, you should try this strategy. But make sure to adapt the content, not duplicate it, and play to each medium’s strength in your storytelling.
Consistency: C-
My Private Parts Unknown consistency fail wasn’t with the podcast — it was with the website. There were plans to redo it, but they kept getting delayed, and in the meantime, I just stopped updating it. That was not good! People were writing articles based on out-of-date information, and listeners couldn’t find the latest show notes. Shame on me for neglecting an owned channel like that! It was a total waste of web traffic. So I spent a few days last week updating the website, and I have plans to add transcripts to the new episodes starting this month.
🚨 Tip Alert! SEO is one of the most cost-effective ways to reach new listeners, but it’s a long-game strategy, and you have to be consistent.
Collaborations: C
I did a few small promo swaps for Private Parts Unknown in 2022 and already have a guest swap and a bunch of promo swaps set up for this winter, which simply involved saying yes to incoming pitches. I barely did any outreach for PPU collabs last year, but I’m giving myself points for just managing to take advantage of these opportunities presented to me. It’s easy to forget to reply, send the file, or submit your commentary in a timely fashion — I see people fumble good opportunities all the time, and I’ve done it many times myself.
🚨 Tip Alert! If you don’t have time to pitch other podcasters, at least try to take advantage of inbound opportunities to collab.
Audience Growth: C-
I did a few paid and cross-promotions for Private Parts Unknown last year, but I only pitched the podcast platforms ONE TIME in 2022. That means I’ve almost completely neglected perhaps THE most impactful AND cost-effective way to reach new podcast listeners. This is a major area to uplevel in 2023. I’ve already pitched Apple Podcasts and Spotify, so I’m off to a good start.
🚨 Tip Alert! Pitch Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Stitcher at least quarterly.
So there you have it — those are my marks for 2022. As my fiancé said, “Pretty rough report card.” But that means there’s lots of room for improvement in 2023!
Nicole Robertson is the founder and CEO of Swap Society, and she started an interview podcast about sustainable fashion to support her business in May 2022. There’s a lot of press about big brands making podcasts, but I rarely hear from independent entrepreneurs using podcasting to promote their small businesses. I’m a big fan of Nicole’s work, so I wanted to see how it’s been going.
First of all, tell the Besties about Swap Society. (Full disclosure: I swap with Swap Society, and I love it.)
NR: Swap Society is an online clothing swap for women and kids that makes it easy and affordable to mix up your wardrobe sustainably. Our alt-currency SwapCoin™ makes swapping fair.
Why did you decide to start a podcast related to your business?
NR: Before the pandemic, we did in-person events with really interesting panel discussions, and I missed those conversations and that sense of community. During the lockdown, I started doing IG Live interviews, and it inspired me to launch a podcast series about sustainable and ethical fashion. The apparel industry is one of the biggest industrial polluters and human rights abusers. There are so many great alternatives to the fast fashion business model, and I want to highlight that as much as possible. Something as simple as changing our relationship to how we shop for clothes can have a significant positive impact. The podcast also features activists, artists, and entrepreneurs working on climate solutions, and I hope our listeners walk away with a dose of climate optimism.
What's your most popular episode thus far?
NR: Our most popular episode so far is “How to Stop Attracting Clutter with Professional Organizer and dClutterfly Founder Tracy McCubbin.” Tracy talks about “clutter magnets” and how we can stop attracting clutter in the first place.
We post a video version of the podcast on YouTube, and our most popular episode there is “The FABRIC Act with Garment Worker Center's Nayantara Banerjee.” Senator Kirsten Gillibrand introduced the bill this year, and if passed, it will transform the fashion industry in the USA and improve the life of garment workers.
What’s been the most effective way to promote your podcast?
NR: We promote to our members and followers on social media, but we haven’t done much more than that yet. We are still pretty new to the podcasting world, and I am sure there’s so much more we can do.
What are the upsides of making a podcast for your brand?
NR: I really love talking with people who are working on cool projects that are focused on sustainability and social justice. It always makes me feel inspired and hopeful about the future.
What are the not-so-great aspects?
NR: It’s very time-consuming!
What advice do you wish you could've given yourself before you started your podcast?
NR: I would give myself a heads-up about how much time it actually takes to put it all together.
What's your podcasting goal for 2023?
NR: To line up an incredible roster of guests and to grow our listener base.
What are your other favorite sustainable fashion, sustainability, and/or climate change podcasts?
NR: Conscious Style Podcast, Clotheshorse, Pre-Loved Podcast, Wardrobe Crisis, Conscious Chatter, EcoJustice Radio…
Anything else you’d like to add?
NR: From the food that we eat to the things that we buy, how we consume has an impact on our environment and our fellow humans. You don’t have to completely change your life or be perfectly sustainable (that’s not possible anyway) but please at least try to make small changes because lots of people being more mindful can add up to a huge impact. Also, if you’re working on something related to sustainable and ethical fashion or sustainability in general, I would love to connect! Here’s my LinkedIn, or you can email me at nicole@swapsociety.co.
Thank you, Nicole!
➡️ Check out the Swap Society website, and follow Swap Society on Instagram and TikTok @swapsociety.
➡️ Tune into The Swap Society Podcast with Nicole Robertson on your favorite podcast player and YouTube.
P.S. My goal is to serve the podcasting community with valuable craft and marketing information. If you have game-changing advice to share from your podcasting experience or want to nominate another podcaster who does, please reply to this email with your pitch. I love to feature Besties!
Editor, Broadcast (full-time) at Kaiser Health News | Washington, DC
Associate Strategist, Podcasts (full-time) at SAG-AFTRA | New York, NY
Lead Producer, Philly (full-time) at City Cast | Philadelphia, PA
Digital and Multimedia Producer/Editor (full-time) at New England News Collaborative | Remote Anywhere in New England
Ears in the Field Audio Fellowship (part-time paid fellowship) at Food Culture Collective | Remote, California
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The Bleeders: Manifesting Your Writing Goals Through Daily Practice with Kellianne Benson of 750words.com - The new year is here, which had me thinking about my writing-related resolutions and how to accomplish them. So this episode is all about writing practice — the daily grind of it, the unsexy truth about how we manifest our writing goals by showing up and allowing ourselves to get words on the page, however messy they might be at first. And we’re diving into this topic with the perfect guest: Kellianne Benson, community manager and director of 750 Words.
Private Parts Unknown: Am I a Kardashian Now? My Cliovana Orgasm Enhancer Review with Dr. Christopher Asandra, Dr. Caroline Colin & Dr. Amir Marashi - I got the Cliovana orgasm-enhancing treatment, and in this episode, I spill all the tea about it! We explore what this treatment is, how it works, how much it costs (full disclosure: my service was comped), and whether or not it’s worth it. First, I take you inside the treatment experience. Then I speak with a couple of doctors about Cliovana, how to maintain your sexual health at all ages, including menopause, and one of my biggest missions in life: closing the orgasm gap. And finally, I close out the episode with my Cliovana review.
So… ROLL CALL! 🗣
I want to know YOUR podcast grades for 2022. Drop your report card in the comments below!
Follow me @courtneykocak on Twitter and Instagram. For more, check out my website courtneykocak.com.