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Today we are chatting to Amelia
Speaker:Hruby, who is kind of like a U.
Speaker:S.
Speaker:me.
Speaker:Like she has a company very
Speaker:similar to ours, based in the USA.
Speaker:And I really wanted to chat to her
Speaker:because she is a different character.
Speaker:Amelia has a podcast studio called Softer
Speaker:Sounds, which I just, I love already.
Speaker:Her voice, by the way, is
Speaker:beautiful to listen to.
Speaker:She has a podcast of her own.
Speaker:She's also a writer, educator,
Speaker:and has a PhD in philosophy.
Speaker:Over the past decade, she's
Speaker:been a university professor, a
Speaker:community organizer, a radio DJ.
Speaker:Now she is the founder and
Speaker:executive producer at Softer Sounds.
Speaker:a feminist podcast studio
Speaker:that supports women and non
Speaker:binary small business owners.
Speaker:She's also the host of
Speaker:the Off The Grid podcast.
Speaker:This podcast has such a quirky, cool,
Speaker:fun theme song as well, which was kind
Speaker:of what drew me to it in the first place.
Speaker:I just thought it was really cool.
Speaker:I hadn't heard anything like that
Speaker:and it was made for her show, which
Speaker:I'm all for having something that's
Speaker:really branded and just for you.
Speaker:The thing that really sets
Speaker:Amelia apart is she's building
Speaker:her business off social media.
Speaker:She used to have Instagram and all
Speaker:the things, and now she doesn't.
Speaker:And I wanted to chat to her a little
Speaker:bit about that, you know, talking about
Speaker:how you can still build without having
Speaker:a social media following, how you
Speaker:can still connect with your audience.
Speaker:Podcasting Obviously is
Speaker:a great way to do that.
Speaker:And so we do touch on that social media
Speaker:element, but more broadly, we're talking
Speaker:about podcasting and the world of it.
Speaker:And I think that you'll really
Speaker:enjoy this episode because she
Speaker:has a wealth of knowledge because
Speaker:she's been doing it a while and
Speaker:because she's an industry expert.
Speaker:So someone just like me in a
Speaker:different country, we talk a lot
Speaker:about the industry and I hope
Speaker:that you enjoy the conversation.
Speaker:Let's get Amelia on.
Speaker:Amelia, thanks so much
Speaker:for being here today.
Speaker:I have a question for
Speaker:you right off the bat.
Speaker:You have such a beautiful voice.
Speaker:So I've been listening to you now for a
Speaker:while since we first connected, uh, and I
Speaker:knew I was going to have you on my show.
Speaker:I've been listening to your content and
Speaker:have just been been in love with how
Speaker:good you sound, you just sound nice.
Speaker:You've got a really nice tone.
Speaker:What's your background
Speaker:from that point of view?
Speaker:Like, are you a singer or did you do
Speaker:theater or tell me a bit about that.
Speaker:Well, I received that compliment
Speaker:and appreciate it fully.
Speaker:And I have no vocal background
Speaker:other than being a human who talks
Speaker:so I did not sing growing up I was
Speaker:never in theater, but I did come to
Speaker:podcasting through community radio.
Speaker:So I was on the mic at the radio
Speaker:station and I definitely picked up
Speaker:some of the radio voice cadence.
Speaker:It was not a commercial station.
Speaker:It was not in the US like
Speaker:an NPR public radio station.
Speaker:It was just a nice little like group of
Speaker:Chicago folks who loved music, but I had
Speaker:an on air show every Tuesday morning for
Speaker:two years before I moved into podcasting.
Speaker:And I think I just got comfortable
Speaker:on the mic, which is such a big step
Speaker:that people underestimate being able
Speaker:to speak comfortably and confidently.
Speaker:Like it's such a skill.
Speaker:It absolutely is.
Speaker:And I think that was one of the
Speaker:things that first drew me to,
Speaker:cause I don't have a lot of people
Speaker:on the pump up your pod podcast.
Speaker:It's mostly a show about.
Speaker:Um, helping podcasters be better at their
Speaker:craft and tips and all that sort of jazz.
Speaker:But when I came to you, I just felt
Speaker:like you knew what you were doing.
Speaker:And I think that that is something
Speaker:that is going to be really
Speaker:valuable in this conversation.
Speaker:So yeah, I just wanted to give you
Speaker:props for having a beautiful voice
Speaker:that you know how to control and just
Speaker:for context as well for people, what
Speaker:are you using to record with there?
Speaker:And I would.
Speaker:What microphone is that?
Speaker:And you have, it's an XLR.
Speaker:What is it plugged into?
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:So I have a Shure SM58 mic,
Speaker:which is a vocal performance mic.
Speaker:So that's going to be the one you
Speaker:see like at concerts is this mic.
Speaker:And then I have it plugged
Speaker:into a Zoom H5 recorder.
Speaker:That's acting as the audio interface.
Speaker:And that's just plugged right into
Speaker:my computer for the recording.
Speaker:So I actually got this kit because
Speaker:I, my first podcast after the radio
Speaker:station was doing field interviews.
Speaker:I was traveling around the
Speaker:U S interviewing feminist
Speaker:activists and artists.
Speaker:And so I needed an audio kit
Speaker:that was super portable, and that
Speaker:I could really like transport
Speaker:and set up in any environment.
Speaker:I did interviews on picnic
Speaker:tables, in random offices,
Speaker:I did one in somebody's car.
Speaker:So that's kind of how
Speaker:I landed on this setup.
Speaker:And then I've just stuck with it
Speaker:even as I've moved to primarily
Speaker:recording in my home office now.
Speaker:I
Speaker:love that because the Shure SM58 is
Speaker:probably the most It's a podcast used
Speaker:microphone from a live perspective.
Speaker:It is a really sturdy mic.
Speaker:It's inexpensive.
Speaker:You've got like a nice extra kind of
Speaker:pop filter on top, like a nice foam
Speaker:thing for people that are only listening
Speaker:to the podcast, but you can hear how.
Speaker:Clear Amelia is she's right close
Speaker:to the microphone and I'll put links
Speaker:to those things so that you know
Speaker:What we mean by the zoom h5 as well.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Okay, great All right, so that's good
Speaker:to know how to achieve the Amelia sound
Speaker:I want to talk to you today about your
Speaker:show off the grid which you launched
Speaker:on the 3rd of March 2022 so it's not
Speaker:a super old show Why did you decide
Speaker:to launch that show at that time?
Speaker:Off the Grid is a show about leaving
Speaker:social media without losing all
Speaker:your clients, as I like to say.
Speaker:But it's a show for artists, business
Speaker:owners, creative people who want
Speaker:to step back or away from social
Speaker:media and still share their work
Speaker:and still grow an audience online.
Speaker:So that's the work I'm invested in.
Speaker:And I launched the show Just about
Speaker:a year after I left social media,
Speaker:so I had a whole decade long journey
Speaker:growing an Instagram platform
Speaker:working as a micro influencer.
Speaker:I got a book deal, I sold a
Speaker:book, and by the end of those
Speaker:10 years, I was really burnt out
Speaker:on sharing my work on Instagram.
Speaker:I was really frustrated by the
Speaker:algorithm, and I decided to step back.
Speaker:away entirely.
Speaker:So I archived my accounts.
Speaker:And a few months later, I launched
Speaker:softer sounds, which is my podcast
Speaker:studio that I now run full time.
Speaker:And in that process, people
Speaker:just kept asking me, how
Speaker:did you leave social media?
Speaker:Like, how did you do it?
Speaker:Like I, Always joke that between summer
Speaker:2020 and summer 2021, I finished my PhD,
Speaker:I moved states, I got married, I adopted
Speaker:dogs, I did all these huge life events.
Speaker:And the only thing people wanted to
Speaker:know about was how I left social media.
Speaker:Like it was the one thing they couldn't.
Speaker:Imagine.
Speaker:So I launched off the grid
Speaker:because people just kept asking.
Speaker:And having been off social for about
Speaker:a year at that point, I felt like I
Speaker:really had some things to say about why
Speaker:I left and how I left and the success
Speaker:I was finding on the other side of it.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:And it's so powerful because
Speaker:social media is so ingrained.
Speaker:Now, and everyone uses it and everyone
Speaker:is on it all the time and it's so
Speaker:frustrating to have to do it, you know,
Speaker:so for us, well, for me personally, I
Speaker:didn't get on Instagram or any social
Speaker:media really until clients requested
Speaker:that I do so probably three years ago,
Speaker:I think maybe now, and that was a huge
Speaker:deal for me because probably like you,
Speaker:it just felt like I don't need this.
Speaker:You know, this is an extra
Speaker:thing I have to manage.
Speaker:And then from there it's like LinkedIn
Speaker:and it's all these other platforms and
Speaker:TikTok, and there's always a new thing
Speaker:and Facebook and all the things, right?
Speaker:And when you think about traditionally,
Speaker:we didn't always have these tools
Speaker:and people still had very big,
Speaker:businesses that they would perfectly
Speaker:find it running without social media.
Speaker:So I think your podcast is really
Speaker:interesting because it is making people
Speaker:think about the way they consume and the
Speaker:way they spread their work in a really
Speaker:different way to what we are told.
Speaker:At this stage, so if that kind of
Speaker:thing interests you as a listener, as
Speaker:a watcher, I would definitely recommend
Speaker:going and checking out Amelia's podcast,
Speaker:because it's just refreshing from here.
Speaker:I then want to know, how do you
Speaker:think you have changed or your
Speaker:business, probably both since
Speaker:starting the off the grid podcast?
Speaker:Wow.
Speaker:I mean, so much has
Speaker:changed since it began.
Speaker:A big shift that I have seen both
Speaker:personally and professionally is
Speaker:that when I left social media, I
Speaker:was really prepared to, like, be
Speaker:forgotten by everyone and have to
Speaker:fight so hard to ever find clients.
Speaker:Like, I had all these stories in my
Speaker:head that without social media, no
Speaker:one would ever find me and it would
Speaker:be really hard to attract new clients.
Speaker:And, uh, Those were all false.
Speaker:It wasn't actually true for me at all.
Speaker:But I think that it's been really
Speaker:interesting to see that off the grid
Speaker:has by far been the most successful
Speaker:creative project that I've launched.
Speaker:It's like my fourth podcast.
Speaker:It's the most successful of those.
Speaker:It's more successful than my book.
Speaker:It's more successful than anything
Speaker:I was selling or teaching when
Speaker:I was still on social media.
Speaker:And I think a lot of that comes from
Speaker:really stepping Off the beaten path
Speaker:and into, like, my own lane, as I
Speaker:like to think of it, doing something
Speaker:people don't think you can do, and
Speaker:showing that you can do it, and then
Speaker:laying out those, like, narratives
Speaker:that were going through my mind
Speaker:and unpacking how they were untrue.
Speaker:And also doing that in a really
Speaker:practical way, like I don't bring
Speaker:a lot of magical thinking you can
Speaker:manifest anything vibe to this.
Speaker:I try to be really gently tough
Speaker:on all of us in some ways, like,
Speaker:like I always say on the podcast.
Speaker:You don't have to be on social media,
Speaker:but you do have to market your work.
Speaker:It doesn't get you out of marketing.
Speaker:When I left social media, I had to
Speaker:shut down the business I had and start
Speaker:a totally new one that worked better.
Speaker:You know, I was running like a
Speaker:small courses and products company.
Speaker:I was making a few thousand
Speaker:dollars a year doing it.
Speaker:And I was like, this will not
Speaker:survive off of social media.
Speaker:There's no way.
Speaker:And so I launched a
Speaker:B2B services business.
Speaker:And now It's thriving, like it provides
Speaker:my full time income and takes care
Speaker:of me and my family and my tiny
Speaker:little team and it's fantastic, but
Speaker:I think to get back to your question,
Speaker:like what I really noticed that has
Speaker:changed is so many stories within
Speaker:myself about what's possible for me.
Speaker:So much more self trust that I have now.
Speaker:I find that social media
Speaker:just eroded my self trust.
Speaker:I thought I had to see what 20 other
Speaker:people were doing anytime I wanted
Speaker:to do anything and now I just do
Speaker:what I want to do and it's fine.
Speaker:Those things together, like more
Speaker:possibility and more self trust
Speaker:have just made my work so much
Speaker:better and so much more magnetic.
Speaker:Like people are so much more interested
Speaker:in what I'm doing, I think, because
Speaker:they can sense that I really believe
Speaker:in possibility, and I work toward it,
Speaker:and I give myself permission to do
Speaker:and have the things that I desire.
Speaker:And that's really what draws
Speaker:people in to the podcast, to
Speaker:the business, and toward me.
Speaker:And as such, I have had no trouble
Speaker:finding clients or growing an audience
Speaker:or doing any of those things I
Speaker:struggled with so much before I left
Speaker:social media and launched off the
Speaker:grid.
Speaker:This is a very powerful point
Speaker:for people to take away.
Speaker:In the podcasting space, there
Speaker:is a degree of creativity that
Speaker:you need, I think, to actually
Speaker:be successful in this space.
Speaker:You can't just spout the same thing
Speaker:that everyone else talks about.
Speaker:It has to have your creative flair in
Speaker:it to really land with the audience
Speaker:that you're trying to attract.
Speaker:And what Amelia has said there really
Speaker:rings true to that because When has
Speaker:she stepped away from the comparisons
Speaker:that she's seen on social media, the
Speaker:shoulds, stuff that happens when you're
Speaker:looking and consuming content, and
Speaker:also the time suck that it creates.
Speaker:When you step away from all of
Speaker:that, And you, let's say you don't
Speaker:completely get off social media, but
Speaker:you limit yourself to 30 minutes a day.
Speaker:How much stuff will you get
Speaker:done with all that extra time?
Speaker:And for creativity to flow, you
Speaker:need to be able to give yourself
Speaker:space for that creativity to flow.
Speaker:Just sit with that for a minute,
Speaker:listeners, people watching.
Speaker:Do you allow yourself time and
Speaker:space to think creatively about
Speaker:the pursuit of podcasting to get
Speaker:a better result for yourself and
Speaker:for those you're trying to reach?
Speaker:From a content perspective then,
Speaker:for you, how do you decide what
Speaker:episodes you actually want to release?
Speaker:Like, do you do research into that?
Speaker:Are you on a whim?
Speaker:Do you pre plan?
Speaker:Are you batching content?
Speaker:Where does your Ideation come from?
Speaker:I collect ideas all the time.
Speaker:I am always keeping my
Speaker:list of random thoughts.
Speaker:I have a very long running list.
Speaker:I am a notion user.
Speaker:So I have a whole
Speaker:dashboard for my podcast.
Speaker:I have a whole section of that dashboard.
Speaker:That's just for ideas.
Speaker:And that's where I put, you know,
Speaker:people I see online that maybe I want
Speaker:to talk to and links to their work.
Speaker:I put ideas of my own that I have.
Speaker:I also put questions
Speaker:from listeners there.
Speaker:And I really do try to stay in touch
Speaker:with what my listeners are asking me.
Speaker:I try to be really, really responsive
Speaker:because I do believe the show stems
Speaker:from like my creative spark and
Speaker:I am Shepherding and guiding the
Speaker:show, but it's also not about me.
Speaker:The end of the day, the show
Speaker:is of service to the community
Speaker:that listens to and supports it.
Speaker:And so I pay a lot of attention to
Speaker:the episodes they like the most, the
Speaker:responses I get to emails, the voice
Speaker:messages I get from listeners, and
Speaker:also like my friends who listen, I
Speaker:pay attention to like, what are the
Speaker:episodes that get them to actually
Speaker:text me and be like, I need to
Speaker:talk to you about this, right?
Speaker:And so I can go deeper
Speaker:in those directions.
Speaker:All of that is happening.
Speaker:I'm just like collecting
Speaker:this very long list of ideas.
Speaker:And then I kind of shape
Speaker:the season as I go.
Speaker:So generally, I do batch, but
Speaker:I batch in like three or four
Speaker:episodes, like small, small.
Speaker:chunks of episodes.
Speaker:So when I go to launch a season, I
Speaker:generally have three to five episodes
Speaker:completed, and they are ready
Speaker:scheduled to go out with the launch.
Speaker:And then I'm kind of paying
Speaker:attention to the feedback I'm
Speaker:getting those first couple weeks.
Speaker:And then I plan the next
Speaker:batch of four to six episodes.
Speaker:I also Like to do interviews, because my
Speaker:voice is not the only important one on
Speaker:this topic, especially lots of people,
Speaker:especially now are leaving social media.
Speaker:And I just provide so much
Speaker:marketing advice on the show.
Speaker:I'm not an expert in
Speaker:every marketing channel.
Speaker:So I need other people to
Speaker:come tell me what they know.
Speaker:So I tend to plan those interviews
Speaker:in advance, invite people on and then
Speaker:kind of schedule them to like the
Speaker:actual episode to go live depending
Speaker:on the other content I produce.
Speaker:I record the interviews
Speaker:as people schedule them.
Speaker:But for solo episodes, I tend to
Speaker:also batch record those like I
Speaker:will kind of have a topic idea.
Speaker:I will sit with it for days or weeks,
Speaker:even like letting it kind of digest
Speaker:and then I'll write an outline.
Speaker:And then I get on the mic and I record,
Speaker:sometimes I'll record the same episode
Speaker:two or three times, I have a really
Speaker:high standard of quality for myself.
Speaker:And I can always tell if it doesn't
Speaker:flow, it's not going to be good.
Speaker:Like if I can't, if I'm stopping and
Speaker:starting too much, if I don't get
Speaker:excited, if I'm not like laughing
Speaker:at myself, which I do all the time
Speaker:on the podcast, it's been pointed
Speaker:out to me, I laugh at myself a lot.
Speaker:If I'm not feeling that Energy while
Speaker:I'm recording, that means the listeners
Speaker:aren't going to feel it either.
Speaker:So if I do a whole recording and
Speaker:it like falls flat, I'll redo it.
Speaker:I'll scrap the episode.
Speaker:I also listen back to all
Speaker:of my solo episodes at least
Speaker:twice before they go live.
Speaker:And I recut and I adjust
Speaker:with the interviews.
Speaker:I have somebody on my team, edit them.
Speaker:And then I listen and recut as needed.
Speaker:Like it's a really involved process.
Speaker:Which I guess I've never explained
Speaker:anywhere until this moment right here.
Speaker:But I think that that's
Speaker:been a shift as well.
Speaker:Like in season one, when I was just
Speaker:getting started, I was like recording,
Speaker:releasing, it was very loose.
Speaker:I was just letting it live.
Speaker:But now that the listener base
Speaker:has grown, I feel like my finger
Speaker:is much closer to the pulse.
Speaker:And I'm always trying
Speaker:to elevate my craft.
Speaker:And I'm always trying to get
Speaker:better and sound better and
Speaker:serve the listeners better.
Speaker:It's
Speaker:like you feel More responsible.
Speaker:I think when it gets a little bit
Speaker:bigger, you just feel like you've
Speaker:got more people listening and you
Speaker:want to make sure that it's landing.
Speaker:Not that you shouldn't always have a
Speaker:high standard for yourself, but certainly
Speaker:in the first season of anything or the
Speaker:first, let's say, you know, 50 episodes
Speaker:or 40 episodes, you kind of still
Speaker:finding your feet a little bit too.
Speaker:And I think it's fine.
Speaker:Like it's good to still
Speaker:be figuring it out.
Speaker:If you're not figuring it
Speaker:out, then what are you doing?
Speaker:So I definitely agree with that.
Speaker:I also really liked that point
Speaker:where you're talking about how you
Speaker:listen back to what you've done.
Speaker:And in fact, I have a podcast
Speaker:episode coming out next week,
Speaker:which will be launched by the
Speaker:time we have this conversation,
Speaker:where I say that specifically.
Speaker:Where, especially if you're editing
Speaker:your own stuff, like if you're a DIY
Speaker:podcaster, and it's not something
Speaker:that you're great at, perhaps even,
Speaker:a lot of the time DIY podcasters
Speaker:get too involved in cutting out
Speaker:the ums and the awkwardness and the
Speaker:little things, but they're not going
Speaker:big picture on, is this boring?
Speaker:Am I enjoying listening to this?
Speaker:And if I'm not, why would someone
Speaker:else be enjoying listening?
Speaker:Like I delivered the content.
Speaker:So editing, going back and
Speaker:listening to your work is so
Speaker:important for creative growth.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:I think so many people get stuck at that.
Speaker:Like, I don't want to listen to
Speaker:myself or like, they get that sort
Speaker:of creeping feeling up their spine
Speaker:when they listen to their own voice.
Speaker:But I'm a big believer that it's really
Speaker:important to sit with and then kind
Speaker:of process and push through that.
Speaker:It's okay to recognize it.
Speaker:It happens to everyone, but you
Speaker:can learn to love your voice.
Speaker:And I think if you want to be
Speaker:a successful podcaster, you
Speaker:should because you're right.
Speaker:You should be listening to yourself.
Speaker:It's doesn't feel like work
Speaker:to listen back to the show.
Speaker:You know, I edit the episodes,
Speaker:most of them myself, and then
Speaker:I just put it on my phone.
Speaker:I go for a walk and I listen.
Speaker:And I noticed like, where did I zone out?
Speaker:Where did I stop?
Speaker:Yeah, all those things.
Speaker:Where did I zone out
Speaker:from what I was saying?
Speaker:Did I re engage myself fast enough with
Speaker:a joke or a change of topic or something?
Speaker:Like, that's how I get better.
Speaker:That's how I improve.
Speaker:And I think the episodes
Speaker:are so much better.
Speaker:We just crossed 50 episodes of
Speaker:Off the Grid, and they're way
Speaker:better than the first episode.
Speaker:But even from episode one, I
Speaker:was very focused on what are
Speaker:the takeaways for the listener?
Speaker:And how can I be really clear?
Speaker:And that actually comes from
Speaker:my background in teaching.
Speaker:I taught at a university for five years.
Speaker:And so I'm really accustomed to this
Speaker:teaching and public speaking skill,
Speaker:where what you do is you tell everybody
Speaker:what you're going to tell them, you
Speaker:tell it to them, and then you recap it.
Speaker:It works so well in podcasting and
Speaker:so Many podcasters don't do it, and
Speaker:we should all be doing it, everyone.
Speaker:I'm sorry.
Speaker:Everyone should be doing that on their
Speaker:podcast, unless it's a fiction show.
Speaker:That's a separate thing.
Speaker:But like, if you're just chatting,
Speaker:or you're on a solo episode,
Speaker:you should be doing that.
Speaker:Tell it, say it, recap it.
Speaker:So
Speaker:good.
Speaker:And I completely agree.
Speaker:Okay, so shifting gears then
Speaker:now, what aspects of your
Speaker:podcast do you not enjoy doing?
Speaker:This is a great question.
Speaker:When it comes to my own show, I kind
Speaker:of like most of them, all of them.
Speaker:I don't love promoting episodes.
Speaker:I don't like making promotional graphics.
Speaker:And a great part of not being on
Speaker:social media is I don't have to.
Speaker:They don't go anywhere, so
Speaker:I don't make them anymore.
Speaker:I do make a little tile for guests on
Speaker:guest episodes if they want to share
Speaker:it, but it's been a real relief to
Speaker:like release that from the process.
Speaker:We do it for clients at the studio,
Speaker:but I don't do it for my own show.
Speaker:I share the show through email,
Speaker:and then it's grown through word of
Speaker:mouth and through mentions by people
Speaker:with much bigger followings than me.
Speaker:So that's probably my least
Speaker:favorite part, but I really love
Speaker:everything from the idea phase
Speaker:through the publishing stage.
Speaker:Some of the promotional stuff,
Speaker:maybe not so much, but I also love
Speaker:what like talking to listeners and
Speaker:like when they circle back and they
Speaker:find it and they land in my inbox.
Speaker:I love that piece as well.
Speaker:If we're talking about what I don't
Speaker:like doing for clients, the list
Speaker:is much longer, but that's that's
Speaker:separate than my own personal show.
Speaker:Well, that's
Speaker:really good, actually.
Speaker:Like What you've done there is you've
Speaker:kind of minimized what you don't like
Speaker:anyway from the podcast to just focus on
Speaker:all the things that you do enjoy doing.
Speaker:And I guess maybe the takeaway
Speaker:there for people who are on social
Speaker:media who do have podcasts and do
Speaker:need to promote and all the things.
Speaker:But don't like doing aspects of
Speaker:your show, no matter what it is.
Speaker:Editing, promoting,
Speaker:doing graphics, whatever.
Speaker:Outsource it, as soon as you physically
Speaker:can, because when you outsource,
Speaker:that will like, allow you to get a
Speaker:bit of that creative freedom back,
Speaker:because you're not thinking about
Speaker:the stuff that you hate doing.
Speaker:And then doing it because you
Speaker:know, you have to, if you don't
Speaker:have the budget to outsource, you
Speaker:can get support in other ways.
Speaker:Like support can be a step between
Speaker:doing it yourself and outsourcing.
Speaker:What I mean by that is like
Speaker:getting an accountability buddy.
Speaker:hiring someone just to do your
Speaker:content planning with you if you can't
Speaker:afford for them to take over way more
Speaker:of the process, you know, finding
Speaker:someone who will make those graphics,
Speaker:if that's your sticking point, or
Speaker:setting a time where you and your
Speaker:best podcaster friend are going to
Speaker:make graphics together every month.
Speaker:Like, I work with a lot of people
Speaker:who are more like DIY wires and just
Speaker:getting started and don't quite have
Speaker:the budget for full outsourcing.
Speaker:And I think There are just so
Speaker:many ways to be creative and how
Speaker:you bring in support as well.
Speaker:And that's what's going to
Speaker:help your show keep growing so
Speaker:you can afford to outsource.
Speaker:Yeah, you've got to have
Speaker:something that's holding you
Speaker:accountable to keep going for sure.
Speaker:What about this conversation around
Speaker:video podcasting versus audio podcasting?
Speaker:Where do you sit on that fence?
Speaker:Where are you at with it?
Speaker:I'd love to know.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:So I am an audio podcaster, for sure.
Speaker:For season one of Off the Grid,
Speaker:it is all on video as well.
Speaker:I was like, really riding a wave.
Speaker:And I just did one take
Speaker:of all the episodes.
Speaker:And those one takes went
Speaker:live, which was kind of wild.
Speaker:They're actually very good.
Speaker:But now I need a little more time
Speaker:to like, pause and think about it.
Speaker:As I record, I think I talk about
Speaker:some more complex things now.
Speaker:But I love when other people
Speaker:make video podcasts, but I just
Speaker:video editing is not for me.
Speaker:It is truly.
Speaker:I have no interest in it.
Speaker:It's possible that we'll bring somebody
Speaker:on at the studio to start doing that work
Speaker:for other people, but I will never be
Speaker:video editing video podcasting myself.
Speaker:Well, I certainly cheer on other
Speaker:people going down that path.
Speaker:Yes,
Speaker:good.
Speaker:And keeping to the zone that you enjoy,
Speaker:I think, is the main point there as well.
Speaker:It's fine to want to do all the things,
Speaker:but then you've got to think about, well,
Speaker:how am I going to do all the things?
Speaker:Do I even want to do all the things?
Speaker:And why did I get into
Speaker:podcasting in the first place?
Speaker:Was it to be on video?
Speaker:Probably not.
Speaker:It was probably to enjoy
Speaker:the audio experience.
Speaker:I like the mystery that the
Speaker:audio experience provides.
Speaker:So you don't know what
Speaker:they look like necessarily.
Speaker:You don't know where they are.
Speaker:You don't know anything.
Speaker:And it allows you to just go into
Speaker:your own little world and imagine it's
Speaker:kind of like reading a book in the
Speaker:same way that you can just imagine.
Speaker:So audio for me will
Speaker:always be my first love.
Speaker:Video just feels like it's.
Speaker:Necessary, I think, in a lot of
Speaker:ways at this point, depending on
Speaker:the audience you're trying to reach.
Speaker:Your top three favorite podcasts
Speaker:that you listen to at the moment,
Speaker:lay them on me.
Speaker:Yes.
Speaker:So I'm really into the BBC's
Speaker:podcast, Witch, which came out this
Speaker:year about the history of witches.
Speaker:I have just started it for spooky
Speaker:season in October and loved that one.
Speaker:Love the podcast Normal Gossip,
Speaker:which is a show about gossip, like
Speaker:the random stories we like soak
Speaker:up and eat up in our daily lives.
Speaker:Like that weird thing your neighbor's
Speaker:doing that you've never figured out, but
Speaker:like, you need to tell somebody about it.
Speaker:Like, they really bring that through
Speaker:and I love the stories they tell.
Speaker:I'm always behind.
Speaker:I like savor the episodes
Speaker:like a treat for me.
Speaker:It's like a podcast dessert.
Speaker:I love it so much.
Speaker:And then We just wrapped production on
Speaker:a new show the studio has been working
Speaker:on called glow in the dark, which is
Speaker:hosted by a serious XM host Tracy G.
Speaker:And it's just really great
Speaker:conversations about wellness about
Speaker:spirituality about friendship hosted
Speaker:by Tracy and her best friend Girdley.
Speaker:And it's just like kind of from this
Speaker:perspective of being like badass
Speaker:black women who live in New York.
Speaker:And I really enjoyed
Speaker:working on that show.
Speaker:So that's another one that's
Speaker:been like top of mind recently.
Speaker:Oh, okay.
Speaker:I'm going to put all these ones in
Speaker:the show notes and on our website and
Speaker:everything so that you can go and listen
Speaker:to those if they sound good to you.
Speaker:Normal gossip to me sounds really fun.
Speaker:And I love the spooky stuff as well.
Speaker:Yeah, they're both those are both shows
Speaker:I listen to and like, I learned from
Speaker:their craft, you know, like sometimes
Speaker:it's hard to find time to listen to
Speaker:podcasts when I'm producing and editing
Speaker:so much, but I really try to make
Speaker:time to hear other shows because I
Speaker:can't get better if I'm not learning
Speaker:from what other people are doing.
Speaker:So valuable.
Speaker:That's so true.
Speaker:That's so good.
Speaker:I really enjoyed this
Speaker:conversation, Amelia.
Speaker:I think that you are just a joy,
Speaker:really, as far as when I listen to what
Speaker:you're providing, the fact that you're
Speaker:doing it in a non conventional way at
Speaker:this point, I just think it's great.
Speaker:And I look forward to
Speaker:seeing where you go next.
Speaker:I am a subscriber to the, certainly
Speaker:to the show, a follower of the show.
Speaker:And if this has been a good
Speaker:conversation for you to listen to.
Speaker:Please go and check out Amelia as
Speaker:well and just be with me on the
Speaker:fact that her voice is so beautiful.
Speaker:You could probably just do
Speaker:the ABCs on every episode.
Speaker:Just say ABCDFG and just really nicely
Speaker:ASMR style and I would just love it.
Speaker:You don't even have to do anything else.
Speaker:That's very sweet.
Speaker:I have considered my next
Speaker:career maybe will be in ASMR.
Speaker:These are thoughts I've had.
Speaker:Just whispering.
Speaker:Exactly.
Speaker:It's great.
Speaker:Thanks so much for joining us.
Speaker:And yeah, that's
Speaker:it.
Speaker:Thanks for having me.