All righty everybody . My name is Lloyd and today I'm excited because we have a guest that's filled with knowledge on how to start a podcast . He helps you start , manage and grow your podcast . He has over 6,000 followers on Instagram . He provides podcast tips on TikTok on a daily basis . I mean , the content is fantastic . Please help me welcome Dylan Schmidt to the podcast . How are you ?
Speaker 2I'm so glad to be speaking with you , lloyd , I am your number two fan . I'll let your wife be number one , okay .
Speaker 1Right right , right right , we'll split it . I appreciate that . I'm a huge fan of your content and I'm excited to be chatting . I'd love to start by asking why did you choose to start a podcast ? Out of all the different mediums like YouTube or streaming , or Twitch or all the different things out there ? What is it that led you to start a podcast ?
Speaker 2My therapist . Actually , I guess that's actually probably somewhat of a common answer . I've seen some people talk about that . But I have helped people with their own podcast for years behind the scenes . And then I would explain to my therapist one day about how I didn't want to start a podcast , because I thought it would be ironic helping people with their podcast and not have my own podcast . But but people assumed I had a podcast . So when I was explaining my reasons to her she was like sounds like you're just rebelling . I'm like , yeah , that's what I'm doing . And then a couple of days later I'm like I need to start a podcast . So I started my own .
Speaker 1Wow , that's incredible . When and when was that ? Like what year ?
Speaker 2Last year , last September , I think it was .
Speaker 1That's incredible , you know , I think that you know . Starting a podcast is one thing and that's one skill . Building a community , to me , is a completely different skill . That's also just as important . I mean , the fact that you have 6,000 followers on Instagram has some sort of proof that , like , you , know what you're doing when it comes to building a community . What has that been like for you ? What are ? How have you been able to do that ?
Speaker 2This is going to sound weird , but maybe it's been frustrating and actually feels like it's been slow and I'm impatient because my one-on-one clients have been primarily it's been a large platforms and what I bring into my own thing . I don't use any client resources Like it's very private in a way and uh , so it's been like humbling in a lot of ways because I've started from zero , but it's also been uh , feels good in a way because I'm building something that is just uniquely me . Yeah , but it's been really fun , terrifying , fast , slow , all those emotions I feel like at once . Uh , actually , this month it will be celebrating one year since I've started um , my official company , digital podcaster , and it's been such a range of emotions but overall it's been incredibly valuable to my own life and exciting to connect with so many people that I never would have connected with otherwise .
Speaker 1I love that . That's incredible and I totally can resonate with that . Sometimes , as a content creator , I kind of feel like gosh , this is taking forever . I've been at the same number count of followers for ages , and then other times it just feels like it's going so fast and there's kind of like this I'm still working towards like accepting that , like hey , this is out of my control and these are the things that are in my control . I'm going to just focus on those things and when I do that , I find like that , I'm just like so much happier , I'm at so much more at peace . I create the content I care about , but there's other times where it's just like I'm itching to grow as fast as humanly possible . That's a hard skill . So I totally hear you and I resonate with that . I want to talk to you about that , though . A year ago , you decided to start your business Digital Podcaster . Tell me what the business is and how do you help people .
Speaker 2Yeah , so I started Digital Podcaster I laugh because it doesn't really mean anything the words by itself , digital Podcaster but a lot of stuff was taken right . There wasn't a lot of options left , but somehow that wasn't taken . Um , but I , I started it just as a way Cause I went to school for I'm 33 now right after high school . I didn't even start paying attention in high school as it was ending , because I knew I wanted to work at a recording studio . And then , uh , uh , luckily , I graduated . And then I went to school for audio engineering and I was like this is awesome . And then I was like wow , there's no money in music .
Speaker 2So then I started learning marketing about 10 or so years ago and I've been kind of working by . I had not kind of I have been working behind the scenes with a lot of marketing things . And then around 2016 I got into podcasting for clients cause they needed it and I've been doing it . And it hit me like they needed it and I've been doing it and it hit me like I've been . I've been on soul searching for like years Like what am I supposed to do with my life ? And then it just kind of happened in a download about , uh , I guess about a year ago , of like podcasting , like that's my uh passion , Like there's a connection there and uh , in the last year particularly , I have wanted to pivot and go outside of podcasting maybe about 5,000 times , thinking it's too small .
Speaker 2And every time I stick with it , I've actually given like more . I like to say like given more gold and um , it's just been eyeopening and it's been such an experience just by the simple thing of sticking with one thing .
Speaker 1Yeah .
Speaker 2You say to podcasting , I everyone . I try to tell that like podcasting seems too small , like if I ever try to um say that to somebody like I'm always met with , what are you talking about ? Like everybody wants a podcast .
Speaker 1How can it be Right , right ?
Speaker 2Like oh , but my own whatever mind is just like no , it's too small , there's not enough people .
Speaker 1That's so funny that you say that . You know . I feel like there is a whole conversation to be had about that , because I think , like the bulk majority of the world feels just like you . Like , whatever you think your niche is , you probably feel like it's too small . I've never heard anyone say like you know what this is like a great niche , and I think there's more than enough people here for me . You know , even on TikTok , as people are like finding what it is they want to talk about , I think the idea that it could be too small , almost just like , paralyzes people from like moving forward . So I I totally hear you there , since doubling down and saying like yo , like podcasting has been my thing . What's that experience been like for you ? I have a similar story too .
Speaker 2Really . Yeah , I love to hear it . It's been , it's been great because I've I know like I want to help people , I know , and I'm like rebellious , I guess , in like nature I try to do things like the opposite and I guess , if I'm learning anything , I'm realizing that , you know , the quicker I could stop rebelling , the quicker I'll probably grow . Um , there's , there's some good sides to rebelling and then there's some not so good sides . I guess , yeah , as far as , like you know , I don't know , trying to be clear and things like that . So it's been really cool , Um , and then it's , and it's been , I don't know , challenging all that stuff . Uh , but it's been , it's been such a lesson in like learning as as seeing the same thing from multiple perspectives and learning more . It's like , the more I , it's I this is probably some Yoda saying or something but the more , the more I'm learning like , the less I know , I feel like , so it's kind of fun to show up with like a .
Speaker 2This is what I've experienced and seen and at the same time , I'm completely open to being any other way to like . I'm not saying it's my way or the highway , this is just one way I've seen , and I don't not saying it's the final and only way .
Speaker 1Yeah , I love that and you know , I , I I'm of the same mindset and I it's almost like okay , so like this is like my personal theory and it's a bit , it's a bit , it's a bit crazy , a little bit um , but it's like I , I kind of feel like I want to be like the rebel of like podcasting , like I want to be the one person where , like everyone is saying like go this way and do it this way , and I'm going to come and say like do it the opposite .
Speaker 1Yeah , and I think , like part of it is just like I think that I don't like like uniformity when it comes to like creativity , when it comes to like art . I don't like telling people like these are like the guardrails you use to do something . I like people feeling like you know , and it seems like every other genre is like we give people room to do that , whether it be music or movies Like the more wilds , the more out of the box your movie is , we like applaud that , we love that . But the moment someone comes and they don't have like an RSS feed like the way that you want it , all of a sudden it's like that's not podcasting , it's not , it's not , that's not how we do it , and so I like the idea , specifically with podcasting , just figuring out like how do I want to do this ? And empowering other people Like do it , however the heck you want to do it .
Speaker 2Yeah , you know who Rick Rubin is . I do , yeah , yeah .
Speaker 1Yeah , so this is like .
Speaker 2I'm not comparing myself , just disclaimer on that . It's not trying to say it in an egotistical way , but like one of my , uh , I love him , Um , like , just from what I've seen and heard . But I was like I want to be more like the Rick Rubin of podcasting than the Tony Robbins of podcasting . I don't know if that's an even exchange , but just the simple of like , like and it's a little difficult , teaching , you know , like I would love to see Rick Rubin teach a masterclass on like , how he approaches music production , Cause he's like , like what it'd be different for everybody and it's so it's . I've been trying to find that balance to of like . How can I make it mean whatever it means to the person , while still giving them guardrails and not giving them too much ? And I feel all the time like I'm saying like you got to make it in this way , but feel free to make it in this way .
Speaker 1Yeah , yeah , I agree , no , and I love that . And you know , it's like one of the things that just came to mind as you were talking is you know , I feel like I have a lot more creative freedom than the average person , right , I still have . Like you know , I have a day job . I can truly say that , like hey , like everything I'm doing with my podcast and TikTok and creative work is literally just like a side hustle . I could make $0 from this and not even care .
Speaker 1But I do know lots of other people where their business , their day jobs , it is very closely associated with like the creative art they create . I mean kind of similar to you , right , where it's almost , like you know , digital podcaster is like your business and that is like how you make some , like some sort of revenue . Um , do you feel , like , how do you balance knowing that , like hey , I need to know that , like this thing is going to generate revenue for me , but at the same time , I'm creating art and I need to know that , like , I need to be unscripted in some ways . How do you balance that ?
Speaker 2Yeah , it's , it's difficult , for sure . Um , but because I've been doing like the online business space the it sounds maybe crass , but like the internet marketing kind of world , I know certain things that work and I know how to get information , like I've . I've I've made a lot of people money over the last 10 years and so I like know what needs to be done , but it's always been harder to do it for myself .
Speaker 1Yeah .
Speaker 2Because if I'm the person in front of the camera or behind the microphone , that's something completely new to me , like I haven't done that for 10 years or something like that . So it I know , I know sometimes what to do . And then it's harder a little bit because if something's not working , usually I could be like we need to do that and I don't feel as emotionally connected to it . Yeah , so it's been a lot of like separating what is actually like needs to get done , detaching emotionally from if I think something is good or bad or whatever it is , and then just like doing it , because if something's like got to pay the bills , but I feel like I'm setting it up in such a way that I don't feel out of integrity at all , which is at the end of the day , that's most important to me , because I might as well pick up any job over feeling out of integrity with what I'm doing with my own business .
Speaker 1Yeah , so it's almost like you use like your integrity gauge is sort of like your marker of whether you're like on the money or like going in the wrong direction . Yeah .
Speaker 2Yeah , and it's much easier Like it's . I haven't like gauged it .
Speaker 2I maybe since this when I started of like okay , because now it's gotten simple , like I just want to be , simple I don't like a lot of uncertainty , like I don't , like you know , and with creating an online business , like there is a lot of uncertainty . So if I can reduce that as much as possible , I feel better , but I don't . Yeah , I like I , I'm doing things today that I never would have thought I would have done a year ago , because I would have been like that's cringe or that's like no , that's not who you are , yeah . But now that I'm here , I'm like oh , this is me , this is who I am , yeah , and I feel more comfortable and safe in a way , even though it's like unsafer in a way because of the amount of uncertainty is still there in a way because of the amount of uncertainty is still there .
Speaker 1Oh my gosh , I resonate with that so much . I it's so funny Like for most of my life I felt like I was kind of like the background guy and I enjoyed
that . I thought that was like closely associated with like who I was from like a personality standpoint , and it's like whenever people had great ideas , I felt like I was the guy you bring your idea to and I help you like bring it to life and I love that . Like I'm a great like number two , I'm a great like number three person and that was like I excel in those areas . And so now the idea of me like having to like bet on myself and say , like you're helping these people , you could literally just do this for yourself and it there might be more uncertainty , it might take longer , but now you're like the person that is essentially like reaping the benefits as well .
Speaker 1It's something I never thought I would do , something I didn't think I was capable of doing , and now that I'm like doing it , I think about that all the time . I literally just said in my last episode I was just like you know the idea . If you would have told me a year ago that you'd be creating content publicly online for like anybody to see , I would have said absolutely not , there's no way . And so it's crazy that , like this idea of who we are shifts and kind of changes , and I think , like creative work is a great marker to use to like am I pushing myself , am I challenging myself , am I stepping out of my comfort zone ? And you get to impact people while you do it , and that's like a win-win to me .
Speaker 2Yeah , I so feel the same way and I don't know , are you familiar with the Enneagram ?
Speaker 1I am yeah .
Speaker 2Like , are you a number nine ?
Speaker 1Gosh I don't remember my number , I feel like we're similar .
Speaker 2And yeah , like I'm a nine , it's like Peacekeeper . Everything I've seen talking with you , but then also everything I've seen through the content you've made .
Speaker 2like man I'm on like the same wavelength yeah yeah , like you'll post something and I'm like , oh , that's how I'm feeling today , that's what I'm like , yes , I agree with that too , and like it's rare to come across that . But at the same time , I know that there's a lot of people out there that feel similar and I had to talk myself up to start posting on TikTok , right , like I'm all justifying it , like , yeah , I mean , I'm just going to test it out and see . Like I don't , I don't really know you know just what could happen .
Speaker 2Meanwhile . I hope this does well .
Speaker 1Right , Seriously , Seriously . You know it's so funny that you say that when I see your content , I think the same thing . I'm like man , I could just reshare all of your content and I would hit like .
Speaker 1I would hit all my , my goals of like what I want to get to my , my audience . You know I wanted to ask you . You know how do you um , how , how do you what's been ? How do you gauge success ? Like how , what ? What is success to you in terms of like your podcast , like what are you hoping it like accomplishes ?
Speaker 2Yeah Well , my goals have like shifted in the last couple of months , I guess . But , um , at first it started is just . I was like I felt like I had to do it really , like I felt like obligated . I'm like if I'm going to teach podcasts , I'm going to make all these videos . I just have to like be in the host seat , which is cool . Um , so it was just doing it at first . I was like let me just make it to 20 episodes . I started connecting with people right away . I was like this is awesome .
Speaker 1This is addicting .
Speaker 2I love this , like I wanted what . Why was I waiting for , right ? So then I was like I'm like I said I'm a little bit crazy , lloyd , so I was like I'm going to make a podcast today for the month of May On my podcast . I was like make a podcast today for the month of May to keep the imposter syndrome at bay Because I found the more I produce , the less comparison and imposter syndrome I feel , or an experience .
Speaker 1Yeah .
Speaker 2You know isn't the only way is not by doing a podcast a day , but I just like hitting like numbers and connecting and getting certain messages across . So I'm a big fan of challenges like that .
Speaker 1Yeah .
Speaker 2Right now I really am starting to pivot more to educating , more on podcasting in my podcast . I don't I haven't done that previously because probably that rebellion I'm like I don't want to talk about podcasting on my podcast .
Speaker 1Right right .
Speaker 2I'd rather talk about it . I'm like no , it doesn't make . So I'm kind of wearing myself out of that excuse and so I'm kind of teaching . I want to reach more people through the education of podcasting on my podcast , but it took a while to get here .
Speaker 1Yeah , no , totally , I totally get that . Is it fair to say that the bulk majority of revenue you make from everywhere that it's not through brand deals and sponsorships , but it's through the people that need more help with podcasting or whatever else it may be ? And so , even though those people may come through TikTok or through podcasting , that's how you would say like you generate , like , the bulk majority of your revenue not like brands and sponsors .
Speaker 2No , I yeah , I've never entertained or even thought about a brand or sponsor or ad Again .
Speaker 2this might be the rebellious nature , but I don't see any reason whatsoever , unless maybe it makes a lot of sense to me , I guess , maybe because of that rebellion thing Like I also want to not feel , um , I always want it , like I'm very big on trust and connection , like you can't have a connection without trust . Because you know so I'm very big on trust and connection , you can't have connection without trust . I'm big on that . To me , it would take the right sponsor ad . I'm not against them for everybody , of course , but for myself , if I'm going to be recommending something , anything like that , an affiliate link is one thing and I'll always disclose if it is or isn't , but I just don't see the purpose . But yeah , so I have clients that pay me , like just focusing on Podcasting Academy , which is the goal .
Speaker 2But it's going that way , and Podcasting Academy has only been a month or two by now , so it's going , it's going but I want to help more people . And I don't want to have to charge a bunch of money , and the way I can do that is by keeping costs low , making great content for free Right , and then if someone wants to pay , I mean everything costs money , you know . So like yeah , Um so yeah .
Speaker 1Yeah , I hear you , I hear you . Um , I , I love it's so funny . I have like the opposite stance . I'm like I'll work with like brands all day , but like the moment I have to like hold someone's hand and like help them , like do something or like walk through something , I'm just like too many unknowns . Too many unknowns Like you could be like over , demanding you could . This is so many things that could go wrong . So to me , like I'll create three videos for you . If you're going to pay for that , sure that is .
Speaker 2that is like , yeah , I , it's funny , you could probably use a little bit of what I have and I could use for you Right , right , right , exactly .
Speaker 1We could use each other .
Speaker 2We could take over the world , lloyd , I know , I know .
Speaker 1Literally tag team . So I I meant to ask you know , like I , a lot of the people I think that listen to me on tech talk want to start a podcast but are maybe just afraid , and maybe they don't even know what they're afraid of . But if you were in an elevator with someone and you overheard them say that they were scared to start a podcast but you know , you know they're great , you know they , they can do it what advice would you give them to start their first podcast ?
Speaker 2Yeah , I would it . It depends Like I feel like I'm pretty good at picking up on people's energy pretty quickly , so hopefully I have more information . I would never give unsolicited advice to somebody in an elevator . Hey , you know what you look like . You could use a podcast . I heard you say it Right , right , see me with like a podcast logo . I'm like geez , I have an anti podcast podcast club . Like right , right , like , see me with like a podcast logo .
Speaker 1I'm like geez , I have an anti podcast podcast club .
Speaker 2Like right , right , like podcast . I don't , I don't want to be that guy , yeah , so . So , um , I'd probably just share what worked for me . And what worked for me at first was I wanted to do it , I wanted to make content , but I was nervous and I just felt like my myself was not going to be able to do it . So I made an alter ego and mapped it out Like I had my notebook . I drew a whole alter ego and I was like this is it , and I'm not going to share it with close family , not nobody . I'm not going to share it with anybody , I know .
Speaker 1Yeah .
Speaker 2I'm just going to make it from scratch , so I don't have to worry about the oh , you're doing like I'm it's such a baby at that Like it's very yeah . So I was just saying like yeah , like it's the same thing and , um , it's not dependent on anyone's opinion or anything .
And , uh , I would just say what worked for me , which is like creating it from scratch , not worrying about anyone's opinion but my own , and just doing it because I want to do it , not simply because I feel like I need to do it .
Speaker 2I love that , or maybe I need to do it , but it's because I need to do it , not because someone external force is like yeah , do that .
Speaker 1You know I love that , dylan . This has been an awesome conversation . Thank you so much for joining me on my podcast .
Speaker 2Thank you so much for having me .