Today’s guest is Juergen Berkessel, founder of Polymash, here to talk about podcasting as a content strategy and the false distinction between career paths that occupy creative versus so-called ‘commercial’ spheres. Polymash is a boutique digital marketing agency based in Florida, and Juergen has become a close friend of Sourdough’s because Polymash has been advising on the subject of content strategy for the Not Real Art podcast. Juergen is a true polymath with an inspiring career trajectory and personal journey. He is a professional photographer, computer programmer, app developer, digital marketing expert, and podcaster who immigrated from Germany to the United States. Our conversation begins with Juergen telling the story of this journey. We hear him talk about how he got into photography, how he lived off rice and beans in New York as a struggling photographer, and how he made a career pivot into the world of software development thereafter. Here we talk at length about how the creative discoveries Juergen made after he pivoted make the fine art community’s distaste at the idea of ‘selling out’ seem extremely petty and shortsighted. From there, we take a deep dive into the work Juergen is doing today with Polymash. He speaks about how to make your content more SEO compatible as an artist, weighing in specifically on how to fit podcasting into these strategies and build your network at the same time. He also shares a few pro tips for how to make your content benefit you rather than falling into ‘digital sharecropping’ by making your website the central hub of all of your content output. Tune in for today’s inspiring and educational conversation with Juergen Berkessel!
Key Points From This Episode:
An intro to Juergen Berkessel and his content strategy business, Polymash.
How Juergen met Sourdough and they connected through a mutual love of art.
A window into Juergen’s multifaceted career and involvement with art and business.
Juergen’s thoughts on combining creativity and analytical skills in his career.
How Juergen found photography and took it up after moving to America.
Juergen’s memories of studying art and working as a commercial photographer thereafter.
How Juergen got exposed to large format cameras working for a photography studio in New York.
Being uninspired working as a freelance commercial photographer and how Juergen found his creative voice.
The story of how Juergen made a career pivot and entered a career in programming.
Perspectives on ‘selling out’ considering this being frowned upon in fine art communities.
How the democratization of creative mediums is changing negative perceptions of commercialization.
Critical thoughts about the so-called gap between high and low art.
How podcasting fits into the democratization of art and Sourdough’s work with Juergen.
Content strategy tips from Juergen; how he helps businesses through Polymash.
The need for artists to have their own website to fight ‘digital sharecropping’.
Prioritizing subscribers to your email list over people who downloaded your podcast.
The usefulness podcasts provide for building a sense of intimacy with guests that turns into future business relationships.
How podcasting becomes a content strategy by generating content that can be shaped for SEO.
Juergen’s explanation of domain authority, how to build it, and how it makes your website more searchable.
The significance of the idea that podcasts get new listeners primarily through Google searches.
Thoughts on the educational power of podcasts and how to make them more accessible.
Juergen’s wife Robyn’s expertise in positive thinking and how she applies it in her podcast.
Final thoughts on juxtaposition and identity: ‘A thing is what it is only in relation to what it is not.’
For more information and photos, visit here: https://notrealart.com/juergen-berkessel
