How Gary Arndt built Everything Everywhere, a podcast with 1.5 million monthly downloads
Jul 17, 2024
auto_awesome
Professional travel photographer Gary Arndt pivoted to podcasting during the pandemic, creating Everything Everywhere with 1.5M monthly downloads. He discusses audience building, episode ideas, and leaving social media. The podcast covers diverse topics beyond travel, uses SEO-friendly name for content variety, and focuses on daily scripted episodes for search visibility and revenue growth through affiliate advertising and sponsorships. Arndt shares plans for business expansion with tours and merchandise.
Adapting to challenges, Gary launched a successful educational podcast during the pandemic.
Exploring diverse revenue streams, Gary discusses content monetization beyond social media advertising.
Resilient against industry changes, Gary prioritizes audience engagement and sustainable growth for the podcast.
Deep dives
Impact of the Global Pandemic on a Travel Photographer
With international flights grounded due to the pandemic in 2020, Gary Arndt's career as a travel photographer faced a sudden halt, resulting in the loss of his income streams. Adapting swiftly, he launched the Everything Everywhere podcast in July 2020, covering varied educational topics. The show garnered 1.5 million monthly downloads and surpassed his photography earnings. Through his podcast, Gary discusses engaging content, audience engagement strategies, and the pivot away from social media platforms.
Entrepreneurial Ventures in Technology and Travel
From the early days of the internet, Gary delved into tech entrepreneurship, sharing insights on innovative technological tools for website development. After a successful stint in tech firms, he expanded into the online gaming industry, attracting substantial page views until the Dot-com bubble burst affected the ad revenue. Transitioning into travel photography, Gary embarked on a 13-year journey, documenting unique destinations and honing his photography skills.
Evolution of Travel Blogging and Social Media Impact
Gary's expertise grew in travel photography and blogging, predating the era of Instagram and Twitter, which transformed the digital landscape. Despite substantial social media follows, Gary noticed challenges with monetizing content effectively due to industry shifts and oversaturation of shallow travel influencer content. Observing the limitations of mainstream travel marketing, he leveraged unique sponsorships with destinations like Spain.
Success Factors of the Daily Podcast Model and Monetization Strategies
Launching a daily educational podcast allowed Gary to engage with a broad audience on diverse topics, driving consistent growth in downloads and community interaction. By integrating host-read ads and exploring sponsorships, Gary's podcast revenue model evolved, with notable advertisers such as ButcherBox and BetterHelp. Despite challenges with social media marketing, Gary prioritizes organic growth and targeted ad placements within the podcast ecosystem.
Future Vision and Expansion Opportunities for Everything Everywhere
As Gary considers scaling his podcast and exploring potential business ventures like tours and merchandise, he seeks to streamline content production and explore new revenue streams. With plans to hire a business manager and expand the show's reach through innovative strategies, Gary envisions enhancing audience engagement and sustainability while remaining committed to delivering high-quality educational content.
Impact of Technology Changes on Podcast Growth
While the iOS update affecting auto downloads disrupted the podcast industry, Gary remained resilient against any downward trends in downloads, showcasing notable growth since the change. His ability to maintain audience engagement and adapt to evolving technological landscapes underscores the podcast's resilience and sustained success amidst industry challenges.
What does a professional travel photographer do when all international flights are shut down due to a global pandemic? That’s a question Gary Arndt found himself asking in the early months of 2020. By that point, he had built up millions of social media followers and an entire career from snapping photos in exotic locales, and within a matter of weeks his income streams had completely dried up.
Luckily, he had already been batting around the idea for a podcast that didn’t require any travel. In July 2020, he started producing seven episodes a week of Everything Everywhere, an educational show about a diverse range of topics, and it immediately took off. Today, it generates 1.5 million monthly downloads and pulls in much more advertising income than Gary ever made as a travel photographer.
In our interview, Gary walked through how he found his audience, where he gets his ideas for new episodes, and why he weaned himself off the social media platforms that once delivered him huge reach.
Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts
Save insights instantly, chat with episodes, and build lasting knowledge - all powered by AI.
