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A podcast by the PodcastVideos.com team focused on gear reviews, studio equipment setups, and lessons and experiences from building an audio and video content creator business.
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Ana Xavier on Strategic Podcasting and Global Influence
Ana Xavier, a trailblazer in the world of podcasting, joins Dan to share her journey and expertise in empowering entrepreneurs, women, and minorities through The Podcast Space.
Get ready to discover how Ana's experiences from Portugal to Dallas have shaped her approach to strategic content creation and podcasting as a powerful tool for business alignment.
We explore the fascinating evolution of podcasting from its structured radio origins to the vibrant, conversational formats that resonate today, highlighting the joy of experimentation and redefining what podcasts can be.
Our conversation broadens to the global stage, where we unpack the booming Portuguese-speaking markets and the unique rise of video podcasting in Latin America.
While the U.S. pioneers innovative podcast formats, creators worldwide are adapting these concepts to local flavors. Ana and I dive into the challenges faced by new podcasters in high-production-standard markets and the diverse skills required to succeed, especially for solo podcasters balancing hosting and marketing duties.
We also touch on the transformative potential of AI in breaking down language barriers, setting the stage for a truly global podcasting landscape.
We wrap up by celebrating the podcasting process itself, emphasizing the importance of filling gaps in niche industries and the power of a well-crafted body of work that can stand the test of time.
From the concept of "burner shows" to refine skills to the unmatched networking opportunities podcasts provide, Ana shares insights that stress the varied purposes and potential of podcasting.
This episode is a treasure trove of wisdom for anyone looking to understand the strategic nuances and vibrant world of audio content creation. Join us and let Ana's expertise inspire your podcasting journey.
Welcome back to Autofocus from PodcastVideoscom. I'm Dan Kraft. We don't have Brooke Galligan here today to do a gear review. Instead, we're going to jump in with an industry expert. This is Ana Xavier of the podcast space. We like Ana, especially because you're here in the studio. You've recently become a local for us.
Speaker 2:Indeed, that is true. I'm very excited to be here.
Speaker 1:Thank you for the invite, oh any time we try to help out our fellow podcasters around the world, let alone the ones that are basically next door.
Speaker 2:Yes, and, as we know, the industry is all about collaboration. So good for us that we like doing the thing we tell people to do right Collabor and so good for us that we like doing the thing we tell people to do right, Exactly, Collaborating.
Speaker 1:We're going to figure out all sorts of ways to do that. I hope yes. So let's explain to folks who you are. You are the podcast space, but what does that mean exactly?
Speaker 2:Yes, so I am a one-woman show, so I am a multilingual, and I'm primarily focused on helping impact-driven entrepreneurs, women, minorities and, of course, the people who want to make the world a better place through their show and through their business, to create a show that is strategic and helps them further their business goals, and so it's everything from how do you align your podcast to what you want to do that year to experimenting and really owning who you want to become as a leader through your podcast.
Speaker 1:That sounds a lot like what we're trying to do with this show right here. Folks, and you are a recent local. You came out of Dallas, but London originally, portugal somewhere, I believe, yes, so you've been all over the place.
Speaker 2:I have potentially Portugal somewhere, I believe. Yes, you've had all over the place I have. It's a fun thing to say that I started my first podcast was back in 2008, when I was doing journalism, school and communication. So when people tell us like, oh my gosh, podcasting feels so overwhelming, there's like so many things you and I go. It has gone a long way, so I'm glad that technology has evolved 2008 makes you a pretty early adopter.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I guess my college didn't have like the radio station that had like a PA system, so we would effectively do exactly what a podcast is. So we would like select a topic, would have a show. We'll think about the concept, titles, descriptions, editing into a package that is consistent in cohesive and then put it on a website via an rss feed sounds familiar yeah, right yes, see, I was in 2008.
Speaker 1:I was still working at the newspaper and we had a guy who tried to do podcasting because we thought it could be a thing. But oh, that that was a pretty failed experiment. We did not resource it correctly or or know any of the technical needs that back then especially, they were very specialized. There weren't some of the do-it-yourself, some of the plug-and-play programs that we have today, where you don't have to have a background in audio engineering or computer programming to get these things out there anymore.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, that is true no-transcript.
Speaker 1:The sitting and recording is actually kind of the easy part for a lot of folks, compared to the other background work it takes to put these out.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, that's the thing, right, like, if only it could be all fun, right, but it has to be strategic because then, like, you can't just sit down and talk about all the things, right? So, um, when I was in portugal and then when I moved to london to study advanced radio production, I was like, of course, let me go to the, you know, to london, the uk, the land of the bbc, it like, where everyone wants to go, where, like, incredible radio is done. And that was my first understanding that, from country to country, yes, there's globalization this was like 2011 but, like, you could still see that the formats were very different, where people were doing very different in radio, which we know it's like the inspiration for podcasting, anyway. So online radio was, uh, like something that people did, um, and trying to like merge those concepts and then it was the evolution of that audio content exactly.
Speaker 2:So it's really interesting to look back and say, yeah, like you had radio, and then you had you merge into online radio, which was a more like loose format, but you still had like that idea that you have to fit with the, you know, like the clock time, like oh, it has to be a 30 minute show and no, no longer. And it had you had to have these like persona and whatever, and then fast forward to you know, the us and just the format that we do today is very much like relax, hey, let's have a chat right looser.
Speaker 1:It's.
Speaker 2:Yes, it's kind of the wild west in a lot of ways yeah, and as an owner, you can say like I'm a business owner. I'm not an expert in this, but let me bring you along as I learned, which is a concept that's completely different than what it used to. Be so sure, like to me, like it feels, like it's like exciting because more people are letting go of, like the expectations of what a podcast should be, and it's like what works, what doesn't want to experiment are you being what a podcast can be?
Speaker 1:I mean you talk about your background in advanced radio production, about doing online radio. I would say we're on videotape, but we're well beyond tape. You've been at this since way before video really became a part of podcasting. How has that changed things?
Speaker 2:I think that it has changed things for anything. Just that depends, depends right, for the better and for the worse. I feel like today there's a lot of people that have that expectation that podcasting has to be video and they are supposed to have you as the only way to grow. And as a marketing and strategist professional, I tell people okay, let's look at what you already like doing, what could be interesting and what also is missing from the market, especially under under um served communities or just traditionally people who don't like being in front of the camera. Sometimes they're the ones that need to be on camera, right, because it's like sure, just tell me, show me, literally show me, how you're like being the, the, the person leading the, the, the way, and so I think that podcasting in video definitely helps a lot because there's, you know, you can fake like an audio podcast that is kind of like more put together, but on video, if you cut a lot, it's going to seem very jumpy.
Speaker 1:It makes it. It makes it a little easier to see how well you've prepared, how experienced you are.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Neither of us majored in broadcast. I'm sure friends who did would be like oh you, your hands wrong, you're sitting your ankles I'm being mindful of that, absolutely like I have all the jiggles I have to, I always have to not make sure I'm not. Yeah, it's an old habit and it was never a problem before and when I just had a pen and paper at the newspaper, right, those days were over yes so but but it's.
Speaker 2:It's good to. Sorry to interrupt you, but I think it's important for people to think no, video is not the only way. You can still do very successful and really great audio, only concepts. But forgetting to not include YouTube as just a channel for distribution is a big no-no, I would say.
Speaker 1:Right At this point. It's essentially, it's a must. If you're not on YouTube, you don't exist in a lot of ways, Whether you have video or not, you can use static art, but get yourself on the YouTube.
Speaker 2:Yeah, because a lot of people especially like looking, I'm 36. So, but looking at the newer generation, we don't have to say anything. But I mean, like I look at the Gen Alpha and Gen Z and they first go to YouTube and then eventually like again. Studies have shown that people will search on YouTube first because you have, like, how many years of just going. I have a question. Someone has an answer. Let me go on YouTube something. Right Versus, you don't go to an app. Most people don't open Spotify and go whatever is like the thing I'm gonna click on, right, like it's different user behavior. So if people are not tapping into that audience, that just says yes, youtube is my default to like. Yeah, we're missing out a huge chunk of the 10 years from now, youtube may be talked about like myspace.
Speaker 1:10 years from now, it could be, you know, bigger than it is now, but there will be something else out there, right what it is. Will it be ai driven? Probably, that's advancing so fast. I don't think there's any way to avoid it. Yeah, um, but I want to go back to whether you're talking about an audio only format or a video included format.
Speaker 1:You know you said you started your first podcast work while you were still in school in Portugal, in Portuguese, I assume. Yeah, you've worked with clients around the world, multiple languages, multiple countries. How do you see? What difference do you see in the markets, in the formats? You know a lot of our listeners probably are Viewers. They wish Speakers Viewers. Yes, there is. Yeah, what is a download? We'll get into that later. What differences do you see in the market demand in Spanish speaking markets? Obviously, you look at South America and it's a big market overall, but Brazil is Portuguese, not Spanish. They're close but they're not the same. Right, english is one thing. Some of the German language shows are showing up as top performers quite often Speak a little bit about the differences between some of the language markets.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 2:So I think that actually, one of my good friends who's also a YouTube strategist, she's been running a lot of tests in English and Spanish and it's been really interesting to also see what's happening in parallel, in tandem like YouTube and you know, audio-only platforms.
Speaker 2:And what is really interesting is that, by far, the US is leading in terms of formats and, you know, experimenting. But we're getting into a plateau, into in terms of, like, just audience growth, like it in terms of exponential growth, and so what is those? Markets are growing a lot portuguese speaking, uh, markets are growing very, very fast, and so there's in terms of formats, there's still like not a lot of experimentation and I feel like the US is showing in so many different industries, just like that right, like we look at the, everyone looks at the US as new ways, like what's the next thing? So I feel like it's the rest of the world is still a little lagging, which is exciting in a way, because it feels like there's a lot of people to go. Okay, what is a show that is happening in the US that I can replicate and become, you know, a leading person in my country, in my industry? It's like a.
Speaker 1:US-based idea. Flip the language or the country market and become at least a localized big dog.
Speaker 2:Yeah, exactly so I think that's a lot of folks. Many, many years ago I remember that in Portugal everybody was obsessed with kind of like doing an English show or like putting your description on English keywords, which makes no sense. It just you know trends. They're like oh, more people will find out. Like the people are listening in Portuguese.
Speaker 2:They'll find it, then they can understand what you're saying exactly so I think that there's um a lot more, for instance, brazil um and also a lot of the um hispanics, hispanic market. In latin america. There's a big trend for video podcasting, because they kind of jumped all of the audio only that we went through here and they got a late start, but they sort of jumped straight of the audio only that we went through here and they got a late start, but they sort of jumped straight to about the fifth step.
Speaker 2:Yep, yep and some of the folks that I know that are working in the Brazilian market. They do notice that whenever they talk about podcasts, it's video, like everybody is.
Speaker 1:Because of the reach of YouTube, they're like audio conversation we just had about starting in radio and how it repurposed no.
Speaker 2:So they're like, immediately, video is a big, big one and they're talking about like, very like, basically a setup like this, a professional setup, and it kind of that's almost like the standard, which I find really interesting there's not a lot of low quality cameras and bad lighting in mom's basement type but it's like the narrative, Like if you want to grow a really big podcast, you have to go immediately, like to the most you know you have them with lighting and like set up lighting and like the key lighting and like cameras that have to be this, this and that.
Speaker 1:We will have an episode on how all these lights work and match your show. By the way, that's coming up, I believe, believe in the next couple of weeks, if we haven't aired it already by the time.
Speaker 2:This one comes, I'm sure, right, um, but no, but it's. It's really interesting because it's just like it at the same time. That is really very exciting because you look, okay, you have all of these legacy of shows that you can replicate from, and there's so much knowledge out there. At the same time, it creates a high bar for the starter, the person who's just trying to figure it out. Right, because it's very different if you don't know your format and your goal and what you want to do, like I had so many, because a lot of the clients that I used to work with were non-broadcasting professionals, so they struggled with, like one who am I as a host? Right, let alone if they're doing it by themselves. How do I set up all of this? Go through the process of being confident, knowing that none of this will like crash every three, you know, um, that's not just the broad.
Speaker 1:they don't have a broadcast background. Even if they maybe they have a little radio background, they might be comfortable on the mic, but they've got to be the producer who's running the mixer board and figure out how they're going to do the edit. Yes, it's a lot to ask out of a one man show.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and like any, it's about like to take the technical, like expertise. You're learning eight skills when you're a podcaster. You're researching, you're becoming a better interviewer, you're learning how to communicate with, maybe, someone who you've never met in life. You're just like dropping into the feed, right. So that, like all of those things are things that, like a marketer, like how do you market the show, how do you script it? Like all of these are things that take time for a regular person. You may be an expert in your field, but all of these just take some some getting to it.
Speaker 1:That's where we've found our niche is because we can take some of that off people's plates, whether it's their editing, their distribution, helping them create social clips, which actually is one reason we found people will go ahead and record the video, even if they're only going to distribute audio, because the video becomes their marketing, becomes their social media clips. They're repurposing it for other uses, but they still want it.
Speaker 2:Okay, you want to know a fun fact I do. In France there was this whole show because my husband's French, so sometimes I listen to the podcast that he's listening to and there was this concept called air podcast air podcasting, basically. So this show will never air, so all they're doing is clipping the snippets to post on social media and that show never sees the light of day as an actual podcast.
Speaker 1:It's an episode that is literally just there to be cut up.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so that's something that even people do. They are, like so aware that social media is.
Speaker 1:Give it to the French to do things differently.
Speaker 2:I mean, yeah, I guess, but I thought it was really interesting. It's just they skip the process of basically there's no destination to send people to. They want to keep people on social media and so, therefore, it's like you can only find out when you you know.
Speaker 1:This is an influencer play yeah, basically.
Speaker 2:But I think it's really interesting.
Speaker 1:That's pretty cool.
Speaker 2:I mean, you can do whatever with a podcast to your point.
Speaker 1:right, you flip the videos and and yeah, down that rabbit hole, see where you land. Exactly so, your husband's French. You spent some time in France, you're fluent in French?
Speaker 2:yes, not anymore, but I mean I can go and have full conversations. I just sound like a five-year-old. Basically yes, mais je parle français. I just said yes, I speak French. Just said yes, I speak French.
Speaker 1:I something about French in there is all I got. I barely passed high school Spanish, but you work in English, french, portuguese, spanish, just Spanish. Mhm, that covers a lot of markets, that's multiple continents. That's impressive.
Speaker 2:I did the math because I'm working through my website, which kind of ties in with some of the things we're going to be talking about. But I was calculating because I've launched the podcast space in 2020. And in the beginning it was an agency to do audio production and all that, and then it shifted into just content strategy, marketing and basically aligning, you know, business owners with with, like, the content itself, right, their goals and the content. And it was really interesting, as I was like oh, let me count. I counted 14 countries. I have clients in 14 countries, yeah, and I have not done any French show, but I've collaborated with a French company called Asha. It's a hosting company. I've done content for them before. So, yeah, very cool.
Speaker 2:It's really cool because you get to hear, especially even though I'm from Portugal I live close to the border with Spain, so I grew up watching three channels of Portuguese TV and five of Spanish, watching three channels of Portuguese TV and five of Spanish. So basically you just get a lot of like cultural references and it's just really interesting of like what makes content appealing, like what's the standard, what is something that goes toward, like what is everyone going to in a specific country and what isn't?
Speaker 1:And again there's like Just across languages that are quite similar but with distinct cultural differences.
Speaker 2:Even just watching TV before you get into the podcast, yeah, so it's really interesting because, like in Portugal, people like they speak like this you know you go, you're broadcasting voice, very like chocolatey and like oh, sweet, and then in Spanish is more like relax and like, more about like having a good time and and being, you know, feeling things. It's a different attitude. Yeah, it's just like nonsense. I love watching uh see, I said watching spanish podcasts, and it's very, very different. Um, and in france is still it's like a mix of, like spanish content as well, like in terms of what I just mentioned, because because, again, I don't listen to it a lot but from what I hear is a little more on that genre. But I think that is really interesting that people don't have to go. What is the only thing that is being done right now? They can go, okay, what is this country doing? I find this interesting. Let me experiment, especially with YouTube having the dubbing for like section coming up for everybody.
Speaker 1:So that's eventually these language barriers, probably via ai, are going to get all but erased. Where you, I'll be able to listen to a podcast originally in portuguese or swahili, with real time, basically instant translation, so that I can hear that content. I don't know that where anybody's going to crack the North Korean market for a bit, but you know.
Speaker 2:Right, yes, right.
Speaker 1:Yes, the AI could really change the whole idea of language and even country by country formatting.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, I have this conversation with friends where, like the ones that are bilingual or multilingual, we go okay, I don't have a podcast in Portuguese yet, but I would be very critical, I'd be like that's not how I sound in portuguese, or is it right? Like because I have a very different personality in portuguese than I have in english and that I have in spanish and french. So you know it's, it's going to be really interesting. The people who are going to go. That's fine.
Speaker 2:All I want is to hit that market, even though it's not how I air quotes sound like you, can be an entirely different personality in each market and right adjust for right local preference yeah, I'm really curious about how that's gonna like pan out, because only the big shows are testing this, um, but I'm curious how that's gonna happen as like it, just because netflix already, apparently, is doing some of this in some series. They're dumb like I haven't seen that. Okay, tiktok, did it happen? I don't know maybe, but they're showing how, like they selected a movie they said dubbed in a specific language, and then even like the graphics were moving with the mouth to match it, and I was like this is insane.
Speaker 1:So I don't know um, now tell folks a little bit more about what you do in terms of strategy. And you don't necessarily work with up and coming creators, people who are trying to establish a show. You're looking at folks who've already got something going and they're looking to level up or branch out.
Speaker 2:Yes, so I primarily work with podcasters who have been doing a show for at least six months, because you and I know both know that a lot of folks come at the podcast concept with like a lot of ideas and in order for you especially, I work with people who have a business or thought leadership attached to it.
Speaker 2:So it's not if you're doing it as a hobby basically the air quotes. The challenge is I was gonna say problems, not a problem is a challenge is that most people struggle to connect what they find as a hobby and what needs to be done to get a business results, and they don't want to mix them. And so if you're doing something as a hobby, you're like I want to enjoy the process, I want to experiment. But then when you're doing something that is to bring leads or to bring thought leadership or to create content for your social media or your website or your newsletter, whatever it is Like, when you look at that, those are very different actions and so a lot of people feel like there is removing some of the air quotes. Joy, it's not the joy, it's the strategic thing to get you to what you need to be.
Speaker 1:It is the difference between a business and a hobby, exactly, and some people start one way and flip the other, or vice versa.
Speaker 2:Right, exactly. So like being intentional about saying, hey, this is something that is going to further my expertise as a thought leader for speaking engagement and the content strategy for that, what you need to do not only in pre-production. So what do you decide to talk about? And also what is the journey of the listener production. So what do you decide to talk about? And also what is the journey of the listener? Not only who you're doing this for, but, like, if someone listens to the end of the episode, are you sending them to another episode? Is it to be bingeable? Do you want to?
Speaker 1:be on your website or sign up for your newsletter. What's your takeaway? What's your get here?
Speaker 2:Exactly. So I help them figure out exactly that. Okay One, what are your goals? But this is the thing that I love the most is that I work with both neurotypical and neurodivergent clients. So basically, if someone is squirrel brain, the way that they're going to be working with a podcast strategist or a coach is completely different, and what's going to work really, it's really about the working than someone who is like, tell me what I need to do and I'll do it. So someone who has a squirrel brain goes. I give you a list of 10 things they need to work on and you go what do I work? What is it? How do I prioritize? Somebody else wants exactly that list.
Speaker 2:Exactly, and someone else will be like yes, like give me the list, I'll go and run it, and so that is a really different thing and that's something that I've realized that the clients I work with normally are the ones that need some accountability, so they're normally very highly creative, that every week you want to try something new without looking at the analytics.
Speaker 1:And trying new things is fun, it's awesome. It can be a huge game changer if they hit. But the idea of consistency is also a tried and true method to grow a podcast.
Speaker 2:Strategic consistency. Yes because it's not just like getting some people are better about that than others.
Speaker 2:Yes, exactly so yeah, so I I help them go through. Exactly what is it that they need to talk about? What is the path of the listener? Where are the marketing gaps right? Where are people dropping off? Why are they dropping off and then um work through their branding? So how do you show up as a leader? A lot of folks think that, like starting just having a podcast is enough in some industries is still true. You and I know that there's some industries that are so behind in terms of like there's no one doing that thought leadership that whatever you do and I've seen this with coaches there's some markets in the coaching world that some folks they don't have the fanciest microphones, they still have like very early 2015 kind of sounding imagery and just basically the branding is still very like primitive to what we have today, but those shows have huge, because they have found a gap and they've filled it.
Speaker 2:And they were the first ones. I think that, like, that's what's important is that you think that, like there's like the leading we you were talking about this earlier where you were saying how you were trying experimenting with podcasting, and there's something, a quote that I don't remember who said this, but I thought it was so interesting. This person said sometimes the reason why things don't work out is because you are a visionary and the industry is not there where you need it to be. And so this person was saying, whatever you create, never delete it, because it's like a record of something that you created ahead of the industry being there, and then you can pull that back out when it's ready. Yeah, and I thought that was a really interesting thing, and I think a lot of people experiment and they have that idea that if it doesn't work right away, it's because it's a failed concept. And that's when working with a professional goes like no, this works, you just got to give it time.
Speaker 1:Shove it, don't trash it.
Speaker 2:Right, don't archive it, don't hide it, just maybe don't promote it. But like leave it to the internet for the internet to find it it, but like leave it to the internet for the internet to find it.
Speaker 1:So don't even put it on the shelf. Go ahead and release it. Yeah, say you know what? This may not pull any traction, it may not get any attention, but in five years it might blow up.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I think there's something to be said about the process itself. I think that a lot of podcasters have the joy, the joy of creating and the joy of saying. I am going through the process, and the process for me is the art, the figuring out how to become a better coach, how to become a better podcaster, how to become a better public speaker. I had a massive anxiety about because I was a producer on live streaming shows, so I was like behind the scenes. I was like la la, la camera, one microphone. Yeah, you're good, let's go.
Speaker 1:Don't feel uncomfortable until that's pointed at you.
Speaker 2:Right, and the process of okay, yes, I started doing social media's 30 second soundbites great but then when you go okay, how long can I talk? I've been talking for a long time right now, right, so those four years like I'm like doing this has have paid off.
Speaker 1:but long form, short form, but your brain is always like too much, too little. Right, where am I at here?
Speaker 2:so, like that whole process, yes, ai is great, sure, but like, if you are going to be, if your goal is to go on a stage and be paid to speak, you can't have ai to do it for you, right, you have to gain, not?
Speaker 1:yet, but those holograms are really cool, true they'll get us there, but I mean the joy to speak and not even have to go to the event. That'd be great.
Speaker 2:There's like ABBA concerts these days that have holograms or something like people pay to see ABBA's holograms.
Speaker 2:They put them up for Tupac all the time but I mean, but it's like it's been done right, like people trying to incorporate more AI into the process, and so I think, going back to my just going through the process, sometimes you, you will do a show and you realize that, like, that show is great for as being a burner show, and what I mean by a burner show is that you just needed that show to not be big or promoted whatever, because you're still getting. You're basically getting your thoughts together, your skills together, and a lot of people will do that and and that's one of the things I say hey, you know, it's your body of work, right, it is called a soft launch concept, where it's out there and you're going to look back after 20 episodes and go, oh wow, that was terrible.
Speaker 1:Yes, but you don't necessarily have to show that one to everybody. It's there if they really dig for it, but it's. It's really about you getting your feet under you and getting getting moved or just the conversations you're having.
Speaker 2:Maybe you don't have the best show it's not a you know dire of a CEO show but the connections they're able to make with those shows, the networking capabilities and some people say, the fact that you know some shows are low stress because they feel like this is just a conversation Are the ones that will build you the the titles network, because people really like relax and so it's relatable.
Speaker 1:Yeah, exactly so you're not forcing content.
Speaker 2:No, and sometimes people who are not media trained will feel more at ease and shows that they feel as a low threat, right, like, oh, that's fine, it's not, you know, I'm not going to a huge show with like millions of downloads. And then you connect to that person and you build that report and you sometimes do business for them Anyway. So all to say that all of these are valid reasons to do a podcast and that's what I help people, so it does not necessarily need to be. Everything is to bring leads to the business, because sometimes that's not what people want at all.
Speaker 1:It depends on what your goal and your takeaway is for your podcast. Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 2:So, yeah, sometimes there's agencies that need help with their clients and sometimes there's people who say, you know, I need help looking at the analytics, looking at the numbers Are these consumption rates good?
Speaker 1:Am I even looking at the right numbers? It seems to be. As we try to build out bigger and broader ways to look at our own analytics, our constant question is is that really the number we need to be analyzing, or should we be analyzing it? But over here, where can we get a number that tells us this it's? And about the time you get it nailed down, everybody changes how their report and you get to start over honestly, sometimes it's like what do you want and what are the numbers telling you?
Speaker 2:Are they reinforcing this goal that you have? Because if you're using it exclusively for networking, you literally do not need to look at the numbers.
Speaker 1:So I mean, unless you want to grow, this If you're aiming for monetization for a product, you've got to have the numbers to back it up. But what numbers do you look at? Do you care about the numbers? These are. These are all questions that you know. The podcasters that do make it through what eight episodes which plenty of people drop off? They start to ask these questions and then we have people like Anna here to help guide them through some of those answers.
Speaker 2:Absolutely and just also like enjoying part of the process. I think that a lot of folks feel that this is like the ride or die has to be done. It's like how about we gain? There's always something to be learned and that's why one more podcaster to think about is like stop looking at your competitors. You don't have to replicate what they're doing, Also, what you know. If you were to die tomorrow, this is very dark. But if you were to die tomorrow, you would look and like I wish I had more fun. So like that to me, like enjoy the process of learning. Enjoy the process of getting one email, instead of saying why am I not getting 10? Why am I not getting 20? I was like you caught one. That is insane. Like you literally are doing this in your house or in a studio when you don't normally talk to the people that you serve. So isn't this incredible? So, putting in perspective some of those like wins.
Speaker 1:I think I had more fun Now if we had more extensive show notes than we did, which weren't much. I would have rigged some confetti up there to fall right there.
Speaker 1:Guys, this is Ana Xavier. She is of the podcast space and she is our local fellow podcasting pro. Welcome to Northwest Arkansas, our little home here in the Ozarks, and welcome to Autofocus, our very own show about all the gear, all the industry experts and anything else that we find interesting and we hope you do too. So for Autofocus focus until next time, I'm Xavier and I'm Dan craft for podcast videoscom. Thanks everybody.