The year 2020 brought us a lot of new things. Yes, COVID being one of them, but also lots of new podcasts. With more time on our hands, it was a good time to try podcasting out. That was the case for today's guest, Jenice Lee, an educator and out-of-school time advocate who started a podcast as a hobby but has since transitioned it to an important marketing tool for her business.

Jenice is here today to tell us about her experience starting a podcast and keeping that momentum going, how she transitioned into using it as a marketing tool for her business, and what kinds of results she's seen for her business since that transition. Plus, she shares some cool ways she has extended her podcast, such as live podcasting at conferences and starting a YouTube channel.

⭐️ Resources Mentioned:

• BOOST Conference live
• John Marshall High School Principal Interview
• John Marshall High School Tour
• Health Rally
• Follow me on Instagram @podcastingforeducators 

🔗 Connect with Jenice: 

• Listen to her podcast, School: After Hours
• Subscribe to her YouTube channel
• Check out her website
• Follow on Facebook
• Follow on LinkedIn
• Follow her on Instagram @schoolafterhours

🎤 Recommended Podcasting Resources:

• Hosting: Captivate.fm (Get a free 7-day trial!)
• Transcription: Otter.ai
• Project Management: ClickUp
• Private Podcasting: Hello Audio
• Podcast Playlist Toolkit - use code PODCAST to grab it for $17!
• Launch Your Podcast: Free Podcast Launch Guide & Podcasting for Educators Prep School
• Level Up Your Podcast: Podcast Like You Mean It
• Leverage Podcast Guesting: Free Guesting Planning Guide & Guesting for Educators Mini-Course

Show Notes: https://podcastingforeducators.com/episode155

Some links mentioned are affiliate links. This helps to support this podcast at no additional cost to you. 

Topics in this episode: tips for podcasters, educational strategies, marketing tips for TPT sellers, online educator tips

Sara Whittaker 0:00

Jenice Lee 2:02

Thank you for having me.

Sara Whittaker 2:04

Absolutely. I love having people on the show to share about their experience with podcasting. Everybody does things a little bit differently with price to get all of these different perspectives. So we're gonna be talking about your podcasting experience. Today, you have a podcast called school after hours. Let's get right into it. Can you tell us first just tell us a little bit about your podcast and who it's for? Okay,

Jenice Lee 2:26

sure. So School of ours is a podcast that is for after school time programs, youth development, those that are in management of school sites, as school programs, all those things, or even program providers that are coming into the space that's learning more about the after school time setting, but also how to, you know, share their skills and teach the children and be part of that whole ecosystem of education. So on the show, we talk about a variety of things. And you know, how it's linked to education, also the business aspect of it, right, because there's a little business involved. But we also have those conversations of managing staff, what does that look like? Things that could be working great in your program, and some tools and tips that you may want to use to go ahead and, you know, make that enriching space for your children that you're serving. But you know, we also do some site director talk, you know, some things that happen on the back end that nobody really wants to talk about. You know, those after sessions when everybody clock out, and you just sit down at the table, like, let me tell you what happened. We have we have those conversations as well. So that was the start of the podcast, and it has an interesting story, if you let me tell it.

Sara Whittaker 3:38

Yeah, absolutely. That was gonna be my next question. Tell us like why you decided to start this in the first place.

Jenice Lee 3:44

So it happened during the pandemic, I was one of those. So podcasting was something that I was learning about in the process. You know, in the beginning of the pandemic, you know, we thought it was just going to be a two week thing, everybody will be back, you know, and settings, and all the children and all the things and all the activities. So then I happened. So, oh, my gosh, I know, I know, the scenes like a close but distant memory. We actually I got furloughed from my job because we were no longer doing at school programming. Because as you know, schools were closed, just you know, for a safe environment. So I found myself with a lot of time on my hands, and I needed something to do, because I am a doer. So I started to look into some things to not make jumps are things to make money off of, but also like, just trying to find a new hobby, you know, in the same breath, right? Because I'd like I said, I have all this time. Yes. And I happened to come across, you know, something about podcasting. And I was like, you know, I'm chatty. I could talk all day long. So that was the start of the idea. But what really pushed me to really start a podcast is because when I was looking, and I started to get really into podcasts and listen to some different podcasts, I couldn't find anything for youth development. it, especially specifically to youth development professionals that work on site that are actually doing the frontline work in programming and you know, helping providers build out, you know, their skills in all those other ones for things to make great programming not just for students, but also for community members that want to get involved as well. Couldn't find it to save the life of me. So I happen to come across this article that basically said that after school programming might not make it because of the state of the pandemic. It may be a whole Reynolds Wrap for us, oh, well, with me, and me, being who I am, I'm like, I feel like you lying. I feel like you're not telling me the whole truth. You know, there may be something that you don't know. But I started looking into, you know, podcasting and taking it serious. And I had a conversation with my husband, who helps me with my production for my podcast. And I was like, so I think I want to start a podcast. He was like, lately. We just lobby a conference. I was like, no, but listen, hear me out, hear me out. So I gave him the whole spiel about you know, the things not finding all the stuff. And he was like, Okay, I'll be on board. All right, with this process, but you got to have a Blair.

Sara Whittaker 6:15

I got two different personalities, this has been like,

Jenice Lee 6:18

I'm like, jump off. From like, jump off the building without no plan with no safety net, not knowing if anything is down here.

Sara Whittaker 6:26

I love that. Because so many people that I talked to, they are so scared to jump in. And you're like, let's do this. I love that. And he's like, so we

Jenice Lee 6:35

kind of need a plan, we need to make sure there's a net down there, we get a contingency plan on top of a contingency plan. I just need to have a strategy.

Sara Whittaker 6:44

Yes, smart man is gonna

Jenice Lee 6:47

work it out. We'll figure it out. We're gonna learn as we go. It's okay. So I literally gave myself a month. Yeah, and put it up. And thankfully, I did the podcast website, I got, you know, started calling people that I knew that was still doing programming and doing great things to share their stories on the show, and you know, their innovations and how sharing how our school time program was changing, but also how it was still reaching families as well as students as I

Sara Whittaker 7:17

just love hearing about all of this. And it sounds like you've got like the perfect personality for podcasting, it's great that you just kind of jumped right in there and, and that you contacted people right away to come on the show. Like that's it. That's just a great way to get those first guests, but also get the word out about your show. So tell us, are you so do you do like independent consulting? Yes. Okay, we

Jenice Lee 7:40

do independent consulting. So that was something that happened, as I was doing my podcast, I actually had a guest on my show. And he was interested in doing a app school program for young men, more of a mentorship thing to add to his business that he has. So after talking with him, and his wife was actually on my show, too. We had a different dialogue conversation of, you know, some of the things that he could do, or kind of walk them through the process of what to add, you know, some of the things that he wants to, you know, take into consideration, just, you know, friendly consulting, right, yeah. And so he heard behind the ears and says, like, this is great, this is definitely what I want to do. He's like, somebody you think about putting this together, I was like, usual, Are you short, now this has been a dream of mine for a while, because I always wanted to consulting for out of school time programming, but just really didn't know a way to go about it. So in the way of having this podcast, he kind of made that opportunity for me, and I took him on as my first client. And now he's about a year my fat two years inside of school time programming has had like, great success with his program and now has like branched out to more than one school, to have his program featured as a program provider and at schools on programming. So I'm really, really happy about that.

Sara Whittaker 8:56

I'm obsessed with that story. That's amazing that like your podcast, opened these doors for your business. And I'd love to talk more about that. And I just, I think it's so cool, that you have such a clearly defined niche and audience, and that there was nothing else out there when we started, like, how cool is that, that you were really the first podcast to be able to serve these people? You know, if like, Are there any others? I

Jenice Lee 9:25

do. So there are a few but nothing that really dives into like the true management building of the strategy that so you got to talk to somebody about money and grants like that's,

Sara Whittaker 9:37

yeah, yeah, somebody's telling them like exactly what they really need to know.

Jenice Lee 9:41

Right? Right. So I would like to say like, We circled around that based on some of the things that we did see out there but not really touch exactly on those things. So I like to say now that social media is becoming such a big thing, not just for advertisement for business, but also incorporating that also into our schools time programming to tell your story I've been able to reach out to other people and get them to have those conversations on our show as well how to use that for your brand.

Yes, amazing. So let's back up a little bit when you first started, like, how did it go at first? How have things been kind of like smooth sailing for you? Was it hard to keep up with? How did you really keep that momentum up? After starting?

Sure. So absolutely not, it was not something that you know, with anything comes with this twist in terms of do I really want to do this. So it was all of those things and learning how to stay centered in the sense of being like, I have a sense of gratitude, because this is definitely an opportunity, but also reaching out and being thankful for the relationships that you do build in the process of doing this, right. And keeping those as my why like, why do I do this, because I wish when I was a site director, like I had a tool like this that was available to me that would kind of walk me through this process, or try this specific idea, or even put me in connection to like a different podcast or different type of leadership that I may not be getting directly, which is what I need. So in keeping that in mine, it was uh, started off as like this to some interviews to see where we are to see how it goes. And then from there, it definitely evolved into something else. Okay, so we need to go deeper into what really those individuals may need. So like I said, doing something around social media, also changing the formatting of the show, because once you find the time I was just talking to talk. Yeah. We were here for hours. And my husband had sent me like, so this is great, because we have these conversations, which I think is lovely. Because, you know, brings a lot of things. But I need you to keep in mind your timing, because you know, what

a good husband.

on the straight and narrow, he is definitely the Yank to my game, because I'd be like, That's a good team right there. Yeah. So changing the format of the show was something that I definitely had to take into consideration, like doing it in segments so people can get what they need, depending on like, what they're looking for. So that's important to me, especially when we went over to now being on YouTube. Having a YouTube channel. That's a little different. That's

a whole nother ballgame. Yes,

that's a little different. But it gave me an opportunity to now do like programs, site visits, and show what after school programming actually looks like in different settings, and what's different in what people are doing and how that's being incorporated into our school time programming. And because of that opportunity, I got a chance on getting a chance to work with the school and helping them put together production for podcasts in Game Drive. So I can't mention the name yet.

Oh, my gosh, how cool is that? That's amazing. Congratulations.

Thank you, thank

you so many cool things happening. And I love that you bring up the fact that you know, sometimes when we start a podcast, or I really anything in our business, we have this idea of like what its gonna look like. And then we start, especially with podcasting, I love that you have let your like your guests and your listeners kind of help drive the direction that your podcast is going and the content that you're creating. Because sometimes we think that people, we think that our listeners need one thing. And then we end up finding out that they need another thing. And so I think that's really important to keep in mind as a podcaster is just always being in tune with what people actually need, which can sometimes be different than what we want to talk about, or what we think we should talk about. Exactly. Okay. So you gave us a couple of examples already of some cool things that have come out of your podcast in terms of how it's helped your business, how else have you kind of transitioned from maybe starting out as like a hobby into really using this as a marketing tool for your business.

So definitely being more present and getting comfortable with that idea of doing solo episodes to share, like what my expertise is, yeah. Because you know, me as Jay Lee doing school after hours, and you know, we're having these great conversations with others, but giving you an idea of who I am as an individual, but also someone that is invested in your program for helping you develop your program, so that you can go in and get the results that you want. So that came with, you know, adding my own little ads when I do podcast the and doing interviews with other shows, but also when I do my own solo episode, you know, advertise the things that I'm doing on my social media, you know, my Instagram or my Facebook page that continues to show my expertise can give you different ideas to try or point you in the direction of somebody that's doing something that could you know, help you in your process? Yes,

I love to hear it. Love to hear that you're sharing about the things that you offer and creating podcast ads. That's great. So are there any other like opportunities that have come for you through your podcast that you want to share?

Yes, so I got an opportunity to do Well, my first webinar for nother guests that was actually on my show, so, right, right, all things. So using that to go ahead and feature like my services, as far as you know, helping with the planning process, or helping individuals build out what they want to do for their program and how to go about it and some of the things that you may want to look into. So that is an amazing thing that's happened to me, which has taken place very soon. But also, I want to start looking into course creation as well. Because as one individual, one solo person, you can only do so much, right, yeah. But if you go learn how to streamline that process, and then go ahead and give it to people where it's bite sized, you know, it gives them exactly what they need, but you know, keep them coming back for more. That's also helpful, and it takes less work from you as a person.

Yeah, for sure. I feel like what you've described as far as, like how you support people, and the content that you create, would lend itself really well to a course for that community. Yeah, most definitely. Most definitely. Okay, so you said that you are on Youtube, I'd love to hear a little bit more about that. So are you you're doing video on YouTube? Okay, so what does that look like? Exactly.

So video is me being a little bit more interactive. That's my, hey, we get to see the people and they visually get to see the individual having the conversation and our dialogues like this. But also, you know, we get to go on, like I said, site tours of absolute programs. So I get to tell you or get to show you like different things that programs are doing, how's it working for them, but also give those programs opportunity to tell their story at the same time. So one of the things that I'm finding is that, especially small programs really don't often get the shine that they need or that they should get compared to these other bigger organizations. So this I thought was a big opportunity, especially in the tri city area of Richmond, Virginia, to go around to those small programs, or medium sized programs to show the work that they're doing to give them more visibility and you know, community awareness at the same time.

Okay, hold on. Are you enrich here in Richmond? Yeah. Did we did I don't know if I knew that. I'm in Fredericksburg. Oh, yeah, we're so close. My husband works in Richmond at least once a week that is crazy. We'll have to meet up and have a little coffee date or something. Oh, my gosh, I always get so excited when I hear people live close to me. Because you know, people in my day to day world have no idea what I do or anything like that. So. Okay, that is so neat. Okay, so I have so many questions when you do, like when you do a site visit? Because I think that's, that's perfect for you to be on YouTube for that. Do you also air that same audio from that visit on your audio only podcast? Like it's the same episodes on both or

depending so for the recent one that I just did, we did a school tour. And we did like individual interviews of, you know, specific people that play like a huge part in that, right. So what I will do is that I would air the video first. And if we have like a good quality for the interview, because I'm like, at this point running around recording on my phone, yeah, then you know, we'll pull out the camera and be like, Okay, let me back up shots. The whole is like a whole film production that goes, yeah. So if we have like a really, really good quality and a really good conversation, then I'll go ahead and make that separate. And I'll put that interview on the audio version. So recently, we did one with John Marshall High School, when I had a great interview with the principal and she shared her story of how they got their accreditation, but also how they use their after school programs to help prepare students for vocational skills, and how that's helping them build careers outside of school. One student that they had was a very, very successful story. He has his own production company, his video company, right out of high school. And so he's been doing well with that. And he also has jobs with you know, universities in the tri City area. And their goal is to give their kids those specific skills so that they can move forward and you know, make the successful life that they want to if they're not going to college and if they are give them all the resources that they need to be successful. So

nice. You're just using your your platform and so many really cool and impactful ways. So congrats to you. I think this is amazing. And you're I just feel like you're using your podcast in a unique way then some other people I talked to so this is really cool to hear about. Have there been any? I didn't even ask you. You do I think I saw you do bi weekly. Yes. Okay. And have you always done that? Yes, because it is. Yes, it is.

It is a lot. Well eventually we want to move to like more of a weekly app. So, but with all the things that's coming down the pipeline, and me being realistic of the time that I do have available, bi weekly is the most successful that we have and what we've been doing so far. So those in betweens that you know, we're not, you know, putting out a show, we may be sending an email, so kind of catch people up, we may be sending, you know, being more little interactive on social media, so people know what's going on behind the scenes, all those wonderful things to kind of keep engagement going, but also give people an idea of what we're going to be talking about next.

Yeah, love it. If it's if that schedule is working for you, I'd say stick with it with everything else that you've got going on, too. Is Instagram, like the biggest platform that you use to share? Are you on LinkedIn. So

I am on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and those are all the three that I can manage right now. Three is enough, is more than enough. But we are mostly active on Instagram and branching out a little bit more into Facebook being that they do have a few more features that's available. So they have you know, their TV, or she has going like very, very viral right now. So once I learn and master

that. Another thing to learn. Right, right, yeah, that's

exactly where I will be. But Instagram is where we're most popular and where we get a good portion of our followers from?

Awesome. Yeah, I mean, three platforms along with your podcast is plenty, I would think that LinkedIn would be a good place for you to be as well with who your audience is.

Right? And is using that, that reach out method and that consistent POST method? Yeah, yeah. And that, you know, we are an organization that works with professionals, just finding a way to use that space a little bit more efficiently. So that's why I'm in the process of discovering right now. Because you can't use LinkedIn like you use Instagram, right? So different. What's good for that audience? And who's following you in our audience on giving diving into what they need? Yes.

And so are most of your guests up to this point? People that you already know? Or are they people that you're reaching out to on some of these platforms.

So for the first year that we did podcasting, it was the people that we knew, and were developing relationships with to be on the show. And it was great, because then like, they will refer us to different people that were doing different things. And then around the second year, it became, you know, me reaching out to people because my well ran dry. Yeah. So we, you know, hey, you know, I think you'd be a great guest on the show, these are some of the things that we do, and we talk about, would you be interested, and people came on the show that way. And it was it started to shift when we were able to go to our first national conference and do a live podcast at booths conference, because they have like an educational podcasting, you know, podcast around segments. And once we did that, I noticed that, you know, a little bit more like people started to come in for us, and, you know, wanting to be guests on the show. And then, you know, listenership went up a little bit. But we also got opportunities to connect with different people and have them come to be on the show and be yes, but like the following year. So with that experience, I kind of flipped the switch in my head, like, maybe we need to be doing more conferences, and getting me in front of more people that way, like that may be something that I need to look into. So we're in the process of reaching out to educational conferences and youth development conferences right now, on the state level, to see if they want to have us as guests and do like a live show. So we can be part of their AV school production.

I love it. I love that you're taking that initiative to reach out to these people, because there's so much opportunity out there. And in Yeah, these in person events come with so much opportunity, you meet so many people, you're putting yourself in front of a new group of people. And that's so cool that you did a live recording. Were you did you post about that on your Instagram?

Yes, like way, way down?

I feel like I remember seeing something about that. Yes,

we did. We did a live recording, and I believe is still up on our Instagram. And we had the wonderful guests from App School Alliance was a huge organization. And then we had the director of Utah after school network on our show. And he's been on our show a couple of times, actually, Ben and his staff, they've done like some really good interviews and given a lot of great information for after school programming.

So cool. I'll have to see if I can find where it is on your Instagram. And I'll link that in the show notes.

No problem. I'll send them to you. Yep.

Okay. Yeah, I'll take that. Thank you. Thanks so much. Well, is there anything else that you want to share as we wrap up that maybe we haven't talked about that you were hoping to share today in terms of your podcasting journey?

Yeah. So one thing that I will say in transitioning in this process of being a, you know, doing this as a hobby to now incorporating this into a business, the one thing I wanted to share is, don't let your fear and your doubt get the best of you at Don't think we talk enough about you know, that component or those aspects of it, you see, and you hear, just go ahead and do it. It'll be fine, you'll figure it out. But no one really says to talk about the fears that may come up in your mind of am I good enough? Like, can I really do this? Who's going to pay attention all those things, learning how to be okay with who you are, and be confident in the skill that you have? And know that there's nobody that can do it like you can't? Because if there was, it'd be done, right? Yes. So owning your skill, and owning your confidence and owning your power and be like, Okay, I'm gonna figure out a way to move forward with this, and know that you will stumble along the way. But know that those are just the learning processes that you're going to go to in order to get to where you need to go. Yes, you know, put one foot in front of the other until you get to that destination, whatever it may be, and whatever it may look like,

yes, such good advice, you really, you do have to lean into your unique strengths and your personality, especially in this space, when there are so many people telling you to do things this way. And when you make that transition into really being intentional about the content that you're putting out in terms of how it's going to support your business. That definitely comes with a lot of mindset, blocks of being nervous to share about what you offer or wanting to provide value and not feeling like you're just spitting out sales stuff at people it comes with, it comes with a lot of a lot of challenges. So I think that that's really, really good advice. Well, thank you so much for coming on today. It's just so nice to meet you face to face and hear about your experience. And I'm just so grateful to have you here today.

Thank you so much for having me.

I had so much fun. Awesome. Me too. And tell us tell everybody where they can find you online. Yes.

So if you are looking for me, and you want to know more about what I do, you can go ahead and look up school after hours on Instagram, as well as the same thing at school after hours on Facebook. We're also available on YouTube. If you look up school after hours podcast, you can go ahead and look at our YouTube Channel and see all the wonderful things that we are doing over there. And you'll get to see like our site visits, our resource location stuff, our core conversations, our community conversations, all the things that we highlight, you know, within our community that's helpful to not just our families, but also our students, as well as our ag school programs, all the things in between. So go ahead and check us out. But also like and subscribe.

Yes, 100%. Go Go follow the podcast. And I'm excited to check out your YouTube channel. You're doing so many amazing things and supporting your community in so many ways. So I wish you the best of luck and I can't wait to hear what comes next.

Thank you so much. Thank you.

Thank you again to Jenice for coming on and sharing about your experience. It is so cool to hear about how something that started as a hobby has made such an impact on your business and on your community. If you're listening and have been sitting on the idea of starting a podcast, I have a free podcast launch guide that you can download that will help you get started. As soon as today. You can grab it at podcasting for educators.com/launch Guide. Thanks for spending some time with us today and I'll catch you here next week. Thanks so much for listening to today's episode. To keep this conversation going connect with me on Instagram at podcasting for educators. I'm always looking for an excuse to talk about podcasting. If you're looking for support and launching, managing or growing your podcast, check out my online course the podcasting for educators prep school at podcasting for educators.com/prep school. I'll see you here next time.