The Future Of The Podcast & What I’m Focusing On KDS: 143

The Future Of The Podcast Is Something I’ve Been Thinking About A Lot Lately.

If you’ve been wondering what’s up with the podcast… join the club. After doing this for so long, I was really thinking that maybe it was time to turn the page and put it to bed.

But the more I thought about it, the more I knew that that decision wasn’t coming from the right place.

The last thing people would say about me is that I’m indecisive.

In fact, I’ve probably made a lot of decisions quickly that could have used a little more processing time to weigh the pros and cons, but that’s really not how I operate, so I’ll leave that one alone.

The past 6-8 months have fascinated me when I step back and examine what’s happened and how my mindset has shifted (read ‘grown’).

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I attribute this to a few things:

• Experience – having been in this game for a long time, I know enough that in times of uncertainty or the need for clarity, it’s best to be patient.
• Age – there is something so freaking delightful about getting older and caring a whole lot less about what other people think
• Life changes—The move back to California in February 2023 was right for me, and now I’m heading back to Costa Rica. People have asked how long I’ll stay there, and I honestly don’t know. I want to stay put for a while (which, to me, is 3+ years). Ultimately, I’d like to buy there, but we’ll see where the economy goes.

A little history about the podcast:

I started podcasting in 2013 when I was “The WPChick” and the podcast was “The WPChick Podcast.”

There were maybe 5 other WordPress podcasts at the time, so getting some traction was pretty easy. I alternated between solo shows and interviews, which was a smart strategy because it really grew my audience.

I think the years between 2019 and now were so challenging personally that to host interviews and truly show up for other people felt like a lot of work… work that I didn’t really have the energy for… until now.

During that time, I went through some extremely challenging situations with my son, and then my Mom passed away unexpectedly in 2019, and my world was turned upside down.

Then, we all know what happened in 2020, when I decided to move to Boise, ID, followed by a move to Costa Rica in 2021.

So… needless to say, the last 5 years have been a lot (with other things happening in the background, but I’ll save that for my therapist).

Here’s the thing with all of this: To some people, this may not seem like a lot, and to others, it may seem overwhelming. I’ve been so incredibly hard on myself for things I’ve done, not done, not done enough of, woulda’, shoulda’, coulda’…. the judgment is what’s really gotten in the way.

None of us get through this life unscathed, without messing up, losing people we love, and without challenges and struggles.

That’s life.

It really is how we handle what happens to us that makes all the difference.

SO… all that being said… I’ve been incredibly hard on myself for the inconsistency with the podcast and, in many ways, my lack of excitement about doing it. It felt like a chore as opposed to the thing I loved doing.

A handful of things have changed for me (which I’ll share), but specifically, it’s my decision to fully #JustShowUP again.

No more censoring myself, no more worrying about what other people think (well, at least not feeding that, because that may always be part of my process), and doing the work.

Here’s what that means for the podcast:

• Way more interviews: but with a bit of a twist. I’m currently scheduling the interviews for the Women & Money series, which I’ve wanted to do since the beginning of this year.
• Conversations: There are a lot of conversations I want to have with friends who have been in this space for a long time, and we’ve seen each other grow, pivot, and stick it out. There’s so much power in sharing experiences.
• Other series: I love the idea of focusing on a topic as a series – I can already see doing one on AI, one on Costa Rica (living and working there), and one with SaaS founders. I’m getting more and more excited as I write this!
• Video: I have a lot of podcasts already recorded on video. It’s time to ramp up my YouTube channel and make the podcast feed available through YouTube as well.

I’d also like to do some live streams and free workshops with some of the companies whose tools I use and recommend.

All of this has me completely fired up.

Especially since there seems to be a return to long-form content (not that it ever went away, but just like everything else online, things are cyclical. I will be doing a post and/or podcast on this soon).

Side note: You know how I know I’m on the right path with this? I’ve written almost 1000 words without even looking up. Everything has just flowed as I’ve been writing. I write directly in the editor, whichever editor I use (WordPress, beehiiv, etc.).

So to look up and see how effortless this has been has made me a little giddy.

The other way I always know I’m on the right path is when I get goosebumps… this happens a lot when I’m coaching someone or helping someone work through something. When I get “lit up” and feel goosebumps, I know it’s right.

My goal is to complete the women and money series interviews by the end of June. If I can’t, I can at least start publishing them. I plan to publish them consecutively so you can follow the series.

I’ll do a before and summary episode to sort of ‘bookend’ the series (I will do this with any series I do). In fact… I think I may just jump into this whole ‘series’ thing and start planning the second series while recording the first.

Hmm… I think AI will be the next series.

What I’m Focusing On

Growth.

More specifically, my email list.

The move to beehiiv has been great (my open and CTR have both gone up), but I know I need to get very specific with my list growth strategy.

I think this will also include some paid traffic (so I can target my ideal customer to a certain degree).

I’m also in the process of lining up some email swaps to support other creators and grow my list through the exchange. I’m participating in an upcoming summit and it’s for a new audience that I’m excited about getting in front of.

My goal is to have an organic + paid strategy that complements each other.

I am SUPER fired up about my new content strategy and attribute some of my enthusiasm to GaryV’s new book: Day Trading Attention.

Say what you will about Gary V – he knows his stuff. This book is incredibly tactical and it’s helped me reframe how I think about content and social on a whole new level.

Which, not surprisingly, completely supports “Everything Is Content.”

I’ve spent too much time overthinking things (we already talked about ‘what other people think, ‘ so I won’t go sideways with that here) and trying to ‘get it right’ that it has prevented me from simply being me and following my gut.

The irony is that it’s through doing the work that we become clearer and better at our craft.

I’ve let a handful of my own ‘rules’ get in the way: I hate using my phone for editing (there’s a workaround for everything), I don’t want to ‘waste time’ on social, I don’t know what to post (never been true, I just held myself back), organic doesn’t work, blah, blah, blah.

What’s been incredibly helpful for me is realizing the numbers game isn’t what we think it is.

Meaning you don’t need massive followers, likes, or other vanity metrics to create a business you love that serves the people you want to serve and supports the lifestyle you want to live.

Whether you want to live simply or extravagantly, you don’t owe anyone an explanation for how you want to live your life.

Back to growing my list.

In addition to some email swaps and paid traffic, I will also run my first giveaway.

I discussed this in a recent newsletter issue and have decided it’s time! I’m going to let this run for a few weeks with the goal of adding at least 500 quality subscribers to my list (this will be based on the engagement of the follow-up series and who is still subscribed after the giveaway is over).

One task with my organic strategy is ensuring that ALL my links on all social go directly to the newsletter opt-in page.

I’m also editing my bio on each platform and including my hashtag for #EverythingIsContent wherever I can (on the graphic and in the bio). I want to be known for #EverythingIsContent (this still trips me out that this is an actual searchable hashtag… because I’m telling you that it wasn’t before I created it. #justayin—clearly someone needs some credit or validation, haha).

To feel as excited as I am about my business again feels amazing.

And, as esoteric as it might sound, I think it’s because I’m choosing to trust myself. I’m going with my gut and not playing small anymore.

I’m crystal clear about the things I want to do, the things I don’t want to do, and the things that I need to work through the discomfort of doing to create the life I want.

I give much credit to this internal shift to Dr. Benjamin Hardy and his book ‘Be Your Future Self NOW.’

And, of course, my mentor/therapist and our work together.

But most importantly, I’m giving myself credit where credit is due.

I’m pretty sure that part of my DNA is that I’m tenacious. I’d rather spend the rest of my life betting on ‘Me’ than give up.

And I hope it inspires you to do the same.