Bri Leever, a community building strategist at Ember Consulting and host of 'Dear Bri,' shares her wealth of knowledge on nurturing thriving podcast communities. She discusses the surprising dynamics of free versus paid communities and emphasizes that focusing on audience needs is essential. Listeners learn that solo podcasters can succeed without large teams, the importance of communication skills, and the nuances of membership engagement. Bri also explores various community models, offering invaluable insights for aspiring podcasters.
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question_answer ANECDOTE
Marc Maron's Minimal Team Success
Marc Maron recorded his podcast in his garage for 16 years with a team of just two people.
Despite minimal resources, his show featured remarkable guests, including a sitting president, Barack Obama.
insights INSIGHT
Types of Communities
Communities can be broadly classified into education-centric transformational and connection-centric networking types.
Free and paid communities often serve different purposes and cater to distinct audience needs.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Call Members Before Launch
Call at least 10 potential community members for meaningful conversations to understand their challenges.
Approach these calls with curiosity and empathy; people appreciate being heard and often share valuable insights.
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Today we start with the news of Marc Maron retiring his podcast, and a possible shake up at the New Media Show (two shows with 16+ years). So who will fill their space you?
Bri Leever is a community building strategist at Ember Consulting and host of the show "Dear Bri." I saw her present at a webinar put on by Hearbeat (my favorite community tool) and immediately joined her community (which lead to me asking her on the show).
Marc Maron is hanging up his podcasting hat after 16 years, and that's a big deal.
Having both free and paid communities can actually mess up your growth, who knew?
If you want a thriving community, you gotta focus on what people actually want, duh!
Starting a podcast with a small team is totally doable; you don't need a squad of 20.
Don't be surprised if your free community outshines your paid one; it happens more than you'd think.
People love talking about themselves, so just ask them questions and you'll be golden.
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