Podcast Talent Coach Erik K. Johnson

To be a successful podcaster, you can't simply be a nice host who offends nobody. You need to be an authority and influencer in your niche.
THE KEY TO BECOMING AN INFLUENCER
You need the confidence to step up, step out and embrace your personality.
Sure, you have a personality. You just need to define it, refine it, and let it shine.
We sometimes get too caught up in what we do rather than why we do it. Your "why" is so much more important than your what.
I recently discovered Myron Golden on YouTube. Myron said, "There are many people out there who would love to buy what you already love to sell if they only knew you existed. Instead of finding more people to sell to, make yourself more findable to those people who already want to buy what you already love to sell."
You become more findable by being more interesting. Your six steps to success isn't interesting. Everything interesting is about people.
Create more relationships, and you'll attract more people.
WE LACK RELATIONSHIPS
It's my mission to create more relationships in society.
Tech has sucked relationships out of society. That makes it too easy to be against each other rather than supporting each other.
We don't shop at the store any longer. Our shopping is done online.
When I was a kid, we would go hang at the mall. Today, the malls barely exist. If my kids watched Mallrats or Fast Times at Ridgemont High, they wouldn't understand most of the jokes.
Many of us work remotely. We don't hang with our coworkers around the water cooler or at happy hour.
You aren't even required to go into the gas station any more. It's pay at the pump.
We don't watch movies with others at the movie theaters, because movies are on our television.
Kids aren't congregating at the arcade or in the park or at the pool. They are at home online with their virtual friends.
CONNECTING WITH PEOPLE
My daughter knew most of her freshman class in college before she ever stepped foot on campus.
She graduated high school as COVID hit. Before her first semester began, they began having meet-ups on Zoom with all incoming freshman. She met a lot of people.
On the day I dropped her off, we were walking down main street right off campus. I suddenly hear someone say, "Hey, Emma."
I was stunned. We are in a small town thousands of miles from home. How could anyone possibly know her.
After a brief chat, she tells me that was one of the girls on the Zoom calls.
During that semester, all students attended class virtually from their dorm rooms. Meals were delivered by food service or picked up to be eaten in their room. Nobody was allowed to have roommates due to the pandemic.
It was very easy for students to have no relationships with anyone. They could do everything alone in their room.
If Emma hadn't been diligent about meeting others, she could have easily gone through college unnoticed. Fortunately, she met as many as possible. She also became president of her freshman class.
GET NOTICED
If you want to get noticed, build your audience, and attract your ideal clients, you need to get noticed as well.
Tech will kill your relationships unless you're diligent about getting in front of your target audience. Solopreneur is a dangerous career if you're not careful.
So, how do you become an influencer?
You define your personality. Share that personality through stories that allow people to get to know you. Then, get on stages as often as you can to get people familiar with you.
Like Myron said, they would love to buy what you already love to sell if they only knew you existed. It's time to let them know.
There were two recent articles in Inside Radio that show why this is so important.
PODCASTERS ARE INFLUENCERS
The first article referenced Magna’s Media Trials and Vox Media study called "A New Era Of Influence".
The study referenced individuals whose influence matters most to listeners. It found that 75% of respondents value podcasters' influence. Social media influencers and

Do you have questions about your podcast?
YOUR QUESTIONS
I get questions quite often from coaches and podcasters ranging from building your audience, becoming an influencer and growing your business.
On this episode, we answer a variety of questions.
Where do I find listeners in my target audience? If we try to control what people think about us, isn't that manipulation? Is it detrimental to skip a week? What is the right mix of relatable and creative for a show? When I promote the show, where should I send people? Are there unwritten protocols for podcast conferences? If you have questions regarding your podcast strategy, email me at Coach at podcasttalentcoach.com. I might just answer your question right here on the show.
REFINE YOUR PERSONALITY
In a recent email, I wrote...
To become a known influencer in your niche, be intentional about your personality.

Decide how you want to be known.

Are you funny, logical, aggressive, loving, zany, generous, or something else?

Be intentional. Then, share stories that show that side of you.

Let your listeners get you know you in an authentic way.
Nancy replied with this...
I’m all of the list you shared and more. That is true for any human being. That is a calling in itself - to live in a way that reminds people to be their full, authentic selves. If we choose one slim aspect, then we are typecasted - and what we share suffers.
We really have zero control over what people think of us. If we try to control it, is that not manipulation?
I just can’t be one thing when I am (and everyone is) the universe in physical form.
Have a good day,
- Nancy
 
MANIPULATION QUESTIONS
Manipulation is a tough word.
And it's foolish to think we have zero control over what people think. If that were true, marketing wouldn't work.
To be clear, I'm not saying be something that you're not. And I'm not saying don't be something that you are.
Yes, you may be all of those things I listed. You may be funny, logical, aggressive, loving, zany, generous, or something else.
However, your listeners only have one file to keep you in. We mentally compartmentalize everything, so our brains can handle all of the information.
When you think of the Beatles, what do you think of?
If you're like most, you think of 4 lads from Liverpool performing their music on stage causing many girls to scream.
Why didn't you think movie actors? They did a few movies.
You think musicians, because that's their brand. That's the mental folder you have them in.
How about Matt Damon? What comes to mind?
Oceans Eleven? Jason Bourne? Good Will Hunting? Great actor?
Why didn't you think of co-founder of Water.org? https://water.org
Because you store him where his brand fits.
So you may be funny, logical, aggressive, loving, zany, and generous. But your brand needs to be one. And your role development on your show needs to highlight one of those characteristics.
Be intentional about your brand. Otherwise, your listeners will create their own files and put you where they think you belong.
 
FIND YOUR LISTENERS
Where to find listeners in my target audience?
- Greg
The first step in finding your listeners is to get clear who those listeners are.
You can't hit a target you can't see.
Clearly define as much as you can, both demographically and psychographically. Determine their gender, age, and family composition. But also define their wants, needs, pains and goals.
Go as deep as possible. My coach calls it the one inch mile. Go an inch wide and a mile deep.
The more you know about your ideal client, the easier it will be to find them.
And be specific.
I was working with a client the other day. We were defining his ideal client.
He said the his ideal client earns between $50k and $80k. I told him those are two very different people.
A person making $50k lives a much different lifestyle and has more discretionary income than a person making $80k. $80k is 60% more than $50k.
Those two peopl

As we celebrate 500 episodes of Podcast Talent Coach, I want to share with you six mentors who have shaped my journey over the past 10 years.
LEARNING FROM MENTORS
I learned long ago that I don't know everything and never will. Every experience is an opportunity to learn something.
Conferences and conventions are always such a powerful experience for me.
Many people say they rarely go to the session and instead have conversations in the halls. I can understand that. But, I think they are missing the power of the collective mind.
Mingling in the halls during a conference will definitely grow your network. It has a place in your business.
However if you skip all the sessions, you are missing ideas that could take your business to an entirely new level.
We would attend the Country Radio Seminar every year in radio. I would travel with my music director for the station.
During the day, we would take in all the sessions of the conferences. At night, we would split up to attend events and network with artists and record labels.
From the sessions, we would learn new ideas to implement with the stations. At night, we would network with people who could help us implement those ideas.
Then one day our company decided it wasn't necessary for both of us to be there. That single decision cut our learning in half and diminished the networking we were able to do.
The company thought the conference was nothing but a party. It may have been for those who spent all of their time in the halls.
When you're learning from mentors and expanding your thinking, things are possible beyond your imagination.
These six mentors helped my achieve levels bigger than I every dreamed. It is my hope that these nuggets spur some new ideas for you as well.
DAN MILLER
The first is the mentor who has influenced my life the longest.
Dan Miller's book and podcast "48 Days To The Work You Love" inspired me to follow my dream and start my own business.
Dan is author of the New York Times best-selling 48 Days To The Work You Love and Wisdom Meets Passion, No More Dreaded Monday and An Understanding Heart.
His 48 Days Podcast consistently ranks in the top 1% of all podcasts worldwide and his 48DaysEagles.com community is viewed as an example around the world for those seeking to find – or create – the work and the life they love. His podcast sits at the center of his multiple streams of income.
Unfortunately, we lost Dan in January of this year after a very brief battle with cancer.
Dan's attitude through that entire struggle was impressive and uplifting. He kept asking as he always did, "What does this make possible?" Dan saw the silver lining in every cloud.
He was an amazing man and a mentor to me in so many ways.
Dan joined my on Episode 466 to discuss multiple streams of income. You can find the episode at www.PodcastTalentCoach.com/466.
DAN'S NUGGETS
Here are a few nuggets from that episode.
Resilience in the Face of Adversity: "When we hit Covid and I couldn't have live events for a couple years there, that had been a big resource for us, a big revenue stream, but not being able to have live events, it didn't really affect us. My revenue continued to go up because we made content available to people in other ways that they could experience, even if they didn't come to Franklin, Tennessee."— Dan Miller 00:24:39 – 00:25:03.
Life Reassessment in Midlife Careers: "What surprised me is I had doctors and dentists and pastors and engineers and accountants showing up and why you guys here? And it was like, well, we're doing okay. You know, everybody looking in from the outside to see us is doing okay, but I don't think this is it."— Dan Miller 00:26:29 – 00:26:45.
How to Turn Your Writing into Income: "How do you take just a raw idea and turn it into real income? But those came directly from people asking, how do I do that?"— Dan Miller 00:30:42 – 00:30:50.
Easy Income Streams for Podcasters: "The easiest next step is coachi

On a coaching call the other day, Ken and I were reviewing his show. We got to talking about connecting content to offers, and he had a breakthrough.
I thought it could help you improve the effectiveness of your show as well.
THE MONEY STRUGGLE
Many podcasters struggle to monetize their show. Your challenges are common.
Most are going about it the wrong way. 
You know I am no fan of ads and sponsorships on podcasts. There are three problems with ads and sponsorships that make them no good for your podcast.
First, people are fleeing traditional media to escape all the ads.
Next, ad agencies treat your audience like a commodity. They want to pay the same for your audience as they do for every other audience. Therefore, you need a large audience.
Finally, ads and sponsorships put a cap on the revenue potential. You can only include so many ads on your show. And you can't raise the rate, because you're treated like a commodity.
If you can't sell more, and you can't sell it for more, your revenue is limited.
STOP GIVING IT AWAY
I've seen this firsthand. Spending 35 years in radio, we've tried every trick in the book to keep listeners from leaving during commercials.
We struggle to raise the rate, because ad agencies will only pay so much. If a radio station raises ad rates, agencies just go to another station. All audiences are treated equal.
That simply not the case. You're not just like everyone else.
Listeners don't deserve that. Advertisers don't deserve that. And hosts don't deserve that.
If you are selling coaching to women entering the workforce for a second time after being home with the kids for 20 years, you have two choices.
You could advertise your coaching on Dave Ramsey's podcast "The Ramsey Show". What percentage of that audience is your perfect client? Maybe a fraction.
You could also advertise your coaching on "Career Returners" with Karen and Liz where they talk about returning to a fulfilling, successful career after a long break. How many of those listeners could be your perfect client?
Karen and Liz primarily interview women. I'm guessing a majority of the listeners are your ideal clients.
Ad agencies price your podcast per thousand listeners. If you're a coach for women reentering the workforce, are one thousand Dave Ramsey listeners the same value for you as the one thousand listeners of "Career Returners"? Of course not.
But, agencies treat it the same.
Stop giving away your podcast. Leverage the relationships you're building with your audience.
GROW YOUR AUDIENCE
For this marketing strategy I'm going to share to work, you need an audience.
So, come join us for the Audience Explosion Blueprint Workshop to build your strategy and grow your audience.
By the end of this 3-Day Audience Explosion Blueprint Workshop, you will have a clear, step-by-step blueprint to grow your audience.
You will begin taking the steps necessary to attract your ideal clients.
This workshop is designed to help you lay the foundation to be known as an influencer and respected authority in your niche.
We roll up our sleeves and build your strategy over three powerful days July 19-21.
Get the full details at www.PodcastTalentCoach.com/audience.
CONNECTING CONTENT
Let's talk about a better way of monetizing.
Instead of ads and sponsorships, use your podcast to build relationships and market your business.
Build relationships with powerful content. Then, lead your listener down the sales path by connecting content to the offer.
Use your podcast to market something. This could include coaching, services, products, courses, affiliate products or a variety of other things.
When I was on the call with Ken the other day, we reviewed his show.
On the episode, Ken was talking about finding yourself worthy of success, especially at work. It was a great episode.
Toward the end of the episode, he gave three tips to help people find that self-worth.
The third tip was to surround yourself with community and su

CURIOSITY CREATES GREAT INTERVIEWS
Do you ever wonder why your podcast isn't growing? Why you aren't attracting more listeners? It could be your own level of curiosity.
We all want more listeners to our show. Yet we struggle to grow.
How great would it be if you were the kind of magnetic host who draws people to you and has the ability to influence that audience to take action?
You can become that known influencer in your space. It begins with becoming unique and standing out from everyone else in your niche.
AUDIENCE EXPLOSION BLUEPRINT
Before we dive into your curiosity, come join us for the Audience Explosion Blueprint Workshop to build your strategy and grow your audience.
By the end of this 3-Day Audience Explosion Blueprint Workshop, you will have a clear, step-by-step blueprint to grow your audience.
You will begin taking the steps necessary to attract your ideal clients.
This workshop is designed to help you lay the foundation to be known as an influencer and respected authority in your niche.
We roll up our sleeves and build your strategy over three powerful days July 19-21.
Get the full details at www.PodcastTalentCoach.com/audience.
BECOME UNIQUE
To become a unique podcast host, you need to embrace your curiosity. It is the most important trait when it comes to creating unique content.
Some of the best hosts are highly curious about everything. This creates great interviews, conversations and content.
Curiosity will take you to places few others will go, because your curiosity is unlike any other's curiosity.
As you hone your curiosity, you will start asking better questions and be able to think on your feet. It is like any other skill you have.
When you use your curiosity during interviews, you only need a couple really good questions. Your curiosity will help you create a powerful conversation by listening as asking solid follow up questions rather than following a list.
HOWARD STERN'S CURIOSITY
Let me give you an example of curiosity during an interview.
Howard Stern was interviewing Billy Joel. During the conversation, Howard starts with a question and then just follows his curiosity. Listen to Howard navigate this discussion.
He asked questions like...
"Was this a tough song to write?"
"What were you thinking?"
"Did you know this piece, the mood of this music feels like a heartbreak?"
"This was a woman that broke up with you?"
"Why didn't it work out?"
"Then words come out? How does it go?"
"Is that a word you would write down sometime?"
He actually gets into the story of the woman. It was Elle MacPherson. But, that's a story for another time.
Howard asks the natural follow up questions his listeners would ask. That's what makes him a great interviewer.
STAY CURIOUS
There are a few things you can do to enhance your curiosity skills.
First, ask questions. Ask questions about everything.
When we were little and we asked "why" about everything, we would drive our parents up a wall. Find the courage to ask those questions again.
Next, follow up the question with another "why". Just like kids, follow your curiosity with more questions. Usually the sixth or seventh why will yield gold.
One of the keys to curiosity is listening. When you actively listen, you'll hear things others will miss.
Be sure to take notes. When you find something that piques your curiosity, write it down. Learn more about it.
Others will typically be interested in the things that interest you. Use these notes to create great content.
Finally, don't be a know-it-all. You don't have to know everything or always be right. Instead, be curious. Truly seek to learn and understand.
FOLLOW THE QUESTIONS
Curiosity begins with asking questions. Challenge yourself to ask questions about the world around you.
It is easy to ask questions about things you don't know. Push yourself to ask questions about the things you know. Asking these questions will really improve your curiosity.
Use questions that start with,

UNIQUE SHOWS COME FROM UNIQUE PERSONALITIES
When you try to be all things to all people, you end up being nothing. You're not unique.
PICK A SIDE
Focus your topic on what you know best. Be opinionated. Be passionate. Pick a side. Be unique. Most of all, be consistent.
When you try to discuss an industry in general, your audience won't know what to expect when they visit your show.
Let's take Dave Ramsey for example. During the opening of “The Dave Ramsey Show”, Dave would say, "Where debt is dumb, cash is king, and the paid-off home mortgage has taken the place of the BMW as the status symbol of choice."
Dave's show is a personal finance show. Moreover, it is a show about getting out of debt. Dave helps people find ways to pay off their debt and become financially stable.
"The Dave Ramsey Show" didn't discuss particular stocks or mutual funds. It didn't discuss how to go about investing other than simply suggesting you sock away 15 percent of your income for retirement and then some for college.
Dave's show recommends 7 basic steps to financial security. He has been doing a show on these 7 steps for over 30 years. Every show, everyday, every call. It was all about these 7 steps in some way or another.
When you tuned into "The Dave Ramsey Show", you knew what you would get. Dave was focused.
CHANGING DAVE
As Dave gets older and closer to retirement, he is thinking about the future of the show and company. He changed the name of the show from The Dave Ramsey Show to The Ramsey Show.
To help him ease his way into retirement, Dave incorporates other Ramsey Personalities into the show as co-hosts or hosts when he is gone.
The show isn't just hosted by Dave. When you tune in, it could be hosted by Ken Coleman, Rachel Cruze, Dr. John Delony, George Kamel or Jade Warshaw. It may even be hosted by a couple of them if Dave is not there.
The intro of the show has changed. When it was the Dave Ramsey show, Dave would say, "Where debt is dumb, cash is king, and the paid off home mortgage has taken the place of the BMW as the status symbol of choice."
Now with 6 different hosts with different areas of expertise, the intro of the show says, "Where we help people build wealth, do work that they love, and create amazing relationships."
The show has become less focused on getting out of debt and personal wealth and more about life in general.
Before, I knew what I got. I was in financial trouble and needed answers.
Now, I could get anything. Does the show help me with my job search, or my relationship with my in-laws, or getting out of debt, or starting a business, or dealing with my boss, or my kids assuming I will watch the grandkids, or negotiating my credit card rate?
All of it. You don't know what you're going to get or who will be giving it to you.
The show is losing its clarity.
Give your podcast focus. Your audience will appreciate the consistency.
YOU UNIQUE
What makes you different?
When you try to please everyone, you end up pleasing no one. Make people take notice.
You are an expert at your opinion. Give it to people. Take a stand. Pick a side.
Some of the nicest people make the worst podcast hosts. They try to please everyone in the audience. Those people tend to blend into the background and go unnoticed.
I once coached a radio host who was one of the best storytellers I had ever met. When he and I would meet one-on-one for coaching, he would tell me some of the funniest stories I had ever heard. He would tell me stories of his dad that would have me crying from laughing so hard.
He once told me his dad was absolutely convinced the PT Cruiser was the best car ever made. As much as my host would try to explain that the PT Cruiser was simply the Dodge Neon chassis with a different body, his father wouldn't believe it.
The two of them would get in these heated arguments in public about this car. Of all the things in life you could argue about, this happened to be the PT Cruiser.
The way the story