5 Podcasting Lessons I Learned in Season 3

Meet the host

Hi, I’m Andi Smiley, your friendly podcast guide! I help podcasters create shows that are fun and fulfilling without burning out. In this episode, I’m sharing what worked (and what didn’t) throughout season 3—real talk from behind the mic, plus the tools and strategies that kept me motivated.

Links

• Grab the free Pinterest Magic for Podcasters Guide

• Brittany Herzberg (aka the Queen of SEO)

• Follow me on Instagram

• Follow me on Threads

Unedited transcript of the episode:

 This is the last episode of season three, and I have learned so much this season and I can’t wait to share it with you. There are some really good nuggets of wisdom in this episode, so buckle up. 📍 Hi, I’m Andy Smiley, your friendly podcast guide. I help you create a podcast that is fun and fulfilling.

I share tips, stories from my own journey and insights from podcasters I admire. In this episode, I’m sharing the top five things I learned during season three of the Friendly podcast guide. And just as a reminder, if you only have the capacity to implement one thing at the end of the episode, I’ll tell you what that one thing should be so you don’t feel overwhelmed.

Trying to figure out where to start this season was lots of fun. So many pivots, so many experiments. And I can honestly say that I am. So grateful to be a podcaster and be part of this lovely podcast community this season. Definitely had many lessons, but I’ve narrowed it down to the top five things that I learned this season.

The first thing I learned is chat. GPT is a game changer. I’ve been using chat GPT for. A while now, but during season three, I’ve used it so much more and it has been absolutely amazing.

I made a list of all of the different ways that I used Cha GPT, and I probably don’t even have everything on this list, but here are the main things. I use chat GPT to find gaps in my episode. Like

things that you all wanna hear about but I just forgot to talk about or an aspect of that topic that I haven’t included. I’ll. Just copy and paste my episode outline straight into chat, JPT and ask for any gaps, um, that I might’ve missed. And chat.

JPT usually gives me about five different things to possibly add, and I don’t usually add all of them, but there’s always a couple that I’m like, oh, yeah, I really should have talked about that. It’s really nice. Another thing is chat. GPT helps me write my weekly emails about the episodes. I will type up a first draft copy and paste it into chat GPT and ask chat GBT to up a little bit

and chat. GPT always just makes it sound a little bit better. Not always perfect. There’s always tweaking that I’m doing afterwards, but always just kind of helps me to up my game a little bit and make sure that I’m being succinct, but still makes sense. It’s really nice. Another thing is I use chat GBT to write my captions for my Pinterest pins and for my posts.

Um, I’ll usually give some parameters around what I’m going for, in that caption. And then just ask chat GBT to create one. Again, I rarely will copy and paste directly from chat GBT, but it’s so nice to have something there, um, to tweak instead of staring at a blank page. Probably one of the biggest things that chat GPT does for me now is helps me name my episodes and write my show notes because I kind of dread both of those things about my episodes.

I’m not, that is not something that I’m like super good at naming episodes and writing show notes. They’re just not my favorite things. And so I created a custom GPT that helps me write my show notes and name my episodes, and it has been such a game changer. It makes that part of the process so much easier and

I don’t have to dread it anymore because it’s so easy and straightforward and truly one of the nice things about that custom GBT is it also helps me figure out SEO keywords. In a perfect world, when I have plenty of time, I like to come up with my own SEO keywords, um, using the guidance from Brittany Berg.

She’s my favorite SEO person. She is the queen of SEO in my mind. Um. So when I have time, I like to come up with my own SEO keywords, but we live in the real world, not a fairytale where I have all the time in the world. So when I don’t have time to figure out my own SEO keywords, my custom GPT also figure out figures out SEO keywords, which is so, so nice.

So using chat, GPT has been. The biggest game changer. I’m so grateful for it, and it has truly made it so that I have more energy and time to do my favorite parts of podcasting. Um, and let Chachi PT help me with the parts that aren’t really in my, like, zone of genius. So amazing. Another thing that I learned is Pinterest is really my favorite marketing strategy.

Um, Pinterest is one of those that nothing happens overnight with Pinterest, but. I am still seeing new listeners come in from pins that I posted like last winter. It’s so amazing and seeing all of those people still coming into my world finding my podcast through pins that I posted forever ago has really helped me see how amazing Pinterest is, and it’s really fun because a lot of you are just as excited about Pinterest as I am.

When I did my Pinterest episode, there was so much good feedback about it and so many of you were like, oh my gosh, I didn’t even realize. Pinterest would be a good fit for podcasting. So that has been so much fun. Um, I am truly planning on heavily leaning into Pinterest this summer

and I’ve kind of changed my social media marketing strategy to be mostly Pinterest and threads with Instagram stories and Instagram posts kind of like sprinkled in, but mostly Pinterest and threads ’cause those are my favorite places to be threads. Just ’cause I can pretty much say whatever I want and it’s short and sweet and Pinterest because that long-term marketing is just the best and exactly what I need right now.

’cause I just don’t have that much time. Which actually leads into my next point. Um, I am able to create five pins about an episode and schedule them for the week in under 30 minutes. Like, and that takes care of most of my social media marketing in 30 minutes. That’s insane. So. It’s just been such a game changer and I love it so much.

Several of you told me that you tried Pinterest after hearing my episode about it, and a few of you said that you created your first pin ever because of my episode, and that made me so happy because truly Pinterest is the best and I’m so glad that you are taking advantage of it and using it. For you because we just don’t have as much time as we would like for marketing, and Pinterest is one of the best ways to like get the most bang for your buck.

If you wanna start using Pinterest for your podcast and you haven’t done it yet, you’re not exactly sure how you’re gonna wanna hear about my Pinterest magic for Podcasters Guide.

If you’re anything like me, some days you’re just proud that everyone in the family is alive and semi fed. We don’t have time to be stressing about posting on Instagram. And yet the quote unquote experts keep shouting that posting daily is the only way to grow your podcast. They’re wrong. There’s a better way and it actually works well. You don’t. My Pinterest Magic for Podcasters Guide shows you exactly how to use Pinterest to get your podcast in front of new listeners without needing a blog, a strategy session, or your full attention every day.

I used one pin, just one, and it got me 3000 views and and brought me several new listeners within weeks. That’s the kind of quiet magic I want you to have too. Inside this guide, there are steal my pin templates. A quick start checklist and step-by-step instructions that don’t assume that you’ve got endless hours and endless childcare.

I’ve thought about charging for this, and honestly, I probably should, but right now I just want it in your hands because you deserve a marketing strategy that works without working you to the bone. Grab the free guide from the link in the show notes and let Pinterest start doing some of the heavy lifting for you.

Okay, now I get to tell you about some more things that I learned from season three. Another thing that I learned is narrative format is fun and very helpful, so I’m not planning on switching to the narrative format completely, but it was really fun to do two episodes this season in the narrative format.

And a quick refresher narrative format is when you tell a story using clips from one or more interviews. I did this with my episodes when I was chatting with Whitney Archibald, the host of the family lab. It really helped me with those episodes because Whitney and I have a lot to say about a lot of topics, and sometimes it’s hard to make that kind of interview.

Feel cohesive. So when I did little transitions between the segments, it was so much smoother and truly I think it just like made the episode even better than it already was. My favorite quote from that episode about the narrative format. Is from Whitney. She said narrative format can save your behind.

She said this when she was talking about how you can salvage a boring or a bad interview by using the narrative format. And this is in no way saying that Whitney’s episode, like our episode together was boring or bad. Um, it was amazing by itself, but it was, I just like took it to the next level when I made it in the narrative format. Um, but if you do have an episode that was like, Ugh, I don’t even think I can air this, instead of just trashing it as an interview episode, you can make it an awesome episode by using the narrative format.

And if you’re thinking about trying the narrative format, but you have some questions, just DM me at on over on Instagram. I’d love to chat with you about it because it’s awesome and a really good tool to have in your tool belt. Another thing that I learned from season three is that doing weekly emails didn’t kill me a little bit into season three.

I decided to start doing weekly emails instead of just monthly emails. I was nervous that it was going to be too much for me or for you, but it hasn’t been that hard for me. Mostly because I use chat GPT to make the process quicker and easier, and it seems that y’all don’t mind the emails either because I haven’t had a drop in the open rates since I started doing weekly emails.

I am not sure if I’m going to keep going with the weekly emails during the break, but I think I’m gonna try and see how it goes. ’cause I still have plenty of things to talk about. Even though I’m not gonna be putting out weekly episodes, I think it’ll be fun and a nice way for us to stay connected during the break.

And the last thing I wanna talk about on this episode about things that I learned from season three is talking about my podcast in real life is hard. But usually fun. In March. I had a goal of talking about my podcast in real life every day that month.

I did miss some days, but by the end of the month it was definitely easier and less awkward to bring up my podcast. In my planner, I have a spot where I write down what I can talk about. Word for word what I can say about my podcast for that week. And that was such a life saver. Like seriously, it was the best and exactly what I needed.

And I call them curiosity statements because it just kind of like opens the door for people to be curious about my podcast and ask questions about it. Um, but you can call it whatever you want. I don’t really care. And the best part about those curiosity statements is. I never have to come up with something on the spot to talk about my podcast.

It’s already there. I already know what I can say because I wrote it down at the beginning of the week. If you’ve ever felt weird or cringey thinking about talking about your podcast in real life, I hear you because. I still sometimes feel that way, but I’ve learned that most people are actually curious and impressed when you talk about your podcast and your voice matters, even at school pickup or your dentist appointment.

The more you practice talking about your podcast, the more confident you’ll feel when you talk about it. A few of you have reached out to run your curiosity statements past me, and it has been so much fun to help you come up with ways to talk about your podcast in real life.

So if you need help coming up with a curiosity statement or you’ve got one but you’re not sure how you feel about it, send me a DM over on Instagram and I would love to help you figure that out. As I’m wrapping up this episode and this season, here’s the one thing you should implement in your podcast If you’re feeling overwhelmed and not sure where to start, and that is, try using chat, GPT or another AI chat bot for your podcast.

It will help you save time and energy for the parts of podcasting that feed your soul. I would recommend not just copying and pasting whatever cha a PT pops out for you. It’s gonna need a little tweaking. Pretty much anything that I get from Cha a PT still needs to be tweaked before I use it, but tweaking something is so much easier for me than starting from scratch. And this is your friendly but firm reminder that you are the boss of your podcast. No one else. So if something isn’t fun anymore, change it. Stop doing it. Please make sure to take breaks. Your people will be there when you get back, and you will create your best stuff when you come back refreshed after a break.

I promise taking breaks is totally worth it, and I am not only talking the talk, but also walking the walk by taking a break between 📍 seasons. If this episode helped you, would you mind sharing it with another mom, who wants to podcast without burning out. Your recommendation would mean the world to me.

And thank you. Thank you so much to everyone who has already recommended the Friendly podcast guide to their mom, podcaster, friends. Season four is already shaping up to be full of so much fun stuff. I’ve got a few interviews lined up that I know are gonna be super helpful for you, and if we’re being honest for me too, and I cannot wait to try the narrative format again for season four.

I think I know what episode I’m gonna try it on. It is gonna be fun. Thanks for being here and have an amazing summer.