Podcast Talent Coach Erik K. Johnson

FIRST, GET NOTICED
Before you can grow relationships with your audience and become an authority and influencer in your niche, you need to get discovered. Making your podcast discoverable is one of the first critical steps.
So many podcasters struggle to grow their audience. However, they are doing very little to be visible and become discoverable.
You cannot expect people to just show up to your podcast. It takes diligent, deliberate action on your part to get in front of those listeners.
As you build the relationships, many will become fans for life.
CHICAGO GETS NOTICED
I just saw the band Chicago perform Wednesday night. It was a full house even though only 2 of the 10 guys on stage were original members of the band.
Jimmy Pankow on trombone and Lee Loughnane on trumpet were the only two original members on stage. Robert Lamm is still listed as a member, but for some reason he wasn't there.
Even the lead singer is the third replacement after Peter Cetera left the band in 1985.
Chicago has been touring for over 55 years. Over those years, they have been building relationships. They have toured relentlessly for years gaining more and more fans at each show.
In 1971, Chicago performed a week of sold out shows at Carnegie Hall in New York City. They were the first rock band to do it and turned the shows into a 4-disc box set as their fourth album.
Six years later in 1977, Chicago became one of the first acts to receive the Gold Ticket Award from Madison Square Garden in New York City. It was a new award given to performers who sold over 100,000 tickets to performances at the venue. Chicago drew over 180,000 people to the venue in nine sold-out appearances there over the years.
On Wednesday night, a full house at the 5,000-seat outdoor amphitheater sang, danced and partied with a band that was a shell of its former self. And the fans couldn't have cared less.
It was legacy.
The music holds a special place in the hearts of fans even though the original guys aren't there performing it.
It's all about relationships.
DISCOVERABLE THROUGH PODCASTS
Relationships begin by getting discovered.
There are many ways to get discoverable. Some work better than others.
In studies that have been done, most people discover new podcasts through word of mouth. They hear somebody else mention the show.
Therefore, my favorite way to get discoverable is to get interviewed on other podcasts.
Podcast listeners listen to podcasts. Give them options.
SUMMITS
I find summits a good way to become discoverable. Though all summits are not created equal.
I've been on summits that have 15 people at the session. However, I was on an AI summit a few weeks ago where 350 people were there.
A summit is like a virtual conference. A group of experts give presentations centered around a the theme of the summit.
Summits typically last anywhere from one to five days. The session are usually interviews or presentations.
During the presentation, the presenter will usually offer a free lead magnet to get people on their email list.
When I was on the summit with 350 people in the room, I was able to add 125 people to my email list. Just ensure your presentation and gift match the audience the summit is attracting.
OTHER WAYS TO GET DISCOVERABLE
There are a variety of other ways to get discoverable.
You can get on stage at conferences in your niche.
Find ways to get mentioned in articles.
Do Facebook lives in groups with group owners. Just connect with the owner of the group and see if you can add some value to their group.
I've have huge success speaking to masterminds. These are typically small groups, but they've invested to be there.
You can also create your own virtual events that partners can promote.
DANIEL J. LEWIS
Today, I want to share an interview I did with Daniel J. Lewis. He is a master at getting your podcast discoverable.
As a multiple-award-winning podcaster, Daniel J. Lewis gives you the guts and teaches you the tools

To make your impact on the world, you need attention, authority and influence. A great way to create that rapport is through virtual events.
PROMOTE THE EVENTS
You can promote your virtual events with your podcast. At the virtual event, you can get closer to your audience, build stronger relationships, and demonstrate your expertise.
To be an influencer, increase your visibility.
Virtual events are any online gathering that allows you to present to a crowd and move a room.
Some of the most common virtual events include webinars and summits. You can also create workshops, VIP days, masterclasses, networking events, 3-day events, meet-ups, online conferences, and a variety of other gatherings.
On your podcast, you can discuss the transformation people will experience at your event. Then, make the invite.
At the event, deliver value, help people get results, and make an offer to them.
BEST EVENTS STRUCTURE
There are three things your participants should receive at your events.
First, they need to receive your training. Teach them something that will help them solve a problem.
Next, they need to do something. This could be homework during a 3-day event or simply generating ideas during a webinar. Get your participants to take a step forward.
Finally, participants of the events need to share. They could share the ideas they just generated in the chat during a webinar. During 3-day events you can put them into breakout rooms to share with each other.
Sharing makes the doing real. This is similar to sharing goals. Studies show that when you share goals, you are more likely to achieve those goals.
Learn, do and share is an effective structure of all great events.
POWER OF EVENTS
There are many benefits to doing live events.
Events give you more face time with your prospects. You can build stronger relationships and rapport as part of the sales process. They get to know you better.
These events let you learn more about your prospect and their challenges. The more they do and share during the events, the more you discover how you can help them. It is powerful market research.
Events allow you to make more offers to your prospects. These people are spending good time with you. If you've built your structure properly, you are providing great value. Now you can offer them the next step with you.
Finally, events give you more visibility. You gain by the visibility of promoting the event. There is benefit by the visibility you get during the event. And then you can benefit by continuing the discussion online with participants after the events.
MY EVENTS
When it comes to building my events, I learned by watching those already conducting successful events.
By participating in and helping with their events, I learned what worked and what didn't. I discovered what I should do and what I should avoid.
To make my events successful, I tried to find those who already had authority and influence in their niche. Then, I offered to help them with their events for free. I just wanted to be close enough to learn.
Today I conduct a variety of events including summits, workshops, 3-day events, masterminds and more. It has been a powerful way to build my authority and influence. It can help you as well.
EVENTS WITH JANELLE ANDERSON
Today, I've invited events expert Janelle Anderson on the show to help us learn how to create our own powerful event.
Janelle Anderson is known as the Speaking Confidence Coach for coaches. She is a Certified Professional Coach, author, and renowned speaker.
Janelle is on a mission to empower coaches to launch on a strong foundation of clear messaging aimed at the audience most aligned with their passions and strengths.
She helps coaches grow their business through masterful speaking and storytelling with her business, Emerging Life Coaching.
Her latest event is the Art of Influence Summit where I'm proud to be a speaker. Enjoy my conversation with Janelle Anderson.
GET STARTED
Get started with

INTERVIEW GUESTS AND MORE
Podcasters have been hitting me up with great questions looking for answers. Today we talk about booking big name guests and demonstrating your expertise during interviews without talking the spotlight from your guests.
We will also answer questions about bringing energy to your podcast, podcasting 2.0, and the pros and cons of joining a podcast network.
If you have a question you'd like me to answer, email me at coach@podcasttalentcoach.com.
 
PASSION AND ENERGY
I remember you always said to be authentic. And I’m doing just that. However, I feel that I lack energy. I certainly don’t feel like I’m boring. And the stats are showing it. Something inside of me keeps telling me that I shouldn't decide how exciting I sound, it’s my audience that will decide that. How do I overcome the need to feel that I need to bring the energy like John Lee Dumas but I’m afraid I will sound like a rodeo cowboy? I just want to be me.
-Edwin Soler – Closing the 18 Inch Gap
 
TWO DIFFERENT THINGS
Passion and energy are two different things. You don’t need to be JLD wild to have passion.
When I hear you talking about the people you help or the struggles you’ve encountered at your last job, you get passionate. That doesn’t mean you are overly energetic.
You definitely do NOT want to sound like a bad wedding DJ or some horrible car lot commercial.
People can easily identify fake energy. It's like a fake smile. Faking it will blow any trust you've developed with your audience.
But being authentic will endear you to your audience.
Authenticity is being real and revealing things about yourself. Being authentic is about stirring emotion.
Think of a suspense thriller you've seen. These movies aren't over the top enthusiastic. However, I would argue they have a lot of energy.
Suspense thrillers have you sitting on the edge of your seat with a knot in your stomach wondering what will happen next.
Don't confuse sounding exciting with being exciting.
BRING YOUR PASSION
As you approach your podcast, be passionate about the topics you select. Smile a bit, and let the audience feel your enthusiasm for the content.
It is similar to reading a story to your audience versus telling them a story. Reading the story to the audience doesn't have the same excitement and connection.
When you deliver your content, vary your inflection a little. Stir different emotions throughout the content. Make them smile a bit. Get them choked up. Surprise them. Get under their skin and annoy them a little.
Above all, let your audience get to know you.
When you stir emotion and you talk about content that is interesting to you, I have no doubt you’ll be authentic, energetic, and enthusiastic.
 
CONNECTING WITH GUESTS
What are some good strategies to attract and connect with celebrities to appear as guests on my podcast? My podcast is "Cancer and Comedy: Healing Through Hope and Humor" and can be found at cancerandcomedy.com. I'm looking to have guests who are entertainers and other public figures who have faced cancer and have a story to tell of how they overcame their circumstances to have success. Two examples of dream guests would be Michael J. Fox and his Parkinson's Foundation and SNL performer Vanessa Bayer who overcame Leukemia.
-Brad Miller – Cancer and Comedy
 
WHO DO YOU KNOW
For really big stars, reach out to their publicist. I Googled Michael J. Fox publicist and found Sharron Elkabas and her phone number. A quick search of the publicists for stars will help you get started.
You might also consider a subscription to IMDb Premium. The cost is $12.50/month when you buy an annual subscription. That membership will give you contact info to most representatives.
When you are reaching out to people to appear on your show, lead with what's in it for them. How will the guest benefit by being on your show?
You might start with people who have something to promote, like a book or new movie. They hav

USING PUBLICITY TO GROW YOUR AUDIENCE
To grow your audience, you need to consistently attract new listeners. Marketing your podcast requires publicity and public relations.
YOUR PUBLICITY
Publicity is defined as notice or attention given to someone or something by the media.
Getting on other podcasts could be considered publicity. You're leveraging media to draw attention to you and your show.
The average podcast listeners consumes around 8 different podcasts each week. To draw attention to your show, get on other podcasts.
But you can also use other media as well.
My client Greg Payne hosts the Cool Grandpa podcast where he helps grandfathers connect to their grandchildren in more powerful ways.
Greg was featured in an article in the New York Times. His monthly downloads doubled overnight.
That New York Times article led to another article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper.
Get outside of your insulated circle and find other media who can highlight you.
THE ART OF PUBLIC RELATIONS
Public relations is defined as the state of the relationship between the public and a company or other organization or a famous person.
Use publicity to improve your public relations.
You know I'm big on relationships. The rapport you're building is the foundation of all sales.
There are a variety of ways to let people get to know you and build those relationships.
Getting interviewed on other podcasts is my favorite way. But you can also share your story in newspaper interviews, magazine articles, blog features, Facebook lives, YouTube video interviews, and any other opportunity you can find to get in front of your ideal target listeners.
MAKE IT EASY
To get others to interview you, make it easy. Post your speaker sheet on your website for easy access. You can see my speaker sheet on my website at www.PodcastTalentCoach.com/speaker.
When people are interested in interviewing you, direct them to your speaker sheet. This will contain how they will benefit by interviewing you. It also lists the best ways to contact you.
A speaker sheet helps you appear professional and organized. It will make it easier for people to contact you for publicity.
I'm always looking for opportunities to be interviewed. If you would like to have me on your show, let's see if we can find a time to make that work.
Email me at coach@podcasttalentcoach.com and let's make it happen.
JILL LUBLIN
To help you with your publicity and public relations, I'd like to share this interview I did with Jill Lublin.
Jill is an international speaker on the topics of Publicity, Networking, Kindness and Referrals. She is the host of the "Jill Lublin Show" and author of 4 Best Selling books. Her latest book, Profit of Kindness went #1 in four categories.
Jill is a master strategist on how to position your business for more profitability and more visibility in the marketplace. She is CEO of a strategic consulting firm and has over 25 years experience working with over 100,000 people plus national and international media.
To make an even bigger impact, Jill also leads a conscious kindness community.
Enjoy my conversation with Jill Lublin.
Such a great conversation with Jill Lublin. You can grab her free publicity action guide at www.PodcastTalentCoach.com/jill.
Grow your audience by getting in front of new listeners. Find new people you can invite into your audience. Get started this week.
 
If you don't have a mentor who can take your hand and walk you every step of the way, go to www.PodcastTalentCoach.com/apply, click the button and apply to have a chat with me. We will develop your plan and see how I can help and support you to achieve your podcast goals.

CONTENT ISN'T KING
It is often said that content is King.
That isn't necessarily true. Content by itself won't gain you an audience.
Content isn't King. Great content is King.
Anybody can copy information. Your content needs to be infused with story and personality to really connect with listeners.
To help you create more powerful interviews, grab my list of "17 of the most Powerful Podcast Interview Questions Ever". It is a free download you can get at www.PodcastTalentCoach.com/interview.
BE UNIQUE
It really hit me one time when I was interviewing a musician on the air. I won't mention his name, because he called me out right there in the middle of the interview.
Before our conversation, I went online and read his bio. I went through the news release they sent me about the new album and the tour.
Once the interview began, I felt pretty good. We were rolling along with the standard questions and he was giving the standard answers.
In what city will the tour start? When does the album come out.? What can we expect when you roll through here?
Then I asked him a question about a detail in his bio. I though it was something unique. But he said, "Well, I see somebody read my bio."
That's when I realized I couldn't just ask typical questions and get typical answers. To create great interviews, I needed to get my guests to tell great stories.
Everything I was doing to this point was simply a derivative of someone else. I was a cliché, a poor knock off.
Why would anyone listen to me when they could get the same thing by listening a variety of other interviews with the same guest?
From there, I took my original content and made it great.
CONTENT WITH STORIES
Later in my career I was interviewing Preston Brust of the country band LOCASH. He and Chris Lucas had been working hard for years writing songs for themselves and others while also recording and touring.
LOCASH had a few different record deals, but had never had that big hit they needed to break through. Other artists were recording songs the two had written, but none of those had hit either.
In 2011, country superstar Keith Urban not only decided to record a song written by Preston and Chris, but he was going to release it as a single. When I was talking with Preston, I asked him what it felt like when he got the call that Keith Urban was releasing their song. Here is what he said.
"Things weren't going so good. I get this phone call. I'm in the backseat of my friends car and I get this phone call and it sounded like something was wrong. And he says, 'I'm sitting next to Keith Urban and he just told me that 'You Gonna Fly' is going to be his next single, and he's releasing it next week.' And I literally had them stop the car and I got out of the car and I just let out this yell. It just felt like I'm back."
They were back. That song went to number one on the country charts. Preston and Chris then wrote a hit for Tim McGraw and eventually a top 5 hit for themselves.
I guarantee that question about how it felt to get that call hasn't been asked many times if ever of Preston.
We created such a relationship over the years that he still texts me. They just finished their latest song called "Hometown Home" and he sent me the early version.
That kind of relationship doesn't happen with typical questions and standard answers. Your audience also isn't attracted to typical interviews.
Be different.
BE YOURSELF
Over the years, my style and content developed. I became myself. That is when my show became #1. My content was original and fresh. Nobody else was doing it.
If your content isn't great, nothing else matters. The production of your podcast could be the best available. You could have all the bells and whistles available in your studio, including the best mic. The marketing of your podcast could incredibly creative and unique. However, if the content is average, no one will care.
Don't simply go through the motions creating your content. Find a unique

PEOPLE STAY FOR YOUR PERSONALITY
People come for your content. They stay because of your personality.
We have heard it so often. People do business with those they know, like and trust. It's all about building rapport.
People like you and fall in love with you because of your personality and story.
On this episode, I want to share with you a session I did recently during my Audience Explosion Blueprint Workshop. This was a powerful 3-day workshop where I helped a group of podcasters build their strategy to grow their audience.
This particular session will help you develop your personality and begin building powerful relationships with your audience.
YOUR UNIQUE STYLE
And what I want to help you do in this session is really get clear on your personality. Your personality is your unique style.
A lot of people think personality means I need to be funny or I need to be over the top, I need to be this big, boisterous, iconic personality. Personality just means you're uniquely you. It it's what makes you different from everybody else.
There are 4 or 5 characteristics that you possess that people love about you.
Listeners may say things like I love how warm she is, or I love how inviting he is. I love how he listens. I love how attentive he is. He's always able to distill my problems down to 1 or 2 sentences. I love how he makes me laugh, or I love how she makes me smile when she walks in the room.
There are plenty of characteristics that you can have that make you uniquely you and why people love you. I want to help you figure out how to bring more of that into your content. Your personality is what keeps people coming back week after week and episode after episode.
Your personality is why people fall in love with you. The content gets listeners to come. Your personality gets them to stay.
NOT JUST CONTENT ALONE
If you rely only on content, you're a commodity. I can get content anywhere. Not only on other podcasts, but I can get content in books and blogs and websites and videos and everywhere else.
However, I can't get you anywhere else other than your show. So if you think of various subjects like cooking, how many cooking shows are there? How many cooking channels are there? And politics... everybody is talking politics these days. Anybody can interview celebrities and athletes.
What makes these shows different? What makes the cream of the crop rise to the top? It's all of their personality.
If you think of somebody like Rachael Ray, she doesn't have a background as a culinary chef. She's just a mom that gets in the kitchen and makes up easy stuff for her family to eat. And, women love her for it.
Rush Limbaugh took political talk and really brought back AM radio by adding his personality into it and adding a little humor into it. He added his sarcasm and his wit. Rush was also incredibly knowledgeable about the subject matter.
So many people try to copy Rush, but they can't because they can't copy Rush's personality.
OPRAH'S PERSONALITY
It is the same thing with Oprah Winfrey. Oprah, Sally Jesse Raphael, and Phil Donahue. Every channel had one of those talk shows on it where it was sensationalism. It was tabloid sort of conversation.
They were all doing the exact same thing. Oprah decided she didn't want do the exact same thing. She wanted to do a show her way and talk to people that interested her. Oprah wanted to talk about things that are meaningful, not only to her, but to her audience, to the women who were watching every day.
And so she talked started talking about weight loss and started talking about the books that she loved, and she started talking about all of those things. Next thing you know, Oprah rises above all the rest, and Oprah becomes Oprah instead of Oprah Winfrey.
It's how she became who she is, because she stopped trying to be like everybody else and started being herself. Oprah started being her authentic self.
BOB COSTAS
I watched Bob Costas. Bob is so knowledgeable about the