In this episode of Pod Junction, hosts Matt Edmundson and Sadaf Beynon discuss the importance of having a clear perspective and opinion in podcasting. They explore how having a strong stance can help differentiate your show and connect with your audience. The hosts also delve into the concept of identifying an "enemy" in your niche to rally your audience and give your podcast a unique voice.



Key Takeaways:

1. Embrace the power of perspective: Having a clear and distinct viewpoint in your podcast isn't just beneficial—it's essential. Without a strong opinion, you risk becoming just another voice in the crowded podcasting landscape.

2. Identify your content's "enemy": Establishing an antagonist or challenge for your podcast can create a compelling narrative. This "enemy" doesn't have to be a person; it could be a concept, a common problem, or even a large corporation that your audience can rally against.

3. Leverage real-world triggers for content: Pay attention to conversations with leads, clients, and industry peers. These interactions can spark ideas for relevant, timely podcast episodes that address current issues in your field.

4. Balance opinion with relevance: While having strong opinions is crucial, ensure they align with your podcast's core focus. Avoid straying into unrelated controversial topics that might alienate your audience or detract from your main message.

5. Use your perspective as a sales tool: Your podcast's viewpoint isn't just about content—it's a strategic asset. By consistently presenting a particular stance, you attract listeners who resonate with your perspective, potentially converting them into clients or customers.

Sadaf Beynon [0:06 - 0:13]: Welcome back to Pod Junction podcast, where podcasters learn to grow their business. I'm Sadaf Beynon and with me is Max Edmundson.

Matt Edmundson [0:15 - 0:33]: Everyone's gonna start calling me Max now. We should put the thing on the screen which says Max Edmundson. Hang on, where's it? Let's do the. There we go. I should fix that. Definitely. So welcome to the show. Great that you're. Happy New Year.

Sadaf Beynon [0:33 - 0:34]: Yes. Happy New Year.

Matt Edmundson [0:34 - 0:40]: Full disclosure, we're recording this in November, so it just feels really weird as.

Sadaf Beynon [0:40 - 0:43]: We did a few weeks ago.

Matt Edmundson [0:43 - 0:57]: Yeah. But Sadaf said to me, she said, listen, this one's going out. This is the first one in the new year. So make sure you say happy New Year. So Happy New Year. I hope genuinely when this comes out. Hopefully the new year. Hopefully it's happening. And hopefully, you know, you've had a good start to the year and a Merry Christmas.

Sadaf Beynon [0:57 - 0:59]: Because we forgot to say that in the last one.

Matt Edmundson [0:59 - 1:04]: Yeah. So just go back to the last one. Just pretend we said Merry Christmas in.

Sadaf Beynon [1:04 - 1:06]: The podcast and that we'll see you in the new year.

Matt Edmundson [1:06 - 1:33]: And we'll see you. Yeah. Which is. And we should start doing this. Actually, this is an interesting point, is understanding when the episodes are going to come out, because I never ever know when our episodes are coming out. So when I'm recording the podcast with a guest, I just. It's coming out in the future. That's as much as I. I mean, it's an obvious statement to make, but I don't know. And so never on EP do I say things like happy Christmas. But what I've noticed, like on one of them from last year, I was wearing my Christmas jumper.

Sadaf Beynon [1:33 - 1:33]: Okay.

Matt Edmundson [1:33 - 1:39]: When I was recording the podcast, which came out and like May, I'm like.

Sadaf Beynon [1:40 - 1:42]: That might have been a part Junction one, maybe.

Matt Edmundson [1:42 - 1:42]: I don't know.

Sadaf Beynon [1:43 - 1:44]: I mean, a push to be more one.

Matt Edmundson [1:44 - 1:49]: It's. It's memo self. Don't wear Christmas jumpers when recording podcasts that come out in May.

Sadaf Beynon [1:49 - 1:50]: You date them.

Matt Edmundson [1:50 - 2:12]: I have to start wearing Christmas jumpers in August when I'm recording a podcast because we're usually like three or four months in advance. But yeah, it's. I. I know we need to get into the clip in a minute, but it's just a really interesting point, isn't it? So. And just planning that and being that advanced, it's just not our style. So it's a miracle we've said Happy New Year. Really?

Sadaf Beynon [2:13 - 2:15]: Yeah. Just in time.

Matt Edmundson [2:15 - 2:18]: Just in time. Yeah. Yeah. Happy New Year. So what we got coming.

Sadaf Beynon [2:18 - 2:18]: Yeah.

Matt Edmundson [2:30 - 2:32]: That was so last year.

Sadaf Beynon [2:32 - 2:50]: Yeah, so last year. But we had a couple segments from Matthew Holman in, well, last year, half an hour ago. And. Yeah. So Matthew Holman is the podcast host of Subscription Prescription.

Matt Edmundson [2:50 - 2:51]: You didn't close your eyes.

Sadaf Beynon [2:51 - 2:52]: I didn't.

Matt Edmundson [2:52 - 2:52]: Well done.

Sadaf Beynon [2:53 - 3:04]: And in this particular clip, he's talking about the importance of having a clear perspective and opinion when it comes to your content and your podcast.

Matt Edmundson [3:04 - 3:07]: Very good, Very good. So shall we play the clip?

Sadaf Beynon [3:07 - 3:07]: Yes, we should.

Matt Edmundson [3:07 - 3:08]: And then we'll be back after this.

Sadaf Beynon [3:09 - 3:19]: So here's the clip and the topics that you choose when you're flying solo. Do you base those on the questions that have been coming in? How do you do that one?

Matthew Holman [3:19 - 4:36]: Yeah, that one's kind of more like, you know, pulse of the. Of the. Of the space. Like, I was talking to a potential lead and they were telling me about how, like, their subscription software partner was telling them they needed to do XYZ in their business. And I was like, wait, what? No, no, no, no, no. So let's do an episode about why your subscription software partner should really be an advisor, not directing strategy. They help on the tactic side of things, not the strategy side. And so that was actually like this week's episode that came out, or when I'm seeing something really interesting or something work on the acquisition side. Like, let's do. Let's do an episode talking about acquisition or, you know, we haven't talked about the fundamentals of different email strategy in a while. So let's. Let's talk about that. So. So it is a little bit of, like, you know, what I see getting asked online, what I come and run into with prospects and people that are just trying to pick my brain, what I get from clients, and then also what I talk with about. With, like, other experts, because there are other subscription experts out there. If we're just chatting about stuff, it's like, oh, yeah, we should do an episode that would be fun to talk about that again, or something like that. So there's a lot of. It's just like listening and just trying to track down ideas, which I don't think is too hard.

Sadaf Beynon [4:36 - 4:43]: Yeah, I can understand. Especially if you've got people that you're already having conversations with that are in that. In that space.

Matthew Holman [4:43 - 6:55]: I would add and say that I think what's really important with content is to have. And if you've been only half listening. Maybe tune in to this part, because I think this is really, really important. Especially like we just had the election in the US Just happened like yesterday. And you have to have a perspective. You have to have an opinion. And it often helps to have an enemy. Right. So I have a friend's company out here called Luminous. They sell inventory management software and they're going against netsuite, who's the big incumbent. So a lot of their early content strategy was attacking netsuite and why it's bad for businesses of certain sizes. And so for us in subscriptions, our perspective is that. That subscriptions are often an afterthought. They're often run by junior level people in the company. A lot of resources are spent on the acquisition side, not on the retention side. And that they're often forgotten. And that most people obsess over the back end of subscriptions, not realizing that subscription strategy starts with how you acquire a customer in the first place. So those are our perspectives, our opinions. And so we regularly will bring up that perspective and bring up that opinion. And if we're looking for topics, topics, we will look at those opinion pieces. And so if you don't have a strong opinion, then you're. Then you don't give people a reason to want to listen to you. It's just something interesting, maybe, but it also is like part of the sales process. So there's a little bit of sophistication here. It's like, hey, I know that a lot of brands are doing this, are operating this way, and we work with brands that operate this way. So I'm going to harp on brands that operate this way because I want them to go, yeah, that's me. How can you help us? And so that's kind of like that idea of why you need to have an opinion in your content strategy and your podcasting, regardless of the space you're in, the industry you're in, you know, even if you're just doing a podcast for crocheting, like, it's really important to have a perspective and strong opinions about at least some parts of crocheting. Otherwise, like, you'll just be another podcast out there that nobody thinks is relevant.

Sadaf Beynon [6:55 - 7:01]: Mm. So you're saying to have an opinion and put that stake in the ground.

Matthew Holman [7:01 - 7:02]: Yes, absolutely.

Sadaf Beynon [7:02 - 7:02]: Yeah.

Matthew Holman [7:02 - 7:18]: And that's why I mentioned the u. S. Election. Like, you know, love him or hate him, Donald Trump is amazing at that. He has really strong opinions that are very divisive. But if you agree with him, you really agree with them. So, yeah, you don't have to be that extreme, but you need to have opinions.

Sadaf Beynon [7:18 - 7:19]: But you need to have an opinion what you're doing.

Matt Edmundson [7:19 - 7:19]: Right.

Matthew Holman [7:19 - 7:37]: Because otherwise it's like, why should somebody talk to you? Why should somebody buy from you? Right. Again, if you're in automotive and you're complaining about the amount of time it takes to get an oil change. Okay. Well, you're trying to reach people who think that oil changes take too long so that they'll come out to your business to get an oil change. Like, that's, It's. You just have to think through why, why that opinion needs to be there.

Sadaf Beynon [7:41 - 7:49]: If that got you curious and you want to catch the full episode, be sure to subscribe to the show. We've got plenty more great conversations coming up.

Matt Edmundson [7:53 - 7:57]: So welcome back. Have you got an opinion about this?

Sadaf Beynon [7:58 - 8:08]: My opinion is that I really, really liked what he said. I think we have. I don't think we have enough people who have a strong opinion about something.

Matt Edmundson [8:09 - 8:12]: Yeah, you don't think we have enough. Yeah, I want more strong opinions.

Sadaf Beynon [8:13 - 8:16]: Yeah, I think, I think it's great when people make a stance.

Matt Edmundson [8:17 - 8:17]: Okay.

Sadaf Beynon [8:17 - 8:30]: I think too many times we're too bothered about offending. I mean, I'm not saying make a stance and, you know, like, be rude and disrespectful to people. I'm not saying that. I'm just saying it's good to have an opinion.

Matt Edmundson [8:31 - 8:32]: Well, I, I.

Sadaf Beynon [8:32 - 8:33]: What do you think?

Matt Edmundson [8:33 - 9:18]: I totally agree. I. And I think it's a very interesting thing, isn't it, that Matthew was talking about in the sense that if you, if you don't have an opinion, then what differentiates you from everybody else out there? What differentiates you from all the noise, from all the comments? It's hard, isn't it? And, and I think, I think actually having an opinion doesn't. I mean, you know, he gave the example of Trump, which takes it to a massive extreme, doesn't it? Yeah. In terms of contentiousness, I don't think that's what Matthew's saying, but I think you do have to stand for something, otherwise you just become a bit beige, really. And you do have to have an opinion.

Sadaf Beynon [9:19 - 9:23]: I think this is different from having an opinion on everything.