This is the show for digital creators by Digital Creators, hosted by me, Dylan Schmidt, a Los Angeles based content creator who loves to blend marketing, creativity, and business. Join in as we explore online entrepreneurship, creator best practices, and more. Each week, I'll bring you interviews with successful creators, tips and tricks for growing your online presence and simple insights into the latest trends and strategies I'm seeing and using in the space. Welcome to Digital Podcaster. In this episode of Digital Podcaster, I thought I would take a step back from doing some interviews. And, actually, the next couple episodes, I was gonna do solo episodes just because I've been doing a lot of listening. And in those interview episodes, I do like 20% of the talking in the whole episode, 80% of the guest. And I have some things I wanna share and talk about and share with you. And so switched to some solo episodes here. And today, I wanted to do, some things that I've Never talked about actually on this episode, and that's answering some of the most common asked questions I get. And here's what I did. Here's how I found these most commonly asked questions. And I always find this interesting because, like, people say this, they say, I'm answering my most commonly asked questions, and it's like, where do you come up with these? Like, how is this just some random Questions that you wanna answer, which is fine, but, like, the transparency behind it is usually pretty low. So here's how I found these most commonly asked questions, and they're from my Instagram. My Instagram DMs are a lively place, and I get a lot of questions in there. And what I did recently is I took all of the questions I have ever been asked in my Instagram. I went through all of the messages. Yes. Believe it or not, since June 2021, I made them in a list, and then I asked Chat GbT to help We identify the top asked questions, and I listed out the top 4 because I thought that was a great place to start without making this episode too long because I don't know how long responses will take because I could do a whole episode, around each of these, but I I kinda wanted to make it somewhat short, as far as the responses. So that's how I found my most commonly asked questions, and it's also how I would, You know, suggest for you too, if you, like, feel like you answer a lot of questions and you're like, I'm not really sure how people perceive me, My idea wasn't to take all the questions and then put them into an episode like this. I actually wanted to take all of the questions, Feed them into ChatChippity, and ask ChatChippity, how am I perceived? Like, what do people based on the questions that people are asking me, How are people perceiving me? Like, what I know? And it's perceived that I have a high area. And this is probably obvious to you, but it's Hard for me sometimes to see, like, how I'm perceived, as being the person doing the creating. So, you know, people perceive me as being, like, Technically capable, having, like, a high expertise, of course, around podcasting and technical skills are associated with creating content, audio, things like that, which makes perfect sense. But yeah. So let's dive right into the questions. Number 1, I get this question a lot is, I love your videos. How do you come up with ideas? Most people I speak with, at some point, they say that follow me on, like, Instagram, for example. And I guess these questions are kind of tailored towards Instagram because people are, you know, on Instagram when they're asking me this. But, Yeah. My videos and if you've ever wondered this, like, thank you for watching my videos for 1 and how I come up with the ideas. I don't have, like, a super linear process for how I come up with ideas. If you listen to an episode a little while back I did with A man named Bill Small, I think he said it best. He said something about, like, creativity, and it's uncomfortable, and there's, like, a tension there. I feel that with my own ideas coming up with the videos, I could just be generic and answer the most basic questions. And I do try to answer basic questions, But, at the same time, like, it would be boring if I only did that. So I don't get bored answering generic questions only because that's not all I do. If I do everything just one way, to me, that's boring, and that makes my content boring. And it needs to have, like, a mix of Me being interested in it, me making it for somebody else, me making it for myself. And I have these different ideas, and not every Video IDEA has the same idea behind it. Like, I'm not always making a video for someone else. Like, I've been watching a lot of miss Rachel, the child entertainer, on YouTube. And so I just recently made a video unboxing this teleprompter I got from Elgato. And, you know, there's no rhyme or reason, but I wanted to make it in the style of miss Rachel. So how did I come up with that idea? I was like, I need to make I wanna make a video sharing this because I think people will find this prompter useful. So how did I come up with that idea? I just started, like, filming it, and then I was like, I have mister Rachel stuck in my head. So I'm like, alright. You know? But it's all stems around the idea of, like, Me and, like, what I have the capacity to create as well. I could talk about so many different things. I have people that want to do brand stuff with me. And, like, that doesn't sound exciting. So I come up with ideas, and it's uncomfortable because I'm not always sure where the next idea will come from. I don't really want to know where the next idea will come from because I'm making it based off of how I'm feeling, where my mind is going, And those aren't always, like, a linear place. And to me, that's what makes it exciting, and it's, I think, what makes it interesting to other people and based on the feedback I get. So when people are like, I love your videos. How do you do that? It's like, I'm just me, and I try to create the videos in a way that's me. And that's easy for me to do because it's me doing it. But if I was trying to do it for you, it'd be really hard for me to do it for you. So I don't really know how else to explain it other than, like, I'm making it in my way, and I would imagine too over time, like, my way will become more defined. But I'm not really set on defining a certain style. Some people do that, and they see a lot of growth. I'm like, that's cool. But I don't really wanna do that. I get bored too easy. For content clips clients, that's a little bit different. We you know, it's Different type of client that we're serving, and so we really templatize the content creation process. We have to, but the person and the content isn't as active they don't play an active role into, like, creating the content, so somebody has to manage that for them. And it's always gonna be different if you're outsourcing that creativity. There's gonna be a compromise there. And so, yeah, I don't have that compromise with my own content and videos that I'm making so I don't have to really worry about that. Another question I get is, do you know anybody who can edit my podcast audio episodes, and, YouTube videos? Well, depending on your budget, if you Break it down simply. If you have a way of monetizing and you're, like, not absolutely worried and trying to pay, like, the bare minimum because you value quality service, and you can, like, afford to invest in your podcast. ContentClips does handle podcast audio editing. We don't do YouTube videos. That's like a whole another process. We do shorts, but we wouldn't do YouTube videos. So for audio editing in your budget is, in the 100 of dollars and up. Content clips, I can't recommend it enough because our attention to detail, I can only speak for ourselves, is as high as it gets. And we put a lot more into it than just, You know? Making some, like, quick little minor edit and being like, it's polished or something. So Coniclips. But if you're like and the person actually that last asked me this. They were like, I have a couple $100 a month, and they wanted, like, all this stuff. If that's the case, You're better off outsourcing and finding somebody else to do this stuff for you, like, probably, like, a virtual assistant type role. You know, if you don't have much money to pay for someone to do this for you, then, like, you know, you're gonna get what you pay for. Right? So take that into consideration. I have a whole, like, outsource, it's called a quick start course in the creator club. So go to the creator club .com. You can check it out. 7 days free. You can actually, like, Just see if you like it, but you you don't have to, like, pay to even access the outsource course that I made that has, like, scripts on, like, how to hire. But, basically, what you wanna do is, like, use a site. Like, it could be like online jobs dot p h. Put up a posting, say, you know, who you're looking for and add in details of that and then start to get candidates back. And then you start to give them tests, And you pay for those tests that they do. And then from there, you choose the person you wanna move forward with. If you're on a budget, like, you have to do more work than a managing the person Just like a business, you can't expect to pay $200 a month and just get, like, full beautifully produce podcast audio episodes. If you produce, like, every week or something too, you're gonna get what you pay for. So if you don't have much of a budget, you're gonna be spending more time managing. Know that. So I'm connected to a podcast, obviously, a network of editors, who follow and listen to this podcast, also, who I would recommend too if it wasn't Conde Glips. But at the same time, like, most of them are charging a little bit. So, also, if you don't list a budget as well, it's almost next to impossible to make any good recommendations. Like, it varies so much. Someone filled out a form on ContentClips .com the other day, and they were, like you know, filling out they were like, I have questions on there to, like, Learn about the person that's inquiring. So before wasting anybody's time, I can just make an informed, decision if, like, we're gonna work good with them and, like, serve them at the highest level. And they just listed under like, when I have a question on there, like, what are your top 3 goals with your content over the next 6 to 12 months, and all they wrote was, I am looking for a Reels editor that can edit Reels at $10 per reel. I'm like, This is not gonna be a good fit for 1 that's like that's like no money for 1, and you're looking for Someone that is brand new, like, great coming through with a budget. Absolutely not, one of our types of clients because, we're, like, looking bigger picture, and and there's a lot more strategy and care that goes into it than we could possibly provide at that price level. So it makes a big difference. Another question. Oh my gosh. I get asked this 3 to 4 times a week, and I reached out to the company. I hope to to do something with them in the future because it makes too much sense. But what is the company that makes my colored microphone? Yeah. This is not a sponsor. I actually asked them. I was like, hey. I get asked so much. Can we, like, set up some type of affiliate thing? I don't even do affiliate Really stuff, like, occasionally, but not it's like, occasionally, I'll insert I think once or twice in the last 6 months, I've inserted it in my newsletter an affiliate thing. But this is, like, the company that almost only makes sense to do an affiliate thing with, and they didn't even reply to me. They left me on red. So but I'll mention them still. The company that did this custom Shure SM 7 B microphone I have is a company called Colorware, colorware, and they make custom painted electronics. And you don't just, like, buy the microphone and then send it to them. They make they do more than just microphones. They do, like, Playstations, Xboxes, all sorts of stuff. AirPods, headphones. You buy it from their website and I think, like, an authorized retailer or something like that. I don't know. But they have, like, a a professional relationship with Shure. And so they buy the microphone from Shure, and then they you go on color wear, And you select the colors, and there's, like, 3 or 4 different spots on this microphone, the s m seven b, for example, that you can customize. And then they paint it, and then they send it to you. And I think it's, like, $100 or $200. I think it's$100 more than what it cost if I just bought the microphone itself, which actually isn't that bad for how high quality it is, how high quality the paint job is, I can't see any issues with it right now. I see, like, a tiny, tiny little bit of chipping on the inside of, like, this connector here. But for my profession, this makes total sense. I would buy it again in a heartbeat. I would like to do some type of affiliate deal with them because I get asked this so dang much. But they have the Shure SM seven b. They have the Shure MV 7 that you can customize. They have the Shure SM 58, which you You might have seen in some of my videos I had an orange and, like, neon green colored one. I tried to make it look like Nickelodeon, And they have, like, a Sennheiser microphone handheld microphone on there. But, yeah, it's not cheap, but the just like the last one. You get what you pay for. This you could do this yourself. It would be complicated and all that stuff, but or you could just buy it from them for, like, $100 more or something. Next question I get is I'm making a service to sell with podcasters. Can I share it with you and you can take a look and give me feedback? I get this question a lot in my DMs from people that I didn't even know were following me really. And it makes sense, I guess, because maybe they see I have content clips. I made 1 comment on a Reddit post, like, a year ago or something about running an agency, and I I still get hit up from that 1 Reddit comment, like, a couple times a month at least, but then I I still get people in my DMs that aren't affiliated with that Reddit comment at all and still asking me. So if you're making a service, whether it's for podcasters, whether it's for any content creators, and you want me to give you feedback on it, I would love to do that. For 1, I think it's best to give feedback in, like, an open area to also get other people to give feedback as well. I'm just 1 person. I have my own perspective of seeing what works and whatnot, but, like, it's Way more beneficial if, like, this is like a group discussion. Going, you know, 1 person to 1 person is, like, slow. So If this is you, I would recommend joining and checking out the creator club because every week, we have these weekly live calls. And I lead them, and we have discussions, but, like, other people in there can give feedback as well that might be in your demographic. They might be Doing the same thing you're doing, we could all learn from each other. So if you're just looking to learn from me, that's cool. But most of the time too, I will say, You just have to launch it. I might have experience, running a content agency, making podcasts, all these technical details. At the end of the day, you just have to make it and get feedback, like and the feedback usually has to come from your ideal client if it's a service. For me, if I'm making, let's say, for example, recently with content clips, we expanded the offerings we did. So now we also do, like, quote cards, which is, like, social media graphics, and we write captions and things like that. You know, I could ask someone else with a content agency if they think that's a good idea, or I could launch it out into the world and just get feedback, real world feedback from people that are in my target audience. And you know what the type of feedback I look for when they're giving me feedback? I don't look for the feedback of the oh, yeah. This seems like it could work. I look for the feedback of, how much is it, and I would like to pay you and payment received. You know, really, payment received is the last one I'm looking for. Anytime I have an idea that I am, like, testing out whether it's a product or service. I move fast. Right? If you've been following me closely, especially this year, oh my gosh. I've made so many websites. I've made a lot of products. I've made a lot of trainings. I've done all this stuff. But I look quickly for the feedback of people when they sign up for something, when they pay me for something, and I double down on those things. For example and this is like it feels a little meta, but talking about the creator club, for example, I really believed in the idea, And it seemed really important to me to make it, and I got a little bit of feedback. But at the same time, like, it was slow. I was like, I'm not really seeing feedback. So compared to what's, like, something with content clips where within 24 hours, I got a client, and it just started taking off from there. But with the creator club, I was like, I really think there's something here. I've had to stick with it a bit longer, and it's still, like, growing and whatnot, but it's not as quick and immediate as launching it and people just start showing up. That doesn't mean I'm gonna, like, abandon it, because I know that my idea hasn't been translated enough for other people to understand what I'm even talking about. So it's not an issue of nobody wants it. I think this is an issue of me not articulating the value enough, the unique value proposition enough. And that can be the case too. So sometimes when you get feedback, You're hoping that someone will say, yes. This is a great idea. You don't have to make any changes and just keep going. And other times, They might be like, I don't know. And that I don't know doesn't mean, no. Don't do it, or this is dumb, and, you know, you could take it all these different ways. It's really on you to, like, figure out how to articulate the value enough because I think the more you stick with something, The clearer it gets if you should continue doing it or not, and you can make changes. And sometimes we don't give ourselves enough Time to even learn from that feedback or learn if we should stick with it longer or if we should give it up. And I think that's where, you know, multiple perspectives come in handy and not just relying on, like, 1 person, because, like, I can tell you Something, but, like, a community could give you more feedback and different angles than just me alone giving you feedback on something. So that's the power of a group, I would say, too. I just think it's very nuanced. And if you reach out to me looking for feedback, I'll say the same thing. Like, join the creative club, and, like, don't just ask me. Like, ask me, but don't just ask me, and don't Just ask other, like, agency owners, for example. Because if I'm not in your target audience so I hope that That helps if you've ever wondered that or if you've ever asked somebody else like, hey. Is this a good idea? Or if you've ever wondered how to get feedback. It's like, don't put all your weight into 1 and get a group, and get your ideal target audience to give you feedback. And at the end of the day, it still might be slow. It still might take a little while. This was fun answering these questions. I hope you enjoyed it too. And this format, it's just different something different, and I I wanna make it, enjoyable You listen to, so if you have more questions, feel free to hit me with them because other people do too. And I'm really liking the idea of expanding out and just try I'm trying to, like I wish my DMs were, like, transparent because every time I'm asked a question in private, I'm like, this would be perfect in, like, to talk about on the podcast or to talk about in the creator club just because we all are having the same questions. We're all dealing with, like, similar things here, and we could all benefit from more of a community approach. Alright. Thanks so much for listening. I'll catch you in the next one.