You are an Origineur! There is only one of you and so let that shine through in your podcast and your business.   

Meet Loretta Milan, host of the Origineurs Podcast.   

Loretta started her podcast to support her business and help spread the word on her mission for everyone to believe that they are an Original and what you have to say matters.  

 “An Origineur is somebody who then uses their originality to do something no matter how big or small. If you use that to change someone else's life, to inspire somebody else, to set up a business, to make an idea happen, that's when you transform from being an original to being an Origineur, you make something happen.” 

We chat about how Loretta came up with the concept for her podcast and how conversations with her community shaped her content, how she did her research on all the tech options, joining podcast communities and the importance of networking.  

When it comes to marketing your podcast, Loretta’s top piece of advice is the best form of marketing is delivering. If you deliver something amazing, that person is going to come back to you. They're going to recommend you to somebody else. 

 

About Loretta  

Loretta Milan is the founder of Origineurs and an award-winning communication expert who has been helping people stand out and succeed as originals for over 20 years, including leaders of big global brands, entrepreneurs and change makers. 

 

Listen to the Origineurs podcast: https://origineurs.com/podcast/ 

 

Check out the 'What makes you special?' episode which talks about the inspiration behind the Origineurs podcast and why tapping into your originality is so important: https://origineurs.com/what-makes-you-special/ 

If you have any questions or would like some help with your podcast, book a podcast enquiry call.

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Rachael Botfield: 00:00:08

Hi, and welcome to podcasting one on one with Rachel.

Rachael Botfield: 00:00:12

This podcast is for busy female entrepreneurs who run their own

Rachael Botfield: 00:00:15

businesses and want to start a podcast or who may already have a podcast.

Rachael Botfield: 00:00:20

I want to share practical information and tips on how you can get your podcast

Rachael Botfield: 00:00:25

started and managing it along the way.

Rachael Botfield: 00:00:27

I'll also be interviewing other female podcast hosts to give you

Rachael Botfield: 00:00:30

real insight into what it's like.

Rachael Botfield: 00:00:32

Have Hi,

Rachael Botfield: 00:00:44

and welcome to this week's episode.

Rachael Botfield: 00:00:47

This week I have Loretta Milan with me.

Rachael Botfield: 00:00:49

Loretta is a communications expert and founder of the Origineurs and

Rachael Botfield: 00:00:54

host of the Origineurs podcast.

Rachael Botfield: 00:00:56

Welcome Loretta.

Rachael Botfield: 00:00:57

Hello.

Rachael Botfield: 00:00:58

Thanks for welcoming me.

Rachael Botfield: 00:01:00

It's nice to have you here.

Rachael Botfield: 00:01:02

For context, I met Loretta through our West Midlands podcast community and

Rachael Botfield: 00:01:08

club that's based in Worcestershire because we're all, we're both in the

Rachael Botfield: 00:01:11

local area, which is really nice.

Rachael Botfield: 00:01:13

So it was nice to actually meet you in person as well at Christmas time.

Rachael Botfield: 00:01:16

It was,

Loretta Milan: 00:01:16

we met over some board games, which was particularly fun.

Loretta Milan: 00:01:20

You're very competitive, we found out.

Rachael Botfield: 00:01:22

Yes, it was such good fun.

Rachael Botfield: 00:01:24

I actually bought that Sounds Fishy game for home and we played it at Christmas and

Rachael Botfield: 00:01:28

it was just as hilarious there as well.

Rachael Botfield: 00:01:30

So it was, it was a good, good night.

Rachael Botfield: 00:01:32

If

Loretta Milan: 00:01:32

no one's played Sounds Fishy, it's a very great game.

Loretta Milan: 00:01:35

It's very simple to pick up and very fun.

Rachael Botfield: 00:01:38

Yes, absolutely.

Rachael Botfield: 00:01:39

I wanted Loretta to come on here and talk about her experience.

Rachael Botfield: 00:01:43

podcasting and podcasting for her business.

Rachael Botfield: 00:01:46

So just let us a little bit, know a little bit more about like what you do,

Rachael Botfield: 00:01:50

what Origineurs is and your podcast.

Loretta Milan: 00:01:53

Well, Origineurs is a baby podcast so far, but it's

Loretta Milan: 00:01:58

big in terms of what the concept is because we have a big belief and

Loretta Milan: 00:02:02

that's that we're all originals.

Loretta Milan: 00:02:03

We all have a unique blend of personality, skills, experiences, and values.

Loretta Milan: 00:02:09

And that's what gives you the greatest opportunity to stand out and succeed.

Loretta Milan: 00:02:14

And that's what we're all about celebrating on the Origineurs

Loretta Milan: 00:02:17

podcast because that's what we really want to get you believing in.

Loretta Milan: 00:02:21

So that's why I set it up and we're 20 episodes in so far.

Loretta Milan: 00:02:25

Well, congratulations.

Loretta Milan: 00:02:26

That's really, really

Rachael Botfield: 00:02:27

good.

Rachael Botfield: 00:02:28

What made you want to add podcasting to your business?

Rachael Botfield: 00:02:33

How did you feel that the medium would work for you?

Loretta Milan: 00:02:36

Well, I've been running a communications agency

Loretta Milan: 00:02:39

for coming up 10 years now.

Loretta Milan: 00:02:41

And I do like the fact that having.

Loretta Milan: 00:02:44

Being 10 years into business is an opportunity to have a party.

Loretta Milan: 00:02:47

So you will get an invitation.

Loretta Milan: 00:02:49

There will be champagne and cake.

Loretta Milan: 00:02:50

But I changed the name of the business about a year ago.

Loretta Milan: 00:02:56

Because I, Realized that originality was becoming a bigger

Loretta Milan: 00:03:03

part of my work in communication.

Loretta Milan: 00:03:06

I was realizing that more and more people were trying to change themselves to fit

Loretta Milan: 00:03:12

a mold when they were communicating and not realizing that their authenticity,

Loretta Milan: 00:03:18

when they could be themselves, they were.

Loretta Milan: 00:03:20

More able to stand out and do more great work and have a greater impact.

Loretta Milan: 00:03:26

And I realized that podcasting was a really great media

Loretta Milan: 00:03:31

for me sharing that message.

Loretta Milan: 00:03:33

I've been thinking about it about a year and I thought, let's do it.

Loretta Milan: 00:03:37

So I set up the podcast and I began, so with

Rachael Botfield: 00:03:40

your podcast, with your communications background, that

Rachael Botfield: 00:03:44

was what you wanted to, to highlight.

Rachael Botfield: 00:03:47

Through your, through your podcast.

Rachael Botfield: 00:03:49

Yes.

Rachael Botfield: 00:03:49

And that made, did that make it quite easy to come up with the, the topics

Rachael Botfield: 00:03:55

and things that you wanted to talk about in, in these first kind of 20 episodes?

Loretta Milan: 00:04:00

Yes.

Loretta Milan: 00:04:01

I found what was surprising was how easily, once I worked out what my

Loretta Milan: 00:04:09

niche was, how easily the topics came.

Loretta Milan: 00:04:13

What, where the topic ideas came was, is more from conversations with people.

Loretta Milan: 00:04:18

I would say to people, I was starting this podcast and naturally people would say,

Loretta Milan: 00:04:22

well, what are you going to talk about?

Loretta Milan: 00:04:23

Surely you're going to run out with ideas of things to talk about once you've,

Loretta Milan: 00:04:27

once you've done so many episodes.

Loretta Milan: 00:04:29

And I said, well, I'm going to talk about this and I'm going to talk about that.

Loretta Milan: 00:04:32

And then I spent over a sort of cup of tea or something.

Loretta Milan: 00:04:35

I'd spent a whole hour talking about all the things that I was going to talk about.

Loretta Milan: 00:04:39

And I'd say, well, this thing really has legs.

Rachael Botfield: 00:04:43

Yeah, I think those, especially talking with people who

Rachael Botfield: 00:04:47

potentially are your ideal client or your, your ideal listener helps with

Rachael Botfield: 00:04:52

those types of, the ideas for the topics helps flow because like you say, you're

Rachael Botfield: 00:04:58

having those conversations with people and realizing that these are the kind

Rachael Botfield: 00:05:01

of things that people really need.

Rachael Botfield: 00:05:03

Want to hear about and originality as well.

Rachael Botfield: 00:05:06

We always hear, I mean, the word authentic is kind of bandied around

Rachael Botfield: 00:05:10

a lot, but it's, I love with, with Origineurs, you are right.

Rachael Botfield: 00:05:17

Being authentic, original selves is really important for showing up for

Rachael Botfield: 00:05:23

your podcast, for your business, for what you're doing in life.

Rachael Botfield: 00:05:26

You don't want there to be a disconnect between all those different things.

Rachael Botfield: 00:05:31

And it is, especially with corporate, I think, as well, if people are working

Rachael Botfield: 00:05:36

as an employee, it is hard to have that being yourself because, you know,

Rachael Botfield: 00:05:42

you have to, you know, Quote, unquote, fit into what the company is like, or

Rachael Botfield: 00:05:47

maybe you feel pressure to do that.

Rachael Botfield: 00:05:49

You have to behave in a certain way.

Rachael Botfield: 00:05:51

So, I think it's a great thing to encourage everybody to embrace

Rachael Botfield: 00:05:55

being yourself and being, you know, those original, your original self.

Loretta Milan: 00:06:01

Absolutely.

Loretta Milan: 00:06:01

Well, I had Two parts of it, the original.

Loretta Milan: 00:06:04

So everybody is an original.

Loretta Milan: 00:06:06

We all have something and the longer you live life, the more original you

Loretta Milan: 00:06:11

become, and the reason for that is you collect more experiences, you build

Loretta Milan: 00:06:16

more skills and your values develop.

Loretta Milan: 00:06:18

So the longer you live, the more original you become.

Loretta Milan: 00:06:21

A rich, you develop.

Loretta Milan: 00:06:22

Of being an originator when you take action upon that.

Loretta Milan: 00:06:25

So an Origineur somebody who then uses that originality to do something no matter

Loretta Milan: 00:06:31

how big or small, if you use that to change someone else's life, to inspire

Loretta Milan: 00:06:35

somebody else, to set up a business, to make an idea happen, that's when you

Loretta Milan: 00:06:40

become from being an original to being an originator, you make something happen.

Loretta Milan: 00:06:44

And originally when I.

Loretta Milan: 00:06:46

When I came up the idea, I thought, well, that's for people who are

Loretta Milan: 00:06:51

maybe entrepreneurs or change makers.

Loretta Milan: 00:06:54

You know, because you have to be working setting up a business or

Loretta Milan: 00:06:57

something to make that happen.

Loretta Milan: 00:06:59

And I came from a corporate background and I thought, well, maybe you

Loretta Milan: 00:07:03

couldn't make that happen in corporate.

Loretta Milan: 00:07:06

But the more I thought about it, the more I realized you can, you can

Loretta Milan: 00:07:09

be an individual in a big In a big organization, it is possible just

Loretta Milan: 00:07:15

because those organizations have bigger, a wider strategy and they have bigger

Loretta Milan: 00:07:21

and wider objectives doesn't mean there isn't space for originality within it.

Loretta Milan: 00:07:26

In fact, it becomes even more important because more and more

Loretta Milan: 00:07:30

people fall into the conformity track.

Loretta Milan: 00:07:33

They think that they have to conform.

Loretta Milan: 00:07:35

They think they have to fit a particular mold in order to get ahead.

Loretta Milan: 00:07:40

In fact, I've seen, because I have worked in FTSE 100 companies, I've worked

Loretta Milan: 00:07:44

with leaders of global brands, I've actually seen the people who stand out

Loretta Milan: 00:07:48

as original, the ones that are authentic, are actually the ones who get ahead,

Loretta Milan: 00:07:53

not the ones who conform to the norm.

Rachael Botfield: 00:07:57

Absolutely.

Rachael Botfield: 00:07:58

You're totally right.

Rachael Botfield: 00:07:58

There is definitely a place for it.

Rachael Botfield: 00:08:00

In, in corporate as well, I think it can only be an advantage because your thinking

Rachael Botfield: 00:08:07

is completely original and you think of something that no one else would think of.

Rachael Botfield: 00:08:11

So you're bringing that to the table and looking at it that way

Rachael Botfield: 00:08:14

rather than thinking I have to just.

Rachael Botfield: 00:08:16

be like everybody else or like what they quote unquote, want

Rachael Botfield: 00:08:20

me or expect me to be like.

Loretta Milan: 00:08:22

Absolutely.

Loretta Milan: 00:08:23

You've hit it on the head.

Loretta Milan: 00:08:24

Absolutely.

Rachael Botfield: 00:08:26

Oh, well, you inspired that from your conversation.

Rachael Botfield: 00:08:28

So when it came to starting the podcast, how did you feel about, you know,

Rachael Botfield: 00:08:35

everything that you had to get done?

Rachael Botfield: 00:08:36

Were you quite did you know what you had to do?

Rachael Botfield: 00:08:39

Did you have somebody come and help you?

Rachael Botfield: 00:08:41

What was kind of your process?

Loretta Milan: 00:08:44

Well Because I've run the agency, I know where my strengths

Loretta Milan: 00:08:47

are, which is on the creative side, and the communication side, and

Loretta Milan: 00:08:53

coming up with ideas, and I know that the technology side, I know that's

Loretta Milan: 00:09:00

something where I have to partner with people and work with people who

Loretta Milan: 00:09:04

specialize in that sort of thing.

Loretta Milan: 00:09:06

So I outsourced that part and knew that I'd be better off working with

Loretta Milan: 00:09:13

other people to do those parts.

Loretta Milan: 00:09:15

That's what I did.

Rachael Botfield: 00:09:17

How did you find the whole process?

Rachael Botfield: 00:09:19

Did you start planning the episodes out yourself?

Rachael Botfield: 00:09:22

And then once you were ready, did you bring somebody on board to help

Rachael Botfield: 00:09:24

you get set up with the recording?

Rachael Botfield: 00:09:26

And, and then choosing like things like, cause I know you're on Captivate as well,

Rachael Botfield: 00:09:31

which is a podcast hosting platform.

Rachael Botfield: 00:09:34

Did you find that yourself or did somebody recommend that to you?

Rachael Botfield: 00:09:36

How did you go about getting all that kind of tech in place?

Loretta Milan: 00:09:41

I experimented with a few different tools.

Loretta Milan: 00:09:44

So I tried Libsyn first and then I tried Captivate.

Loretta Milan: 00:09:50

I did a lot of research into different tools.

Loretta Milan: 00:09:53

I do more research when I know I'm going to be sticking with a

Loretta Milan: 00:09:56

tool for a longer period of time.

Loretta Milan: 00:09:58

But what I liked about Captivate is that it's very much focused on growth.

Loretta Milan: 00:10:04

And for me, Origineurs is not just a podcast, it's a movement.

Loretta Milan: 00:10:08

I want to really inspire people around the world to embrace originality.

Loretta Milan: 00:10:13

It really is a message.

Loretta Milan: 00:10:15

And I love that Captivate is very much shares that philosophy about

Loretta Milan: 00:10:19

helping people spread their message.

Loretta Milan: 00:10:22

And that for me made it the channel for me.

Rachael Botfield: 00:10:25

Yeah, I, I, that is the reason why I chose Captivate

Rachael Botfield: 00:10:28

as well, the, the, the fact that they embrace growth in there as

Rachael Botfield: 00:10:32

well and making everything so easy.

Rachael Botfield: 00:10:36

I found the platform really user friendly and I love all the like episode planning.

Rachael Botfield: 00:10:41

I've actually got my notes up here on my other screen here where you can plan the

Rachael Botfield: 00:10:46

episode, then turn it into, you know, like you can publish it and stuff like that.

Rachael Botfield: 00:10:50

So all the short codes are the blocks and things that you can use in there.

Rachael Botfield: 00:10:53

Are really, really handy and they do help streamline the lot of the processes

Rachael Botfield: 00:10:58

that are involved in when you upload them and adding things to the episodes.

Loretta Milan: 00:11:03

Yeah, it's got so much functionality.

Loretta Milan: 00:11:06

I don't use all the functionality yet, but I don't either, but

Loretta Milan: 00:11:09

yeah, I think it's good that,

Rachael Botfield: 00:11:12

because although depending on where you are with your

Rachael Botfield: 00:11:15

podcast, like, I know a lot of people start out with like Spotify for

Rachael Botfield: 00:11:18

Podcasts, which is a free platform.

Rachael Botfield: 00:11:20

But because.

Rachael Botfield: 00:11:22

When you start, because it's a growth platform, yes, you might not use all

Rachael Botfield: 00:11:25

the functionality to start with, but as you say, your podcast is something

Rachael Botfield: 00:11:29

that's going to grow and evolve over time and with your experience.

Rachael Botfield: 00:11:33

And I feel like Captivate is definitely a platform that you can grow and evolve

Rachael Botfield: 00:11:38

with because, you know, they have got the dynamic ads and things like that,

Rachael Botfield: 00:11:42

which I'm not currently using, but it's something that I do want to use.

Rachael Botfield: 00:11:46

And it's nice to know that I don't have to switch.

Rachael Botfield: 00:11:49

To do that kind of, to get that kind of functionality for my podcast.

Rachael Botfield: 00:11:54

You've kind of got it all with it.

Rachael Botfield: 00:11:56

Yeah, you feel it's something

Loretta Milan: 00:11:57

you can stay with.

Loretta Milan: 00:11:58

Yeah, I very much feel the same way.

Loretta Milan: 00:12:01

Yeah.

Loretta Milan: 00:12:02

How

Rachael Botfield: 00:12:02

have you found, like, doing the recordings?

Rachael Botfield: 00:12:05

I know all of your episodes so far have been solo episodes.

Rachael Botfield: 00:12:08

Where you, I mean, you're a communications expert, so I'm

Rachael Botfield: 00:12:11

sure you have a lot of confidence.

Rachael Botfield: 00:12:13

You seem, and it comes across in your episodes, did you

Rachael Botfield: 00:12:16

feel okay about recording?

Rachael Botfield: 00:12:18

Because I know it can be a nervous thing for some people.

Loretta Milan: 00:12:22

Yeah, what I did with the first ones, the great thing, I

Loretta Milan: 00:12:24

use Audacity to record at the moment, which is a great tool, it's free

Loretta Milan: 00:12:28

for anyone who wants to get going.

Loretta Milan: 00:12:30

You can record in sections, which is great, because for the first

Loretta Milan: 00:12:35

few episodes I could record.

Loretta Milan: 00:12:37

I could record in blocks and then go back and listen and then record

Loretta Milan: 00:12:42

in blocks and go back and listen to make sure that each section was as I

Loretta Milan: 00:12:47

wanted it to be before moving forward.

Rachael Botfield: 00:12:50

Yeah, I do like Audacity.

Rachael Botfield: 00:12:52

That's the thing.

Rachael Botfield: 00:12:53

I use that to edit.

Rachael Botfield: 00:12:54

Although I have been exploring other options.

Rachael Botfield: 00:12:57

And because there's a lot of new tools and AI things that are coming up.

Rachael Botfield: 00:13:00

But when I recorded my solo episodes, I did use Audacity to begin with.

Rachael Botfield: 00:13:05

I think that it's it gets a really good recording.

Rachael Botfield: 00:13:07

And like you say, it's very easy to, to edit those blocks and to kind of almost

Rachael Botfield: 00:13:11

edit as you go along, really, if you make a mistake and things like that.

Rachael Botfield: 00:13:14

So that's quite easy.

Loretta Milan: 00:13:16

No, it's really good.

Loretta Milan: 00:13:17

I think with AI, I just had to make sure I investigate AI tools beforehand

Loretta Milan: 00:13:22

because although AI is brilliant and it's revolutionizing things, the one

Loretta Milan: 00:13:26

thing you have to be really careful about as a content creator is that you

Loretta Milan: 00:13:30

don't inadvertently sign away copyrights.

Loretta Milan: 00:13:33

In the process.

Loretta Milan: 00:13:34

So some of the transcribing tools and WordPress has got an issue at the

Loretta Milan: 00:13:39

moment where there's a risk that some people may be giving away copyright

Loretta Milan: 00:13:44

to some of their content potentially.

Loretta Milan: 00:13:46

So those are things I'm just keeping an eye on at the moment

Loretta Milan: 00:13:48

before signing up to things.

Loretta Milan: 00:13:51

Which is a case of.

Loretta Milan: 00:13:52

Yeah.

Loretta Milan: 00:13:52

Just keep, just keeping an eye on things before rushing into things making

Loretta Milan: 00:13:56

sure that the ethics are there while getting excited about the innovation,

Loretta Milan: 00:14:00

which I am, I love innovation making sure I'm also making sure I know

Loretta Milan: 00:14:05

what those things mean for me as a content creator at the same time.

Loretta Milan: 00:14:10

Well, that's a very good report.

Rachael Botfield: 00:14:11

I haven't actually even thought about that because I use

Rachael Botfield: 00:14:14

Descript to transcribe my episodes and then I upload that into Captivate.

Rachael Botfield: 00:14:19

Are they saying that the copyright then lands with Descript over your

Rachael Botfield: 00:14:23

content rather than actually No, I'm not

Loretta Milan: 00:14:27

saying that.

Loretta Milan: 00:14:27

I'm just saying No, no, no, not

Rachael Botfield: 00:14:28

Descript.

Rachael Botfield: 00:14:28

I mean, like, generally that's what the potential issue could be is that

Rachael Botfield: 00:14:33

what you use to transcribe could end up having Copyright over your content.

Rachael Botfield: 00:14:37

Is that kind of what?

Loretta Milan: 00:14:38

No, I'm just saying for every solution we have to check

Loretta Milan: 00:14:41

the terms of conditions carefully to make sure that there's nothing in

Loretta Milan: 00:14:47

the terms of conditions that affects the copyright of the content creator.

Loretta Milan: 00:14:53

I'm not saying, I'm not calling out any particular.

Loretta Milan: 00:14:55

Oh no, no, no, no.

Loretta Milan: 00:14:56

I wasn't.

Rachael Botfield: 00:14:57

No,

Loretta Milan: 00:14:57

it

Rachael Botfield: 00:14:57

wasn't saying that.

Rachael Botfield: 00:14:58

Yeah.

Rachael Botfield: 00:14:58

But I, cause it just.

Rachael Botfield: 00:15:00

That's something that hadn't really occurred to me and you're right, it

Rachael Botfield: 00:15:04

is something that should be considered when you're using these tools.

Rachael Botfield: 00:15:10

I know Adobe Enhance have got like a beta version of something and they

Rachael Botfield: 00:15:14

have like some different terms of agreement and talking about if you're

Rachael Botfield: 00:15:18

using the beta, you'll, you need to give feedback on all these things.

Rachael Botfield: 00:15:22

And I was reading, I was thinking, Oh, I hadn't You know, funny that

Rachael Botfield: 00:15:25

you bring it up, but it's something that I hadn't really considered.

Rachael Botfield: 00:15:28

Actually, on Captivate Growth Labs, they have a podcast lawyer that's coming up.

Rachael Botfield: 00:15:33

I don't know whether he's already been or whether it's coming up.

Rachael Botfield: 00:15:36

And I saw, what do you need a podcast lawyer for?

Rachael Botfield: 00:15:38

So I'll be interested to see what, what that's about.

Rachael Botfield: 00:15:42

And maybe he might touch on something on like that about

Rachael Botfield: 00:15:45

copyright for content creators.

Loretta Milan: 00:15:47

Yeah, it might be because there were some content creators recently

Loretta Milan: 00:15:51

that had some concerns about Spotify with some changes to the terms and conditions.

Loretta Milan: 00:15:56

And so that's an example where people, content creators now are scrutinizing

Loretta Milan: 00:16:01

the terms and conditions more because they're looking for concerns about AI

Loretta Milan: 00:16:06

because we're all, as I said, we're all originals and we want to, you know,

Loretta Milan: 00:16:10

Maintain originality of our content and make sure that we know what's

Loretta Milan: 00:16:15

happening with the things that we create.

Loretta Milan: 00:16:17

And if we are sharing that content, that there's full transparency over

Loretta Milan: 00:16:22

what's happening with that so that people can make informed decisions

Loretta Milan: 00:16:26

where they are sharing that content.

Loretta Milan: 00:16:29

Yeah,

Rachael Botfield: 00:16:29

absolutely.

Rachael Botfield: 00:16:30

And I think sometimes terms and conditions, I know I'm I'm 100

Rachael Botfield: 00:16:34

percent guilty of this, they're so long and convoluted that you tend

Rachael Botfield: 00:16:37

to just click accept and then that's all right, but Yeah, so maybe that

Rachael Botfield: 00:16:41

is, I think I might have to go back and have a look at some of this.

Rachael Botfield: 00:16:44

Yeah.

Rachael Botfield: 00:16:45

When it can, especially when it concerns AI, I know it's a hot topic.

Rachael Botfield: 00:16:49

I feel like maybe the, the people that are doing, the companies maybe should

Rachael Botfield: 00:16:54

highlight some of those areas rather than, you know, I've, we've just dumped

Rachael Botfield: 00:16:58

it in and you have to read it yourself and maybe make it a little bit more

Rachael Botfield: 00:17:02

transparent for users and creators.

Loretta Milan: 00:17:04

Hmm.

Loretta Milan: 00:17:06

I mean, that's a great thing.

Loretta Milan: 00:17:07

That's.

Loretta Milan: 00:17:07

Great about a lot of these groups, like you've talked about the podcast club.

Loretta Milan: 00:17:11

You've talked about the Riverside community.

Loretta Milan: 00:17:14

You've talked about the growth labs.

Loretta Milan: 00:17:15

We've talked about some of the other communities that

Loretta Milan: 00:17:17

you're part of on Facebook.

Loretta Milan: 00:17:19

The great thing about some of these content creation communities is that

Loretta Milan: 00:17:23

we do really look out for each other.

Loretta Milan: 00:17:25

We can't.

Loretta Milan: 00:17:26

Keep an eye on everything as individuals but together we really can keep an

Loretta Milan: 00:17:30

eye on eye out on things for each other and that really is great.

Loretta Milan: 00:17:35

Absolutely, it

Rachael Botfield: 00:17:36

is lovely being part of you know, these podcast

Rachael Botfield: 00:17:40

communities and meeting other creators and podcasters because it does offer

Rachael Botfield: 00:17:44

up such another great perspective and I always learn something and get

Rachael Botfield: 00:17:49

something out of when I have a chat with somebody or we when we meet up

Rachael Botfield: 00:17:52

with our group because there's just an angle that I just haven't thought of.

Rachael Botfield: 00:17:56

Or sort of perspective that I haven't thought of as well.

Rachael Botfield: 00:17:59

And it's always so great to get that.

Rachael Botfield: 00:18:01

So like you just mentioned that about the transparency there.

Rachael Botfield: 00:18:04

That's not something, but now it's something that I'll be aware of and that

Rachael Botfield: 00:18:07

I can go and have a look at them, but hopefully help somebody else with that.

Rachael Botfield: 00:18:11

You know, thinking about that kind of thing as well.

Rachael Botfield: 00:18:13

So I do love that.

Rachael Botfield: 00:18:14

And I am especially in the last year, being able to be around

Rachael Botfield: 00:18:18

other creators and things.

Rachael Botfield: 00:18:19

It's really, it's a really nice place to be in.

Loretta Milan: 00:18:23

Yeah, on another note the diversity and one of the

Loretta Milan: 00:18:25

great things about the podcast club we're totally different creators.

Loretta Milan: 00:18:30

You posted a post recently talking about the total variety of

Loretta Milan: 00:18:36

different creators that are there.

Loretta Milan: 00:18:37

You've got people doing a history.

Loretta Milan: 00:18:40

Podcasts, people are doing special interest podcasts and you think,

Loretta Milan: 00:18:44

well, what connects us, but what connects us is a love of podcasting.

Loretta Milan: 00:18:48

And I learned something from people who are in totally different niches to me.

Loretta Milan: 00:18:54

And I find it really sparks my creativity.

Loretta Milan: 00:18:58

And imagination, and that's a power of being around different originals.

Loretta Milan: 00:19:03

If you're around people who are the same as you every day, you get this kind

Loretta Milan: 00:19:07

of groupthink, you get this you know, you can get really stagnant in your

Loretta Milan: 00:19:11

thinking, but if you expose yourself to people who are original, they're

Loretta Milan: 00:19:14

totally different to you every day.

Loretta Milan: 00:19:17

It really diversifies your thinking.

Loretta Milan: 00:19:20

It really sparks your imagination all the time.

Loretta Milan: 00:19:23

So Being around groups that are really diverse in, in

Loretta Milan: 00:19:27

their makeup is very powerful.

Rachael Botfield: 00:19:30

Yeah, it's, it's brilliant being part of that and I love

Rachael Botfield: 00:19:34

that there are so many different voices and different experiences coming through

Rachael Botfield: 00:19:38

the club and I've listened to a lot.

Rachael Botfield: 00:19:40

Like I said, there was Andrew Martin's Family Histories

Rachael Botfield: 00:19:43

podcast and it's brilliant.

Rachael Botfield: 00:19:45

Yeah, it's brilliant.

Rachael Botfield: 00:19:46

I absolutely love that one.

Rachael Botfield: 00:19:48

So I've recommended it to a few people now as well.

Rachael Botfield: 00:19:50

I mean, obviously I've come across your podcast and then Miriam Cunliffe's

Rachael Botfield: 00:19:55

Mim's Moments, which I really like.

Rachael Botfield: 00:19:57

Going out into a lot of hers is based in the community as well.

Rachael Botfield: 00:20:00

Just different interest stories.

Rachael Botfield: 00:20:01

And also Dee Moore's Diary of a Kidney Warrior.

Rachael Botfield: 00:20:04

It's just very powerful and she's very, very, very, I know it's, it

Rachael Botfield: 00:20:09

feels like it's cheesy to say, very inspiring and brave, but she totally

Rachael Botfield: 00:20:12

is, and I was very sad to miss the in person meetup the other week.

Rachael Botfield: 00:20:16

I couldn't figure out my babysitter, so I didn't get to go but it looked like

Rachael Botfield: 00:20:21

they had a really great night meeting up in Birmingham, so hopefully we'll

Rachael Botfield: 00:20:25

be having another in person one soon.

Loretta Milan: 00:20:28

We will, we will.

Loretta Milan: 00:20:29

Yes.

Loretta Milan: 00:20:30

Hopefully we will, absolutely.

Loretta Milan: 00:20:31

We will, we

Rachael Botfield: 00:20:32

definitely will.

Rachael Botfield: 00:20:32

There won't be in the next couple of months.

Rachael Botfield: 00:20:34

We will.

Rachael Botfield: 00:20:35

So, well, it sounds like you had a good idea of what you wanted your podcast

Rachael Botfield: 00:20:42

to be like a new way your strengths lied with getting it produced or

Rachael Botfield: 00:20:47

getting it made because it is a big thing to introduce into your business

Rachael Botfield: 00:20:51

a podcast and it's Having to have that realization that have I got time to

Rachael Botfield: 00:20:57

fit this in my podcast, however you're going to do it to make it work with

Rachael Botfield: 00:21:00

you and what you're already doing.

Rachael Botfield: 00:21:02

So it sounds like you've taken those steps to make sure the podcast is working for,

Rachael Botfield: 00:21:07

for you and your business and how How have you found promoting your podcast?

Rachael Botfield: 00:21:12

What, what kind of have you been using just LinkedIn, or do you kind of go

Rachael Botfield: 00:21:17

across an array of different platforms?

Rachael Botfield: 00:21:19

And, and what kind of things do you do to promote the your episodes?

Loretta Milan: 00:21:23

I think the top ingredient for promoting any podcast is passion.

Loretta Milan: 00:21:29

There's a lot of podcasts that die, you know, they get to a few episodes and they

Loretta Milan: 00:21:34

don't get anywhere because the passion isn't really there, and I think to get

Loretta Milan: 00:21:39

anything off the ground takes a lot of love and passion because you have to

Loretta Milan: 00:21:45

really build that interest, and it's, it's not just one thing, as I know from

Loretta Milan: 00:21:50

having the communication agency, I will bang on about this to people all the time.

Loretta Milan: 00:21:55

You're not just going to have one post, and suddenly it goes, unless

Loretta Milan: 00:21:59

you're incredibly lucky, it does happen from time to time, there is a

Loretta Milan: 00:22:02

phenomenon, and something just rockets and takes off, and all of a sudden

Loretta Milan: 00:22:08

something is a miraculous success.

Loretta Milan: 00:22:11

But usually it takes time and it's not just one post.

Loretta Milan: 00:22:16

So LinkedIn is a big channel for me.

Loretta Milan: 00:22:19

Facebook I get a lot of traction on Facebook and Instagram.

Loretta Milan: 00:22:23

And Twitter, believe it or not.

Loretta Milan: 00:22:25

I know it's not the most active channel, but I'd built up quite a bit

Loretta Milan: 00:22:30

of an audience on Twitter previously because I had a blog years ago.

Loretta Milan: 00:22:37

From my love of books.

Loretta Milan: 00:22:39

And I had an audience on there previously.

Loretta Milan: 00:22:43

Another big thing for really building an audience is by networking.

Loretta Milan: 00:22:48

I have some postcards and I go out there.

Loretta Milan: 00:22:51

My biggest marketing tool is myself.

Loretta Milan: 00:22:54

Whether I'm going out seeing clients or going out to events, conferences

Loretta Milan: 00:22:59

I'm going out to networking sessions.

Loretta Milan: 00:23:02

I'm always talking about the podcast, but it's not so much the.

Loretta Milan: 00:23:09

Podcast or my agency I talk about is the idea, because I think that's

Loretta Milan: 00:23:14

what people really get behind.

Loretta Milan: 00:23:16

If I tell people about the concept of originality and that they

Loretta Milan: 00:23:20

themselves are an original, that's the thing we get talking about

Loretta Milan: 00:23:24

and people really get behind.

Loretta Milan: 00:23:26

And if I get talking to people about the real power of communication,

Loretta Milan: 00:23:31

they really love that idea and that's what gets them listening.

Loretta Milan: 00:23:34

And then slowly the numbers go up, and I find that I tend to get talking

Loretta Milan: 00:23:39

about a particular episode, so I find myself, like I'm a podcast doctor,

Loretta Milan: 00:23:46

I'll get talking to someone, and they've got a particular problem with

Loretta Milan: 00:23:51

regards to why they're, you know their authenticity or their communication.

Loretta Milan: 00:23:56

And I'll say to them, you really, you've got to listen to this one particular

Loretta Milan: 00:23:59

episode about why you're good enough or why your voice matters or how to

Loretta Milan: 00:24:04

handle advice and I'll point them to one particular episode and I'll follow up

Loretta Milan: 00:24:10

with a note linking them to that episode.

Loretta Milan: 00:24:13

I really believe in my episodes.

Loretta Milan: 00:24:14

So usually they love the episode and they'll listen to that episode and

Loretta Milan: 00:24:19

they'll go and listen to more episodes and they'll listen to the next episode.

Loretta Milan: 00:24:23

And so the numbers go up from there.

Loretta Milan: 00:24:25

As a marketer, I've always said to people that the best form of marketing.

Loretta Milan: 00:24:32

Isn't social media, it's not some fad on TikTok.

Loretta Milan: 00:24:37

It's not a billboard in the middle of Manchester.

Loretta Milan: 00:24:41

It's not a lorry driving the DM one with amazing livery graphic on it.

Loretta Milan: 00:24:47

It's not a TV ad in the middle of this morning.

Loretta Milan: 00:24:51

The best form of marketing it's delivering.

Loretta Milan: 00:24:54

If you deliver something amazing, that person is going to come back to you.

Loretta Milan: 00:25:00

They're going to recommend you to somebody else.

Loretta Milan: 00:25:03

And so your quality of what you create is the most important thing.

Loretta Milan: 00:25:08

Because if you do that really well, people are going to find out about it.

Loretta Milan: 00:25:12

You know, everyone knows their favorite podcasts.

Loretta Milan: 00:25:15

If you've got a favorite podcast, you can't keep it to yourself.

Loretta Milan: 00:25:18

You've got to say to someone else, you've got to say, you've got to

Loretta Milan: 00:25:23

say, you can't help yourself, you've got to say to somebody else, you've

Loretta Milan: 00:25:26

got to listen to this podcast.

Loretta Milan: 00:25:28

So I think as a podcast creator, you've got to say to yourself,

Loretta Milan: 00:25:31

how can I make this podcast?

Loretta Milan: 00:25:34

The podcast that someone has got to go down the pub or down the coffee

Loretta Milan: 00:25:38

shop or to a networking event and say to somebody else, you've got to

Loretta Milan: 00:25:41

listen to that podcast and that's got to be your challenge to yourself.

Loretta Milan: 00:25:46

How can I make that?

Rachael Botfield: 00:25:49

That is, it's word of mouth, isn't it?

Rachael Botfield: 00:25:52

Your delivery and then people are going to be your advocates because

Rachael Botfield: 00:25:56

they believe in what you have created.

Rachael Botfield: 00:25:59

Spot on Rachel, spot on.

Rachael Botfield: 00:26:01

Yeah.

Rachael Botfield: 00:26:01

And it is all about passion as well.

Rachael Botfield: 00:26:03

Like you were saying that if you.

Rachael Botfield: 00:26:05

If you are doing a podcast because you feel like you've got to do

Rachael Botfield: 00:26:08

one and you think yes, okay, but you're not really enjoying it.

Rachael Botfield: 00:26:13

People are going to feel that as well, aren't they?

Rachael Botfield: 00:26:15

They're going to, and also for yourself, it's not going to do you any good if

Rachael Botfield: 00:26:18

you're not passionate about your message.

Rachael Botfield: 00:26:22

Hopefully that if you, you've got your business and you're passionate about your

Rachael Botfield: 00:26:26

business, about what you're doing for people and the transformation you provide.

Rachael Botfield: 00:26:30

Yeah.

Rachael Botfield: 00:26:30

And then it's putting that passion into.

Rachael Botfield: 00:26:33

Your podcast and a format and a way that you can get across that

Rachael Botfield: 00:26:37

passion in, in your podcast.

Rachael Botfield: 00:26:39

And I definitely feel that passion from you and I feel that in your

Rachael Botfield: 00:26:43

episodes when I listen to you.

Rachael Botfield: 00:26:46

Yeah, yeah, I do.

Rachael Botfield: 00:26:48

And so you talked about the Origineurs as a movement.

Rachael Botfield: 00:26:53

You have talked a little bit about that movement.

Rachael Botfield: 00:26:57

What are your hopes for the podcast and for the Origineurs

Rachael Botfield: 00:27:01

movement for the future?

Rachael Botfield: 00:27:03

Yeah.

Loretta Milan: 00:27:04

If I could get everybody in this world,

Loretta Milan: 00:27:07

believing that they are original.

Loretta Milan: 00:27:09

And believing that truly for themselves I would achieve my mission in life.

Loretta Milan: 00:27:15

I am so passionate about it, and I'll tell you why, it's not just a vanity project.

Loretta Milan: 00:27:22

It comes from my commitment to my children, because this

Loretta Milan: 00:27:28

is where it all started.

Loretta Milan: 00:27:30

Because when they were going through the schooling system,

Loretta Milan: 00:27:33

they both got neurodiversities.

Loretta Milan: 00:27:36

So my they both have dyslexia and my son's on the autistic spectrum.

Loretta Milan: 00:27:42

When they were in infant school primary school, the teachers were always saying

Loretta Milan: 00:27:46

to me, they're behind, they're behind.

Loretta Milan: 00:27:49

And they would thrust charts in my face saying how far

Loretta Milan: 00:27:52

they were behind on average.

Loretta Milan: 00:27:55

And I went through months, maybe years of this.

Loretta Milan: 00:27:58

How my children were behind average.

Loretta Milan: 00:28:01

And I was doing a lot as a parent to help them get on top of their reading

Loretta Milan: 00:28:06

doing everything I could with maths to try and help them fit into this average.

Loretta Milan: 00:28:13

And I was feeling like they weren't normal.

Loretta Milan: 00:28:15

And I remember this one hot summer's day I'd come, I had to go to all these

Loretta Milan: 00:28:21

meetings with the school and I was forced into yet another meeting for

Loretta Milan: 00:28:26

them to tell me my kids were behind average and they weren't normal.

Loretta Milan: 00:28:30

And I'm afraid, I'm ashamed but also proud to say I snapped, and I literally said

Loretta Milan: 00:28:36

this, I said to this teacher, who was, you know, she was in front of me, very proud

Loretta Milan: 00:28:43

of herself to say that my children were behind average and that I was failing as

Loretta Milan: 00:28:46

a parent even though I was really trying.

Loretta Milan: 00:28:49

And I said, children do not come out like pies in a pie factory, all the same.

Loretta Milan: 00:28:54

They're, they're all unique, they're all different, they're originals.

Loretta Milan: 00:28:58

And that's what's brilliant about them.

Loretta Milan: 00:28:59

We shouldn't be trying to make them all fit into a mold.

Loretta Milan: 00:29:02

They're, they're originals.

Loretta Milan: 00:29:03

And it's just something just lit up like a light bulb for me in that moment.

Loretta Milan: 00:29:08

And I realized that something about them being originals must be an advantage.

Loretta Milan: 00:29:13

I realized that, okay, They were struggling with reading,

Loretta Milan: 00:29:17

but they had other advantages.

Loretta Milan: 00:29:18

They were great with their creativity.

Loretta Milan: 00:29:21

They were, they love sports.

Loretta Milan: 00:29:23

My son has an absolute passion for animals.

Loretta Milan: 00:29:26

He's got this great connection with animals that no one else has.

Loretta Milan: 00:29:30

And, and, and all these things I feel give them a strength.

Loretta Milan: 00:29:35

And I was, I've been able to support them with that and help them find.

Loretta Milan: 00:29:39

But not everyone has someone in their life that helps guide them down

Loretta Milan: 00:29:45

their original path and help them realize that their originality is

Loretta Milan: 00:29:48

something that makes them special.

Loretta Milan: 00:29:51

And that's a great thing.

Loretta Milan: 00:29:52

They don't have to be normal.

Loretta Milan: 00:29:53

They're not a failure for being an original.

Loretta Milan: 00:29:56

They're fantastic for being an original.

Loretta Milan: 00:29:58

And I want more people to realize that being an original is great.

Loretta Milan: 00:30:04

And I will succeed in life if I have everyone.

Loretta Milan: 00:30:08

Believing they are an original.

Loretta Milan: 00:30:10

And that is my commitment.

Loretta Milan: 00:30:12

I may only be 20 episodes in.

Loretta Milan: 00:30:14

I may only have a small number of listeners at the moment.

Loretta Milan: 00:30:16

But that is my mission.

Rachael Botfield: 00:30:19

You, that's very inspiring, Loretta, very inspiring talk.

Rachael Botfield: 00:30:23

I remember listening to your episode where you talk about that.

Rachael Botfield: 00:30:26

Yeah.

Rachael Botfield: 00:30:26

And I, I was talking about this the other day with one of my friends, her

Rachael Botfield: 00:30:30

children are neurodiverse and, Yeah.

Rachael Botfield: 00:30:33

She has had the same, similar struggles with both of her children

Rachael Botfield: 00:30:37

and it's just, we were just saying, you know, like, it just doesn't suit

Rachael Botfield: 00:30:41

some children, it just doesn't fit.

Rachael Botfield: 00:30:43

And why are we trying to make them and I get all the, the you know, the

Rachael Botfield: 00:30:47

challenges that the school system has and the teachers have as well.

Rachael Botfield: 00:30:50

But it's something that does need to continue to change to say like my

Rachael Botfield: 00:30:55

son's coming up to his GCSEs now and.

Rachael Botfield: 00:30:58

He's, you know, worried, like, what do I pick and, and is this gonna shake my feet?

Rachael Botfield: 00:31:04

And I was kind of trying to say to him that, you know, I, obviously

Rachael Botfield: 00:31:08

it's important for him to get, you know, to do well and try hard.

Rachael Botfield: 00:31:10

But you know, this isn't going to end your life if you don't pass all your GCSEs.

Rachael Botfield: 00:31:15

I'm just gonna say that from the, not that I, it's gonna pass for you to

Rachael Botfield: 00:31:18

do nothing, but we will figure out.

Rachael Botfield: 00:31:23

you want to do in life and what lights you up and what makes you

Rachael Botfield: 00:31:26

passionate because, you know, why not?

Rachael Botfield: 00:31:28

Why should we all have to go in to do something that we don't

Rachael Botfield: 00:31:31

really like because that's what we have to do kind of thing.

Rachael Botfield: 00:31:35

So it is important and your children sound very lucky to have

Rachael Botfield: 00:31:40

a mother like you to be there and support them in their originality.

Rachael Botfield: 00:31:44

And yeah, let's hope that that movement does continue and everybody

Rachael Botfield: 00:31:48

embraces their originality.

Loretta Milan: 00:31:50

I hope so.

Loretta Milan: 00:31:51

I mean, there were so many parts for everybody.

Loretta Milan: 00:31:53

I will just say there are many fantastic teachers out there.

Loretta Milan: 00:31:56

My children are fantastic teachers.

Loretta Milan: 00:31:59

I'm sure your, I'm sure your son has and any teachers that encourage the

Loretta Milan: 00:32:05

originality, I think, in children.

Loretta Milan: 00:32:08

You're the stars of the show.

Loretta Milan: 00:32:11

More teachers doing that are great and I'm right behind you.

Loretta Milan: 00:32:14

And I think the schooling systems and the government who designs the

Loretta Milan: 00:32:18

schooling system was behind that needs to really encourage originality in

Loretta Milan: 00:32:21

children, but hey, let's spread the word.

Loretta Milan: 00:32:24

And if you don't listen to any other episode from the originals podcast,

Loretta Milan: 00:32:27

listen to the one that's what makes you special because that talks a lot about.

Loretta Milan: 00:32:31

All about it, doesn't it?

Loretta Milan: 00:32:32

Yes, absolutely.

Rachael Botfield: 00:32:34

What makes you special?

Rachael Botfield: 00:32:36

Yes.

Rachael Botfield: 00:32:36

We'll, we'll put all the links to the podcast and to Loretta, if you'd like

Rachael Botfield: 00:32:42

to get in touch with her and talk about more about Origineurs, I'd love to just

Rachael Botfield: 00:32:48

get your kind of top piece of advice for, for women out there that want to

Rachael Botfield: 00:32:53

start a podcast for their business.

Rachael Botfield: 00:32:54

What would be kind of your, your top piece of advice for them?

Loretta Milan: 00:32:59

My top piece of advice is realize that your voice matters.

Loretta Milan: 00:33:04

It's really easy to underestimate what you have to say.

Loretta Milan: 00:33:10

It can be easy to assume that what you know is every day because you, Know

Loretta Milan: 00:33:18

what you know every day, you see what you see every day, you do what you do

Loretta Milan: 00:33:22

every day, and so it becomes every day.

Loretta Milan: 00:33:25

But what you do, and what you say, and what you know can change somebody else's

Loretta Milan: 00:33:30

life, and it can be transformative for somebody else, and it can be

Loretta Milan: 00:33:36

revolutionary for somebody else.

Loretta Milan: 00:33:39

So have the courage to know that your voice matters and you can do

Loretta Milan: 00:33:44

something really special with that.

Loretta Milan: 00:33:47

And when you come to put your voice out there, really take a

Loretta Milan: 00:33:50

moment to believe in your voice.

Loretta Milan: 00:33:53

And if you feel scared or worried when you come to speak, take

Loretta Milan: 00:33:59

courage in knowing that your voice is likely to make an impact on

Loretta Milan: 00:34:05

somebody else and use it as service.

Rachael Botfield: 00:34:09

Brilliant advice.

Rachael Botfield: 00:34:10

Absolutely brilliant.

Rachael Botfield: 00:34:11

I think as women, we tend to undervalue our experiences and what we have to give.

Rachael Botfield: 00:34:17

So that is really, really great advice for anyone who wants to

Rachael Botfield: 00:34:20

start a podcast for their business.

Rachael Botfield: 00:34:22

Thank you so much, Loretta.

Rachael Botfield: 00:34:24

I've had such a great time today chatting with you.

Rachael Botfield: 00:34:26

Thanks so much for coming on.

Rachael Botfield: 00:34:28

And if Thanks everybody for listening and we'll catch up with you soon.

Rachael Botfield: 00:34:33

Thanks for listening to the show.

Rachael Botfield: 00:34:35

If you'd like to connect with me or get in touch, then head on over to my website.

Rachael Botfield: 00:34:39

If you liked the episode, then I'd love it if you could leave me a

Rachael Botfield: 00:34:41

review in your chosen podcast app.

Rachael Botfield: 00:34:43

Your feedback is much appreciated.

Rachael Botfield: 00:34:45

See you next time.