Looking Back at Season 2: The Awesome and the Hard

Unedited Transcript of the Episode:

Hi, I’m Andy smiley, your friendly podcast guide. I help you create and grow a podcast that is fun and fulfilling, whether you’re just starting or a few years in. I share tips stories from my own journey and insights from podcasters. I admire. Today’s episode is the last episode of season two. Which is just crazy. In this episode, I’m giving you a behind the scenes peek on how the friendly podcast guy did in November.

And my thoughts on season two overall, also how cute are these little Santo’s that are behind me? If you’re just listening to the podcast, my mom decorates really cute for. Christmas and December. And so I’ve got all these little like gnome Santas. On the bookshelf behind me and they’re just adorable.

So I had to make sure they were in. In the video shot.

So before we dive into how the friendly podcast guy did, I like to answer, um, two questions that I ask every guest that I have on the friendly podcast guide. And the first one is what’s the last podcast you listened to for you, not for research or anything like that.

Um, and mine was, is a podcast called the illusionist, which is a podcast all about language. It’s really interesting because language is weird. And especially the English language. And so the episode that I listened to was all about food and how food gets it’s like how different foods get their names and how those names change.

And it was really fascinating. I. Really loved that podcast. It’s very, very well produced and just incredibly interesting. So if you want an interesting podcast where you learn something, the illusionist is a good one. And that’s spelled with an a, so it’s spelled a L L U S I O N I S T. You know, I’ll just put it in the show notes, then you don’t have to remember how to spell it. The other thing that I ask every guest is what’s a simple life hack or a simple thing that is making your life better right now.

And I know I’ve talked about this before, but I don’t think I’ve talked about it in this context right here, like as a, as a simple life hack. So I’m putting it right here for today. Scott my partner and I use kid podcasts, kids, sleep podcast, specifically to help our kids fall asleep and to not bug us. Um, our oldest is seven and so he, sometimes isn’t tired when his sister who they share a room with. Um, is, and so if we turn on a kid podcast, he can stay in his bed and listen to the podcast. Um, while his sister falls asleep and so he can, but he stays in his room because he’s entertained and he’s listening to something so that Scott and I can still get stuff done upstairs. And it is one of the best things that I’ve done, just so that, like, I get some time to myself, even if our oldest isn’t tired yet, it’s just. It’s just the best.

So if you need some help with bedtime, I would seriously try some kid’s sleep podcasts. We use, um, story button. Um, which is a kid podcast player. If you’re not ready to invest in that, because you want to see if it will even work for your kids first.

Um, before I had a story about an, I just used a Bluetooth speaker. And an iPad that just played to the speaker and. It has made my nights so much better. So. That is the simple life hack that is making my life better right now.

Okay. Now I get to tell you about how the friendly podcast guy did in November.

So first of all, download numbers, there were four episodes in November. The first one was how the friendly podcast guide did in October. So this episode, but last month, um, and that episode got 32 downloads. Um, the next episode is 10 things I would do if I was starting a podcast in 2025, that one got 34 downloads. Um, The next one was an interview I did with Catherine who’s.

The host of nothing much happens. My favorite sleep podcast, and one of the top sleep podcasts in the world. Such a fun interview. It was so good. That one got 54. Downloads. And then the last episode from last week was answering nine common podcasting questions and that one got 46 downloads. So it was actually a really interesting month.

I wasn’t expecting these download numbers because the first two episodes of this month got probably some of the lowest downloads of the season, but the last two episodes of this month got way more downloads than I expected. Which is fun. Like that’s a fun thing.

I have a couple of guesses for why I think the download numbers are this way Truly, I was expecting all of the download numbers for November to be in the thirties, maybe low forties, just because at the end of the season is usually when you get your lowest downloads in my experience, just because. People get busy. And you just kind of forget about all of the different podcasts.

Cause there’s so many good ones out there and, and. Life gets busy, especially november is Thanksgiving and you’re getting ready for the holidays and Halloween’s thrown in there and all of that. So I was expecting lower download numbers. So that’s why the first two weeks made sense to me. Um, but the last two, having higher download numbers was a pleasant surprise.

I think. That my interview with Catherine got higher downloads because I’m her listeners for her podcast. The people that follow her on Instagram, things like that. They probably wanted to hear from Catherine because she’s amazing. And really fun to listen to.

So that’s why I think the download numbers are higher for the interview, but the week after I’m honestly not exactly sure.

I’m going to look at that a little bit more and see if I can figure out why, but honestly, we don’t always know why download numbers. Aren’t the way they are. So we might, I might figure it out or I might never know. And that is one of the. Charms of podcasting.

Next. I always tell you how much money I’ve made this year as of this recording.

And as of right now, I am still at that $529 for this year. If you haven’t listened to any of these other, like how the friendly podcast guide is doing episodes. Here’s a quick recap. Earlier this year, I burned out. I had to stop podcasting altogether. I just couldn’t. I handle it. I couldn’t do all of the things. And, um, I just stopped everything. So that I could take a break this summer. And it was the best thing I could’ve done for myself, for my podcast, for my business.

And so. That’s why I haven’t even made any money as I took several months off and a lot of things shifted, um, with my podcast and my business. And so as I’ve been making those shifts, I. Have taken a step back from like focusing on money and I just want to get a really solid foundation so that when I do start making money again, it will be. In a way that doesn’t burn me out. So that number will start going up. Soon.

And I’ll talk about that more. At the end of this episode.

So I haven’t been focusing specifically on making money right now because I’m more focusing on podcasts, coaching calls. So, and this number has gone up. So. I have done 22 podcasts coaching calls. And five of those calls has been in November. So I have only eight left to reach my goal of 30. Podcast coaching calls. By the end of this year. And I am super proud of myself and I really think that I can do it. So if you need some help with your podcast, I would love to help you. The first call with me is always free. So dME on Instagram or leave a comment. In Spotify, however, get ahold of me somehow and we’ll set up a call so I can help you with your podcast, because truly that has been one of my favorite parts of. Season two is just doing so many more podcast coaching calls and just helping you with your podcast at all. It’s just been so much fun.

So one of the fastest ways to grow your podcast is to experiment, try new things, figure out what works for your show for your people. And for yourself and.

So every month I talk about the experiments that I did and my podcast for the previous month.

And tell you if they worked or not. And this has been really fun. And I am hoping that I do this forever with my podcast . Okay. The first experiment I tried in November is offering a very specific type of coaching call and I called it a podcast jumpstart session.

And these went so well. It was so much fun to help. All of these women, especially moms to figure out what’s holding them back from starting a podcast. And hopefully getting rid of all of that so that they can start their podcast. Um, yeah, it was just delightful. I love helping people start podcasts, especially women because we need more women’s voices out in the world and a podcast is a great way to do it.

My next experiment that I tried was I left in way more mistakes. In November’s episodes than I’ve ever done before. And I even left in like me laughing at myself, making those mistakes. And. I don’t know if anyone else actually noticed, like, I didn’t. Get any. Like mean comments or anything, which was nice.

It did make editing a little bit easier. And I felt like less of a robot. So. I’m going to keep doing that.

More than anything.

It just helps me and anyone who listens to my show have a friendly reminder that making mistakes is not a bad thing and it doesn’t make you a terrible person. And I need that reminder. Way more often than I think I realized. So doing this has really helped me as a recovering perfectionist. To let go. Of perfection.

Another experiment that I tried was putting a block of keywords at the bottom of my show notes to see if it helps. More people find my episodes through SEO. And I honestly don’t know if this helped or not, but I know that it didn’t hurt. So I’m definitely going to keep doing it because. Why not. And it does help me. Um, thinking of those keywords has also helped me write my show notes better anyway.

And so. I see no downside at the moment. Um,

if you don’t know what I’m talking about. When I say keywords, um, in some podcast platforms, there is a spot at the bottom of your, like when you’re uploading a new episode, there’s a spot at the bottom where you can put keywords. Um, And every podcast hosting platforms is going to call it a little something, a little different, but it’s just another way to help people find your show.

I use Spotify for podcasters and they don’t have a little spot at the bottom to put it. So I still wanted to be able to have these keywords that people might be searching for to help them find me so that I can help them. And so I just put it in a block at the bottom of my show description, my show notes and. I learned that from Brittany Herzberg, who is the queen of SEO. If you want to deep dive into SEO, she is your girl. She’s amazing. And I’ve learned a lot from her about especially. Um, SEO for podcasting.

Now I get to get a little bit sentimental and talk about how I feel overall about season two. And honestly,

It’s definitely been a rollercoaster of sorts. Um, I was hoping at the beginning of the season, like before it started. Before I even dropped the podcast trailer, I was hoping to get 150 downloads per episode, which looking back now I realize was. Too high of an expectation for myself as I was like pivoting changing. What my podcast is about and doing so many other things, having such a high expectation of myself was not the best idea.

So. I pivoted halfway through the season and decided that that goal is going to be put on the shelf and I will revisit it later. Um, maybe in season four. Or five.

So that was definitely a hard part about season two. Not reaching that goal that I thought I could reach.

But there are so many things that.

I really loved about season two. One of them is I am so proud of myself for how much I experimented with my podcast and my business that goes along with my podcast. I notice that , as I’m been in this like experimental mindset,

I’m able to see. Metrics. That could make me really sad, like download numbers or like followers on social media.

Those can make me sad because maybe they’re lower than other people’s. But when I’m in this experimental mindset.

I see those numbers, those download numbers, those follower numbers as. Just information, and not as something that defines my value as a human, my value as a podcast or or the value of my business

And I wasn’t expecting that. I knew that experimenting was going to help me improve my show, and I knew that it was going to help me figure out how to best help my people. All of you. But I didn’t realize that it was going to help me personally.

Be in a better head space to continue being a creator and. A podcaster. So that. Is something I am so grateful for from season two. Another thing. That I am super proud of myself for is video. Starting video was so scary. And so if you are in that spot and you’re like, I know that I should start video, but I don’t know how I hear you.

I was there. I was so worried about video. I had no idea how it was going to go and will truly let me take that back. I was pretty sure it was going to work out just fine. But taking that leap into doing video. It’s scary because it’s all unknown. Right? You don’t know. Even how to do it. You’re stumbling through trying to figure out how to record yourself and how to not just read your script and how to do bullet points that work and all of those little things.

Right. . So scary. But. I now know now that I’m at the end of season two and I’ve done a whole season worth of video podcasting. I. Have realized that it really is not as hard as I thought it was going to be. And more than anything, you just have to do it. Which is not. Always fun to hear that advice.

But when you just dive in, when you just start trying and start trying to figure it out, Now, now that I have done 12. 13. I think 13 episodes, maybe 14. Video podcast episodes. Looking back. It really wasn’t as hard as I thought it was going to be to add it into my like podcast workflow.

And I know that I’ve improved a lot from my podcast trailer to now.

So I’m really proud of myself for doing it. And I’m really excited to see how much more I can grow in this video podcasting aspect of my shell. Truly, there are so many other things I could say about season two, but the one thing that stands out the most to me is I am just so grateful for all of the people I was able to meet. All of the people I was able to help and all of the people that were just so kind to me as I made this pivot made this change.

It’s just been so much fun to meet you and yeah, it’s just been absolutely delightful.

Okay. As I’m wrapping up. The one last thing that I’ve had people ask me is what are you doing in between seasons? So I’m going to be doing a lot of things, but here’s like a highlight list of the things that I’m going to be doing between seasons. The first thing on my list is to rest and read a lot of books. I read a lot all the time, but I’m really excited to be able to read even more and kind of like slow down a little bit.

It feels like the past three months have been a bit of a sprint. And I’m ready to. Slow down and still be working on stuff. I’ve got a lot of ideas and a lot of fun things. That I’ve kind of sat on the back burner almost during the season. And so now I kind of get to pull those back out and try them and see what’s going to work and what’s not, and all of that fun stuff.

So I’m excited for that. I’m also really excited to celebrate Christmas. For the past several years, I’ve been putting out episodes in December. And it’s made it a little bit stressful and less fun for me. So I’m really excited to not be stressed and not be worried about putting out episodes and promoting those episodes.

I can just kind of relax a little bit and enjoy Christmas.

One thing you can look forward to is bonus episodes. I’ve got several interviews that I was able to do that I wasn’t able to fit into season two. That will be coming out. During this off season, I guess that’s what we’ll call it. I’m not sure. I hopefully we’ll come up with a better name, but, um, I’ve got some bonus episodes that are really fun.

And. You’ll see them pop up in your podcast app, whatever one you use. And I’ll talk about them on social media too, when they come out so that you can know that there’s a new episode to listen to. Um,

Probably the biggest thing that I’m going to be doing during this break is

I’m going to be helping moms launch their podcast through a group coaching program that I’m calling the podcast launch club. I’m so excited. I haven’t. Talked about this publicly yet. And I’m so excited to finally be talking about it. So I can talk about this all day long. I’m really, really excited about it, but I’m trying to keep this episode short or at least short or so. Um, here are the broad strokes of what the podcast launch club is.

I’ll be helping you launch your podcast in the first four weeks of January. We will go through the entire process of creating a podcast, starting with your why and going all the way through to a launch calendar that will help you.

Hype up your show and get people excited to listen to it before it even comes out.

And. Oh, I’m so excited. Um, probably the best part. The part that I’m the most excited about is it’s a hybrid group coaching program. If. That’s probably the best way to describe it because. I don’t, I don’t know of any other program that is like this, but, um, The first week is you will meet one-on-one with just me.

It won’t be with the group because I want to make sure that your foundations of your podcast are solid. And then the next three weeks we’ll meet as a group. And I will answer all of your questions. There will be a video of me teaching you, different things for launching your show and then a workbook that goes along with it. And then we’ll meet as a group where you can ask me all of your questions and anything that’s specific to your show. That’s coming up.

And you’ll have access to me via Voxer, which is like a messaging app. It’s my favorite way to communicate with my clients. Um, so that if you have a. Specific question that you are either nervous to share with the group. So you don’t really want to ask in front of everyone else. Or you just needed an answer really quick. You can ask me on Voxer.

And yeah, I’m so excited. It’s going to be so much fun and. The last thing I’ll say about it. Even though I’ve already talked about it more than I thought I would. Um, is there only eight spots available because I want to make sure that each person that’s in the podcast launch club feels like they get.

The help that they need and they don’t.

Feel like they fall through the cracks.

So that is the podcast launch club. I’m so excited. I’ll be talking about a lot more on Instagram. So if you don’t follow me yet, follow me over on Instagram and I’ll talk about all the details and. Get so excited over there. If you’re not on social media. I will be sending out some emails about it. So if you want to hear about it, but you’re not on social media, then. Join my email list. I’ll put a link in the show notes for how to do that. And you can get all the information that way too, because I know not everyone is on social media. Okay. The last thing that I’m going to be doing. In between seasons is getting ready for season three and I am so excited. I am so excited to have time to really. Figure out what you need for me for season three. And. Make sure that I’m giving you all of the information and interviewing all of the cool people. For 📍 season three. And

season three is going to start. The first week of March. 2025. And I’m so excited. It’s going to be. So much. Fun. And

I already have so many exciting and fun ideas, but if you have something specifically that you want me to talk about or, or a podcast or that you’re like, oh my gosh, I really want you to interview. Such-and-such so that I can hear from them and learn from them. Let me know. Social media or leave me a comment on Spotify or send me an email. Any of the ways that you can connect with me. Let me know what you want to hear so that I can make sure that I make that happen for you.

Thanks for being here

and I’ll see you in the spring.