And How You Can Create Your Own Podcast

I used to get so annoyed at wasting an hour of my day commuting, but then I discovered podcasts, and this completely changed my outlook. Rather than being stuck in a car and mindlessly listening to music, I was being entertained and informed. Total gamechanger!

At first, I listened to a goofy video game podcast called Giant Bomb. In my early 20’s I spent a lot of time gaming and these guys were much more entertaining than any morning show on the radio. But soon enough, I discovered the Joe Rogan Experience. Seeds were planted. I just didn’t know it yet.

I had heard great things about the Joe Rogan Experience, but I had thought it was only about UFC at first. I don’t remember the first episodes I listened to, but I remember getting hooked with episode #894 WhoIsFat. This was a challenge between Burt Kriescher and Tom Segura to see who could lose the most weight in 30 days. The whole thing was hysterical to me and the juvenile nature of the contest was instantly relatable.

The next few episodes blew my mind and really helped me get on this path of self-improvement. In the coming weeks, I listened to the amazing health advice of Dr. Rhonda Patrick, the inspirational Henry Rollins (lead singer of Black Flag) and Leah Remini’s tale of Scientology. I was hooked but nothing could prepare me for what was about to come.

I woke up at 5AM to go for my morning run down to the local boat dock. I would often run there and watch the sun rise then walk through my neighborhood while listening to the Joe Rogan Podcast. That particular day was a special day. Episode #911’s guest was the infamous Alex Jones. A man who was famous for screaming and ranting about conspiracies like how “THEYRE TURNING THE FROGS GAY!” which turned out to be true.

Also, Joe Rogan and Alex Jones ran around DC wearing George Bush masks masks and filmed a music video.

What’s mind blowing is how I now have my own podcast, The Path to Manliness Podcast. And I’ve even been a guest on Zuby’s Podcast. Once you start to believe in yourself, it’s amazing what you can achieve. And that is how all of this finally happened.

I would sit in my car day in and day out and listen to these interesting people talk about conspiracies and ways to escape your job, and it made me reevaluate my own life. And before each episode, I would hear Joe advertise something called Squarespace. This is a web hosting platform and after being brainwashed by Joe day in and day out, I finally accepted the truth that I had to create my own website. My first website received a lot of traffic, but it wasn’t as polished as this one. I learned a lot though and continued to write and create content.

How can you start your own podcast?

I use Anchor.fm and it’s great because they handle all the heavy lifting for you. You upload your audio to Anchor and they will upload it to iTunes, Spotify and a whole bunch of other podcast services that you’ve never even heard of. Currently my own podcast is up on 9 different platforms. You’ll find that it takes about 2 or 3 episodes before yours will appear on different services, but Anchor will do this for you, if you continue to upload new content.

You can make money through Anchor too! I can get technical here with terms like CPM, but here’s the deal. You make a penny an episode if you advertise for Anchor. Meaning if you make $10 for every 1000 “Clicks Per Thousand(M).” Which is not a lot of money, but still neat. And new advertisers will reach out to you with better offers if your podcast takes off. But there’s better ways to make money through podcasting.

In fact, I talk about how you can do this through affiliate marketing in my eBook “How To Not Fuck Up Your Brand.” So, let the amateurs hustles for those pennies. The real players are out making dollars while they sleep. This weekend, while taking my family to a waterfall in Bald River Falls, TN, one of my affiliate links in a podcast helped sell a course for a guest, and that also netted me a cool $23.50. Passive income does exist, if you put in a little work on the front end.

What do you need to get started?

Technically, all you really need is a phone and Anchor, and that will get you started with a very decent but amateur podcast. Seriously, you can record straight to your phone and upload it via the app. The sound quality won’t be great, and your battery likely won’t last for 3 hours if you’re an aspiring Joe Rogan. If you want to step up the quality of your sound, then this is what you’ll need to set yourself apart from those who are “just phoning it in.”

You can really set yourself up for success with a professional sounding mic for about $250. I bought this mic here on Amazon and this Focusrite Audio Interface to connect it to your laptop. It’s a noticeable change and my listeners have mentioned the uptick in quality.

Now why would you want to spend $250 to start a podcast? Well, if you want free, start using your phone, but your listeners will think you sound amateur. If you want to be taken seriously and if you plan on sticking with your podcast, then this small investment will legitimize your podcast.

The best part about starting a podcast isn’t the money or the fame. The best part about podcasting is the opportunity to talk to the most interesting people in your field. I have talked to the female deadlifting world record holder, a nutritionist who gives TED talks to millions and a man who built his own cabin in Cambodia because he wanted to form a real connection to the real world. And I’m only 13 episodes in.

How do you find guests to talk to?

Start with people you know well. These could be friends you’ve met online or people you interact with regularly. Not only will they be happy to help out a friend, they’ll be excited at the prospect of being a guest on a podcast.

Once you’ve gotten more comfortable speaking and recording episodes, you can then start going after bigger names. Again, you ideally want to go after people who are at the very least aware of who you are. As you grow bigger and more popular, you can begin reaching out to bigger and more famous people.

Don’t be afraid of rejection. If you want to really make your show shine, then you’re going to have to make some cold calls. You have a lot of options for how to do this.

1. Twitter DMs are an easy and effective method.

2. Email. If you don’t know their email, use this: anymailfinder.com

3. Reach out through a mutual contact

One of the biggest issues you’ll have is scheduling your podcast guests. We now live in a global economy and if you meet these people online, you’re sure to run into issues with time zones. Not to mention your guests are going to be super busy since they’re super interesting right? Here’s your silver bullet: Calendly.com.

I use this app all the time to schedule my guests because it takes care of the issue with time zone differences. And it even sends an email to remind you and your guests of upcoming podcasts. It allows you to fill in days and times that you are available for booking and helps you avoid double booking. Now, you’ll still have guests who want to reschedule, but this significantly cuts down on flaking and double booking.

If you take nothing else from this article, I want you to believe in yourself. Even if you don’t want to start your own podcast or website, recognize that you have the ability to create something yourself. You can certainly build a website. You can drive traffic to it. You can start a podcast. And through all of these venues, you have the opportunities to build your own passive income.

You can listen to the Path to Manliness Podcast here.

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