Hired Help For Your Podcast – PCI 357

Speaker 0 00:00:00 Somebody that has a passion for podcasting will be driven to update. You know, make sure they stay up to date on industry changes. They'll put in the extra effort to make sure, you know, your podcast is successful and, uh, you know, may give you a little energy when, when you're kind of running slow, you know, accountability too. Hey, where's this episode? You, you gonna record it? You know, , that kind of thing. You know, so you wanna make sure that they also have the same passion for podcasting that you do.

Speaker 1 00:00:32 You're

Speaker 2 00:00:33 Listening to Podcasts Insider, hosted by Mike Dell, Todd Cochrane, and Mackenzie Bennett from the Blueberry team, bringing you weekly insights, advice, and insider tips and tricks to help you start, grow and thrive through podcasting. All with the support of your team here at Blueberry Podcasting. Welcome. Let's dive in.

Speaker 0 00:00:53 Hi, I'm Mike Dell, VP of Customer Relations here at Blueberry.

Speaker 3 00:00:57 And I'm Mackenzie Bennett, marketing specialist here at Blueberry.

Speaker 0 00:00:59 And in this episode, we're gonna go over the eight things to think about when you pick your podcast consultant.

Speaker 3 00:01:10 When hiring a podcast consultant, here are some factors that you should consider.

Speaker 0 00:01:16 And one of the first things I threw on this list here is the budget. And, you know, sometimes it's uncomfortable talking about money

Speaker 3 00:01:26 Most of the time.

Speaker 0 00:01:27 But you gotta be upfront with this, your perspective consultant. You know, how much do they charge? How much budget do you have towards this endeavor, , because it can get kind of expensive if you let the consultant just run away. So make sure you set some sort of a budget, you know, with them. You know, Hey, I wanna do four episodes a month. I wanna do, you know, I want you to do X number of edits or whatever the, the deal you're ha you you're gonna have with them. But make sure you talk about it upfront and make sure it's a price that you can afford, you know, in the long run. Because, you know, if you run outta money to pay your consultant, they're gonna quit consulting, which may or may not be a good thing. We'll talk about more of that later, but just make sure that you're, you're upfront about the, the money side of things. 'cause you know, there's vastly different pricing. I knew one guy that was charging $2,000 an hour, he wasn't that good. But sometimes people perceive, you know, I'm paying more. It must be worth more. Well, not always.

Speaker 3 00:02:37 Yeah, you put this in here, I was a little confused, but I look at it as a consultant of I'll meet with them one or two times at the beginning or you know, maybe again later down the road. Yes, you have to sustain your budget of, okay, I wanna be able to come back to this, so I know I need to have that money available at such and such time. But then also, yeah, you can, you can really be surprised with the variable pricing that you will find with podcast consultants. So

Speaker 0 00:03:14 I guess we should define consultant. I think

Speaker 3 00:03:17 That's what we're coming around to, because in my head, what you were describing was a producer.

Speaker 0 00:03:22 Yeah. So what I was trying for here is anybody that helps you with some part of your podcast, whether getting it set up, whether marketing your podcast, helping you produce it, helping the technical side, you know, all that different stuff, website, developer, designers, artwork, any of that kind of work. So you may have multiple people doing multiple things or you may be doing some of it yourself. So when I say consultant, yes, I really mean, you know, somebody that you hire to do some part of your podcast ongoing basis or you know, again, just a consultant, which is its own thing. So I guess that that's, that's where I screwed up here. is defining consultant. 'cause you know, one of the worst things we get in support here at Blueberry when, uh, when Dave and I answer the phone is my client, like, blah, blah, blah. And we just like, you know, we think, oh my, and chances are this consultant doesn't really have a whole lot of clues about how things work and, you know, sometimes the end. And

Speaker 3 00:04:37 That's not a good consultant. Consultant.

Speaker 0 00:04:38 Yes. And that's kind of the things we want you to think about here. So on the list here is experience. You know, how much experience does this particular person have in podcasting? Have they worked on a successful podcast before? And what do they consider a successful podcast?

Speaker 3 00:04:57 Yeah. Where's the difference between what their actual experience is and what they claim to know? Because you're probably gonna have to put two and two together on your own before you make that decision. Yeah.

Speaker 0 00:05:08 It's a hard thing. You know, uh, you can definitely get some duds out there and then there's some really good ones, you know, but just be, you know, get a sense of what they've done in the past. You know, ask them, Hey, what podcasts have you worked on? Uh, you know, and then go take a listen to them and go see the website or the artwork or whatever you're hiring this person for.

Speaker 3 00:05:31 They should have some type of portfolio in some type of way. They will have their, their work on display for people to be able to tell.

Speaker 0 00:05:41 And one of the things I always look for, I didn't write it down here, but I always look for podcast consultants that actually podcast. I'm amazed at the number of podcast consulting, you know, or or podcast producers and editors and all this stuff that don't do the pod, don't do a podcast themselves.

Speaker 3 00:06:01 Those that can't do teach basically .

Speaker 0 00:06:04 Yeah. You know, and you know, I understand that, you know, a lot of, a lot of people that get into podcasting as a business, you know, some service, you know, like even here at Blueberry we've got, you know, a few podcasters on our staff that have pod faded because now they're working in it and they don't have as much time or, you know, burn out on the, uh, on the whole topic and go do something else. So I understand that, but make sure that they have podcasted, I guess would be a good thing to add under the experience.

Speaker 3 00:06:40 I feel like that's a minimum bar for me. Yeah. But that's just me

Speaker 0 00:06:44 And knowledge of the industry so many times. And we've, we've had that, that problem internally as well where somebody that is doing stuff for podcasters don't, don't really pay attention or doesn't really pay attention. I guess that's a better word to what's going on in the podcasting world. I mean, there are changes a lot and there's, you know, things that are added and you know, like upcoming here soon this month is Stitchers going away. Well, is your consultant gonna tell you you need to delete the Stitcher link on your site? Well hopefully if they're paying attention, they will. But you know, things change in the podcast world and if they're not staying up on what's going on, they may uh, not be the right person to do whatever it is. Not like it's just artwork or a web design or something that may have nothing to do with it, but you know, if they're an ongoing producer or editor or whatever, they should, should keep up with the industry.

Speaker 3 00:07:49 I mean, a good example of that is all of the podcasting 2.0 features.

Speaker 0 00:07:54 Yes.

Speaker 3 00:07:55 How these are coming about. You and Todd are very interested in when they're making new developments and new releases. Personally, that's not something that I am super interested in. However, I am up to date on what is happening enough to be able to have a conversation with someone about it.

Speaker 0 00:08:14 Yeah. And if you're hiring someone, you want them to stay up on that kind of thing. And so you don't have to

Speaker 3 00:08:19 .

Speaker 0 00:08:20 So there you go. Technical skills. This one's a big one for me because, you know, there are a bit of technical, you know, there's a lot of creative stuff and you know, you can hire a creative person and they, they'll get the, you know, the content and all that stuff. Right. But there are some technical stuff now we do our best here at Blueberry to make the tech go away. Once you get it set up, you shouldn't have to mess with it. But

Speaker 3 00:08:47 There's a level of technical that you're never gonna be able to get around.

Speaker 0 00:08:50 Yeah. You know, one of the, one of the other things in support we get a lot is I published my episode 15 seconds ago. How come it's not on Apple yet? Well, obviously that consultant that asked that question has no clue how Apple works. .

Speaker 3 00:09:04 Yeah. They need to be able to set realistic expectations and give you an idea of how this is going to work. If they are dropping the ball on that. That's a pretty,

Speaker 0 00:09:17 That's a big red flag. .

Speaker 3 00:09:19 Yeah. That yeah, that's exactly what it is. That's a red flag. That is keep an eye out for other things.

Speaker 0 00:09:24 Yeah. Hey, something up your, uh, alley here.

Speaker 3 00:09:27 Yeah. So the marketing and promotion, so you record, you need to get it heard. That's what you really want people to, you know, get out of your show. You just want them to hear what you're so passionate about saying. So they should be able to know how to effectively promote your show, whether that is social media, ss e o, show notes, partnerships, sponsorships, advertising, collaborations with other podcasters. It it runs the gamut. You know, you can pick whatever you want. It's some type of promotion.

Speaker 0 00:10:01 Yeah. It's, you know, and it goes back to the definition. If you're hiring someone to make artwork, they don't need this. But, you know, if you're hiring a producer, a producer, you know, or someone to just kind of manage the whole thing, they definitely need to know how to market and promote.

Speaker 3 00:10:17 Yeah, yeah. We don't want people to make this incredible show and then not have anyone know about it. That's so sad to me.

Speaker 0 00:10:27 Yeah. And good communication skills. This, this goes for everybody, but someone that you hire, you should be able to communicate with clearly and effectively. If you're native Spanish speaker, you probably wanna get a native Spanish speaking consultant, producer, whatever. You know, someone you're gonna communicate regularly. You know, so many times I get these calls from consultants who are, you know, not English speakers. And it's hard for me as, you know, support for the company to communicate with them sometimes. So, you know, it's not, like I said, it's, it's not that they're not good at what they do, it's just, I personally would have a hard time communicating with someone that, you know, they're not strong in English. 'cause that's all I speak

Speaker 3 00:11:17 In a, in a different direction with that. It's reminding me of how you have a good communication with a doctor, you know, quote unquote your consultant, your specialist, this person who is so, so knowledgeable in this topic that you are trying to get help on. And if they can't convey their knowledge to you in a respectful and helpful manner that is, you know, productive and, and feels good, then it, then it's a wash. You know, it's, don't let it become a negative thing. So you need to find someone who you think you're gonna gonna be on the same page with. You can't force your idea onto someone who's just never gonna get it. And that's just not someone you should work with. So find someone who has better communication skills that you, that you work with.

Speaker 0 00:12:09 And along with that is, you know, make sure they're not one that's gonna ignore your email for four days. Yeah. You know, you want 'em to be responsive. That's all good, you know, good communication there too. But yeah, I kinda went off on a weird tangent there, but, uh, anyway, ,

Speaker 3 00:12:27 Well, finding out if it's gonna take four days for someone to respond to an email is about our next topic. References and reviews. Yes. If that is happening. So it's happening to someone else as well. And they're probably going to say something about it, , whether that is online in a review or just word of mouth or, you know, you're probably gonna be able to figure that out.

Speaker 0 00:12:47 Yeah, for sure. And, uh, you know, the thing with references and reviews, you know, somebody may not have a lot of references, but if they're working with other podcasters, you know, ask for some names and emails and email say, Hey, what do you think of, you know, so-and-so's this. I'm thinking of hiring them. And, you know, they'll give you an honest feedback most of the time and just make sure that, that it's a good fit. Because sometimes, you know, a person might be really good at what you're hiring them to do, but if you don't get along with them, Yeah. It's gonna be good. Yeah. You know, so it just, just, you know, make sure it's a good fit.

Speaker 3 00:13:29 Yeah. There, I mean, there's plenty of people who I know are very good at what they do in the podcast industry, but I know that we also just would not play well together on a day-to-day basis. That's just, you know, you're, everyone's gonna be able to find someone that they can happily work with.

Speaker 0 00:13:45 Right. And, uh, this, this last one, you know, kind of encompasses the whole thing is just make sure they have a passion for podcasting. You know, make sure it's not somebody that I'm just in here for the money because somebody that has a passion for podcasting will be driven to update, you know, make sure they stay up to date on industry changes. They'll put in the extra effort to make sure, you know, your podcast is successful and, uh, you know, may give you a little energy when, when you're kind of running slow, you know, accountability too. Hey, where's this episode? You, you're gonna record it, you know, , that kind of thing. You know, so you wanna make sure that they also have the same passion for podcasting that you do.

Speaker 3 00:14:31 There's a level of satisfaction with productivity and creating something that you're happy with that, um, is, you know, kind of rare. So this could be one of those things.

Speaker 0 00:14:45 Kate and the team over at, uh, over at Blueberry Pro, they're really good at motivating us, sometimes to, to get things done.

Speaker 3 00:14:54 Yeah. I love it. .

Speaker 0 00:14:56 Yeah, it's good. We got accountability. And I have a bonus tip here. And this isn't actually about picking a consultant. It's about hiring anybody to do anything for your website or your podcast is make sure that you have all of the admin logins and passwords for your own site, for your hosting plan, for whatever, and make sure you are the one paying the hosting bill.

Speaker 3 00:15:20 That, that brings up something I wanna mention too. .

Speaker 0 00:15:22 Yeah. Yeah. Go for it.

Speaker 3 00:15:24 If you are paying this person, have some legal binding thing that you have signed.

Speaker 0 00:15:30 Yes. You know, here's what I'm gonna do for X amount of money or whatever. Just something simple.

Speaker 3 00:15:35 Yes. Because you know, when you are responsible for paying those hosting bills directly, when you know exactly who it is that has the credentials to log into your website, it's, you wanna create a partnership, a give and take, not a takeover. .

Speaker 0 00:15:51 Yeah. 'cause you know, I've had this happen before where, you know, there's some falling out between the podcast producer that's a hired gun and the, and the podcaster. And so the podcaster fires the, uh, the consultant and then I get a call, well, I can't get into my website, I can't get into my blueberry account.

Speaker 3 00:16:13 It's nasty real quick.

Speaker 0 00:16:14 You know, and it's like, well, you know, I, they're the ones on the account. I, you know, so make sure it's you Yeah. You know, make that your responsibility to keep the logins and passwords and the, you know, you're, you're the one paying the bill directly to outside vendors. Don't do it through your consultant, because that can get messy if things go sideways. So just be careful.

Speaker 3 00:16:40 Yes. Always be careful. This is your show.

Speaker 0 00:16:43 Yeah. And as a recommendation, go check out blueberry pro.com, , Kate and the team over there do all this stuff for us, and they're pretty awesome at it, so go check them out as, as one of your possible sources for this. Yeah.

Speaker 3 00:16:59 We will link to them in our show notes.

Speaker 0 00:17:02 Yes. So I think that about covers it. Just, just be careful and make sure it's a good fit and make sure the person knows what they're talking about. , if they tell you, if you're on a WordPress site and they tell you you need to move to X, tell 'em, Nope. No, thank you, . If they can't handle WordPress, you don't want 'em.

Speaker 3 00:17:23

Speaker 0 00:17:25 Is that opinionated?

Speaker 3 00:17:28 That's 40% of the internet

Speaker 0 00:17:31 . Yes, exactly.

Speaker 3 00:17:32 So we'll take that as you will. There

Speaker 0 00:17:34 You go. 'cause uh, I get this call a lot, this is another bonus, but I get this call a lot. This is while I was using WordPress and PowerPress and my web designer built a website on Wix, and now my feed's gone. Well, no crap. Sherlock , , your WordPress say was your feed,

Speaker 3 00:17:58 You know, after 15 years for you, or 15 plus years for you and, you know, eight or so, for me, you just can kind smell the bull from miles away of people who really know what they're talking about with this. So sometimes if you know, you think you're being played in this scenario, reach out to the support team and double check. Yeah. Not necessarily with the person, but with what they are telling you.

Speaker 0 00:18:28 Right. Right. We, you know, if you're gonna hire a web designer, you know, first make sure that they can operate the platform you're using. And second, if they tell you need to go to a different platform, you just need a new consultant or a new web designer, I, I just, you know, there, there's, WordPress can do everything that any of the others can do just as well. You just need to know the platform. And if they don't know the platform, they're probably not the right person for you. It's

Speaker 3 00:18:59 Relationship that, you know, you might wanna have for a short period of time or do long term. So there are options everywhere.

Speaker 0 00:19:08 Exactly. All right, well, I think we horse to death. No, that isn't the right term either. I'm, I'm just full of it today.

Speaker 3 00:19:17 Yeah, that's okay. Catch

Speaker 0 00:19:18 You guys next week.

Speaker 3 00:19:20 Happy podcasting.

Speaker 2 00:19:21 Thanks for joining us. Come back next week and in the meantime, head to podcast insider.com for more information to subscribe, share, and read our show notes. Check out the latest suite of services and learn how Blueberry can help you leverage your podcast. Visit blueberry.com. That's blueberry without the ease because we can't afford the ease.