Episode Summary
Successful leaders know that the key to long-term business growth lies in delegating tasks. But, many owners think they need to be involved in every segment of their business. This is particularly true when a company launches a podcast.
Having a CEO and/or founder involved in this process makes a significant difference from the start. Guests will come to your show because they know they will talk with another subject matter expert, and the audience will listen to it because they will have access to two valuable sources of information.
Still, executives have a lot on their minds, and it can be challenging for them to add another task to their busy schedule. Nevertheless, one co-founder managed to do it. His trick? A well-coordinated team.
In this episode of Recorded Content, Sarah Strid and Joe Michalowski join our host Justin Brown to discuss the ideas and processes behind the creation of The Role Forward. They also touch upon what it was like for Joe M. to co-host the show alongside Joe Garafalo and what he has learned since they launched the show.
Guest Profile
- Name: Sarah Strid
- What she does: Sarah is the Director of Growth at Mosaic.
- Company: Mosaic
- Noteworthy: Sarah and Joe work together on Mosaic's The Role Forward podcast.
- Name: Joe Michalowski
- What he does: He is the Content Strategist at Mosaic.
- Company: Mosaic
- Noteworthy: Sarah focuses on logistics while Joe is the co-host of the show and in charge of the content structure.
Key Insights
- Creating an attractive guest list and being consistent is the goal. The Role Forward is a finance podcast hosted by Mosaic's co-founder Joe Garafalo. However, anyone listening to the show knows another Joe — Joe Michalowski — who started as the show's moderator and is now more like a host, with Joe G. being more like a co-guest. This arrangement is a win-win situation for both the marketing and executive team. They all wanted the show to grow and scale, so they knew they needed to be consistent, and that it's not about who the lead host is but who the guests are. ''The focal point should be the guest that comes on. It's great when Joe G. is there to ask second and third-level questions from his experience, to add some color from his background. [For] any marketer, anyone who's spent time talking to subject matter experts when they're not in that position, [the trick is to] be curious about someone's job. You just ask questions about their experiences and follow-ups like, 'Oh, that sounds like it would be really difficult. Can you tell me more about the challenges?' Questions don't have to be super difficult. You just let the guests run with all of their great insight. And as long as they're in the spotlight, I feel like people are listening, and they're not worried about whether it's me or Joe G. asking a question, as long as it feels like valuable information,'' says Joe.
- It's okay if you, as a host, are nervous; guests are worried too. Even after a handful of episodes, many podcast hosts feel nervous before the next one, especially if they are not subject matter experts. Being anxious, however, is not a bad thing; you are not a bad host if you have concerns before pressing the record button. As long as you have everything prepared, things will go well. Most guests do not appear often on podcasts andso they probably have more performance anxiety than you. So the host's job is to make them feel comfortable. ''Guests are nervous too, unless they're some super high profile person who goes on podcasts all the time. We talked to CFOs and finance leaders. They're not doing podcasts all the time. So being able to find that comfort zone before you start recording [is important],'' explains Joe.
- You know more than you think. As a podcast host, you realize you know more about the topics you are covering than you think. When marketers run a podcast not related to marketing, they fear they will not do it justice. But, we have Joe M. as an example. He is a writer, and his niche is finance. But he thought writing about a particular topic is different from conducting an interview on it. In addition, he felt he was not a good fit to be the co-host of The Role Forward. But this is what he has learned since he started doing it, ''I know a lot more about finance than I thought I did. I've primarily been doing our blog and things like that. So, I've had to talk to Joe G. over and over again about subject matter expertise issues for blog posts. Even on the first recording by myself, I was like, 'Oh, maybe I know more about this than I thought I did.'''
Episode Highlights
What Is It Like to Prepare a Busy Executive Like a COO or a Co-founder to Host a Podcast Episode?
”It’s really exciting. It’s great when you have a co-founder who is all for it — carving out the time in his schedule, making sure that we have the time to prepare in advance, and that he has time, not just with us as a team but as an individual, to make sure that he’s familiar with the guests and the subject matter we’re talking about. And I would say just giving him that space to make sure that he’s prepared,” says Sarah.
The Quality of a Podcast Depends on the Synergy Between a Subject Matter Expert and the Moderator
”Our goal is to scale this podcast and to do it more frequently. We’re at it two times a month. Ideally, our aspiration is to do this once per week, but it is really difficult with scheduling and availability to have an executive as a host.
So Joe M., being the content expert that he is and having that background in interviewing, has stepped in to support Joe G. as a co-host. Somewhat like a moderator. So he’s able to do a lot of the prep work that was taking Joe G. a lot of time and was taking away from the other goals that he had.
So he’s been able to step in, and our goal for this is for him to take over as more of a host in future episodes. We’ve realized that although Joe G. has that great subject matter expertise, you need a great host — someone that can carry the conversation and ask good questions — and Joe M. provides that. So it’s been a win-win for us,” says Sarah.
The Guest Is the Reason People Tune in to Your Podcast
”As long as you have a good narrative, you’re asking good questions, and you have a good story arc — that’s what matters.
It’s really about the guest, too. People are tuning in to your podcast because they want to hear your guest and their expertise and insights on this topic.
So, I would say, just continue to have a good line up of who you want on your podcast. Make sure they’re people who are relevant to your audience and have some really interesting things to say.”
