Learn To Speak

This Friday at noon I'll be discussing 3 of my favorite topics - entrepreneurship, podcasting & Brazilian Jiu Jitsu - with business owner & bjj practitioner, Robert Johnstone.

Robert is a partner in Speakeasy Podcast Network & an old training partner of my bro, Jacob Fox. 

We'll dive into why podcasting is smart for business owners, what it takes to get one together, the type of services Speakeasy provides & how jiu jitsu informs your professional life.

Watch the live video on Talking Alternative Broadcasting or listen live on talkradio.nyc.

Segment 1

Jeremiah kicks off the show with a quote from Gary V: “Every business is a media company.”  Jeremiah welcomes Robert Johnstone to the show.  He is the partner of the Speakeasy Podcast Network.  Jeremiah asks Robert how he got into podcasting.  Robert got into podcasting due to jiu jitsu and finding out that Joe Rogan had a podcast.  He was in the Marine Corps at the time, working on F18s and teaching martial arts. Once he was out of the Marines he used his knack for marketing learned from growing up in a small town and being fascinated by the ad booklets he’d receive in the mail.  He wanted to get into business with a focus on marketing and started by selling advertising at a local newspaper.  He got into digital marketing with his business partner because while the company didn’t have capital, others were impressed with how they were marketing the company.  This led to the creation of Wayne Media Group, the parent company of Speakeasy, which did digital marketing for clients on a local level.  They were benefitting tremendously from using podcasting to market their business, and clients began asking them for help establishing their own.  Podcasting eliminates the need for a broadcasting background and traditional media support.  One thing led to another and for the last two years, Speakeasy has helped clients launch successful podcasts.  They help them set their goals, give them best practices and help market podcasts to their intended audiences.  As a result Speakeasy has been able to build a team of intelligent employees specializing in podcast marketing.   After the break, Jeremiah and Robert will continue to the conversation about building a successful team.  

Segment 2

Jeremiah comes back from the break to ask Robert more information on Wayne Media Group.  They do marketing for small businesses with personal approach.  For example, they’ll take on a company’s social media management, Google business page management, photography and videography, and helping with their marketing strategy from a holistic approach.  What they want to accomplish by staying local in Louisville, even though there are benefits of outsourcing, is they always want to be there and want their clients to be spoken for locally.  They want their clients to know that they will always be a phone call away.  Everyone on his team are real people who will knock on your door to help out with your marketing.  Speakeasy now has in-person services where clients can come to the podcast studio to see how the shows are produced.  Jeremiah discusses how difficult it is to scale intimacy - offering a level of intimacy where clients feel like they’re talking to you and that you’re hearing them.  As you expand nationally and internationally, that feeling of intimacy can start to go away.  In 2011 when Jeremiah was opening multiple business at the same time, they were short on marketing budget and felt like there were no middle ground marketing services companies on offer.  Robert says that Speakeasy offers this for small, scrappy businesses and one of the reasons they can do this is by building and maintaining a work culture where their employees are treated well and made to feel like they are contributing positively to clients’ business.  That culture then spreads to the clients. Jeremiah says a key to establishing a niche business is to focus on what competitors are not offering, and to make yourself visible in that space.  He thinks Speakeasy is offering this type of niche service to small businesses. Robert says Speakeasy saw that need for a niche and can now offer smaller companies marketing opportunities that are otherwise seemingly only available to larger companies with big marketing budgets.  Podcasts in particular can be started on a very small budget. After the break Jeremiah will ask Robert more about what Speakeasy can offer in terms of podcast development and marketing. 

 

Segment 3 

Back from the break, Robert offers pointers on how best to develop and market your podcast.  “The best way to start your podcast is to start your podcast.”  Record yourself a lot, listen to yourself and take notes on how you can improve your voice.  Stay consistent with it: try to record every week if you can.  Keep on top of your goals and objectives for the podcast.  Identify the audience you want to speak to and develop a strategy for growing that audience.  Start with your niche and you will eventually be able to expand the audience.  Jeremiah mentions how his podcast started off focusing a lot on jiu jitsu, and the show took off with that niche audience and grew from there.  Robert says one group of businesspeople who benefit greatly from podcast are real estate agents.  The most successful ones grow their audience by talking about more than just real estate - ghost stories for example.  Jeremiah mentions fellow TalkRadio.nyc show Rediscovering New York as an example of a real estate professional using their platform successfully.  Robert says three three things local podcasters should know they will gain from having a podcast.  #1: business-to-business networking capability.  #2: Content generation that you can use across your other marketing and social platforms.  #3: you’ll build a strong brand image for your company.  Jeremiah adds you’ll also realize that podcasting is genuinely fun to do.  Robert adds that podcasting is a good way to grow your business from a content perspective, without necessarily having to worry about hard numbers.  After the break Jeremiah and Robert will talk about jiu jitsu.   

Segment 4

Wrapping it up for today is a discussion between Jeremiah and Robert on jiu jitsu.  Jeremiah says jiu jitsu 101 is having a strategy.  Similar to business, podcasting and life, jiu jitsu needs to have a strategy or else things can be very chaotic.  Robert responds saying it’s extremely important to have a plan, similar to having a content plan for a podcast.  It’s also important to go in with a clear head so you can focus on implementing your plan.  To close out, Jeremiah asks Robert for some parting wisdom.  Robert says it’s invaluable to be able to work through emotional turmoil.  He learned this in the Marines and this has stayed with him during his life and career.  You will make mistakes and you will experience pain, but if you make it through, you will be successful.

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