35 min

How to Build a Million Dollar Audience with Podcast Legend David Hooper of Big Podcast First Class Founders: Creators | Solopreneurs | Personal HoldCo

    • Marketing

E34: Today's episode is a masterclass in audience building by none other than podcast legend David Hooper. He's worked with big clients including AT&T, RunDMC, Victoria's Secret, and Fedex.

David and I spoke at length about how his career shaped up over the years and discussed several things, such as how living and growing up in the Music City influenced his career, the long journey from a college radio host to podcast marketing consultant, ideas and strategies to grow a big audience, which he picked up from his years in the radio and podcasting business, as well as several anecdotes from his interactions with celebrities in the music business.

Let's get down to business!
***
SPONSOR: 
I love using Riverside.fm to record all guest interviews like this one with David Hooper. Try it out 100% free here and when you're ready, use the code FIRSTCLASS to get 20% off any paid plan.

***
EXCERPTS:

Building a Smaller But More Engaged Audience: "You can be more successful having a smaller operation. So that's kind of the counterintuitive thing for podcasting that I think people miss."
— David Hooper (27:55)

The Power of Niche Podcasting: "But I will tell you that I've gone with the production that I've done as niched down as a per neighborhood podcast only for this neighborhood. And we have made more money CPM cost per thousand out of any other thing I've ever been involved with."

— David Hooper (28:38)

*** 
TOPICS:

[00:07:03] David Hooper: From American Bandstand Fan to Radio Jock
[00:08:35] People Don't Care About Your Stuff As Much As You Do
[00:11:12] From Radio to Music Conference to Podcasting
[00:15:49] Lessons for Founders: Pivoting for Audience Engagement
[00:17:40] Be Open and Flexible in Your Creative Journey
[00:21:40] Winning by Twinning: Be Relatable, yet Aspirational
[00:27:12] How to Increase Your Sponsorship CPM by Niching Down

*** 
LINKS: 
BigPodcast.com
Justin Gordon's Episode



JOIN: First Class Founders Premium Membership

DOWNLOAD: Hyper-Visuals For Our Episodes (Free)

***
FOLLOW / REVIEW:
- Follow
- Leave 5-star review

***
CONNECT W/ YONG-SOO:

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- Threads
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- Newsletter

***
First Class Founders is a show for indie hackers, bootstrapped founders, CEOs, solopreneurs, content creators, startup entrepreneurs, and SaaS startups covering topics like build in public, audience growth, product marketing, scaling up, side hustles, holding company, etc.

Past guests include Arvid Kahl, Tyler Denk, Noah Kagan, Clint Murphy, Jay Abraham, Andrew Gazdecki, Matt McGarry, Nick Huber, Khe Hy, and more.

Episode you might like:

Future of Newsletters with Tyler Denk, Founder & CEO at Beehiiv

From Zero to 100K Subscribers: How to Grow Your Newsletter like a Pro with Newsletter Growth Expert Matt McGarry

...

E34: Today's episode is a masterclass in audience building by none other than podcast legend David Hooper. He's worked with big clients including AT&T, RunDMC, Victoria's Secret, and Fedex.

David and I spoke at length about how his career shaped up over the years and discussed several things, such as how living and growing up in the Music City influenced his career, the long journey from a college radio host to podcast marketing consultant, ideas and strategies to grow a big audience, which he picked up from his years in the radio and podcasting business, as well as several anecdotes from his interactions with celebrities in the music business.

Let's get down to business!
***
SPONSOR: 
I love using Riverside.fm to record all guest interviews like this one with David Hooper. Try it out 100% free here and when you're ready, use the code FIRSTCLASS to get 20% off any paid plan.

***
EXCERPTS:

Building a Smaller But More Engaged Audience: "You can be more successful having a smaller operation. So that's kind of the counterintuitive thing for podcasting that I think people miss."
— David Hooper (27:55)

The Power of Niche Podcasting: "But I will tell you that I've gone with the production that I've done as niched down as a per neighborhood podcast only for this neighborhood. And we have made more money CPM cost per thousand out of any other thing I've ever been involved with."

— David Hooper (28:38)

*** 
TOPICS:

[00:07:03] David Hooper: From American Bandstand Fan to Radio Jock
[00:08:35] People Don't Care About Your Stuff As Much As You Do
[00:11:12] From Radio to Music Conference to Podcasting
[00:15:49] Lessons for Founders: Pivoting for Audience Engagement
[00:17:40] Be Open and Flexible in Your Creative Journey
[00:21:40] Winning by Twinning: Be Relatable, yet Aspirational
[00:27:12] How to Increase Your Sponsorship CPM by Niching Down

*** 
LINKS: 
BigPodcast.com
Justin Gordon's Episode



JOIN: First Class Founders Premium Membership

DOWNLOAD: Hyper-Visuals For Our Episodes (Free)

***
FOLLOW / REVIEW:
- Follow
- Leave 5-star review

***
CONNECT W/ YONG-SOO:

- X
- Threads
- LinkedIn
- Newsletter

***
First Class Founders is a show for indie hackers, bootstrapped founders, CEOs, solopreneurs, content creators, startup entrepreneurs, and SaaS startups covering topics like build in public, audience growth, product marketing, scaling up, side hustles, holding company, etc.

Past guests include Arvid Kahl, Tyler Denk, Noah Kagan, Clint Murphy, Jay Abraham, Andrew Gazdecki, Matt McGarry, Nick Huber, Khe Hy, and more.

Episode you might like:

Future of Newsletters with Tyler Denk, Founder & CEO at Beehiiv

From Zero to 100K Subscribers: How to Grow Your Newsletter like a Pro with Newsletter Growth Expert Matt McGarry

...

35 min