For a huge chunk of this podcast’s life I recorded it with my phone shoved down my bra on the school run, with zero dot points and zero clue what I was going to say... and it’s now passed 250,000 downloads. So Tam and I are spilling the whole behind-the-scenes bizzo: the gear (a lil bit fancy, mostly not), the editing shortcut that saves me HOURS, and the AI prompt that writes my show notes, coz I would genuinely rather not have a podcast than write show notes. My arch nemesis, truly.
If you’ve been sitting on a podcast idea for yearrrrs because you don’t have the right mic or the right name or some imaginary organised version of yourself who plans things... this one’s for you, possum. And if you started a podcast, went quiet, and now feel weird about coming back? You too.
In this episode:
- Why this show was first called “Leonie Dawson Refuses To Be Categorised” (and when a niche name helps you grow faster)
- My goals workbooks have had about six names, and why renaming stuff is totally fine
- Starting with just your phone or laptop... no studio, no ring light, no fuss
- The Rode NT-USB mic Tam’s husband talked her into, and why I copied her
- Editing in Riverside by deleting words straight from the transcript
- Our fortnightly yap sessions, the 200-idea Google doc, and our new 30-minute experiment
- The Claude prompt that writes my show notes, micro-content and title ideas
- Why about half our listeners WATCH us on YouTube (Chris has a theory)
Key insights:
- Better done than perfect. A quarter of a million downloads and I still don’t perfectly edit the intros
- You don’t have to be beholden to yesterday’s decisions... names, formats and schedules all get to change
- Make it doable for YOUR brain. If “record at my desk every Tuesday” won’t happen, record on the school run
- Stretch the budget a little for one good mic and you won’t need another for years (Tam’s is six years and counting)
- Edit from the transcript instead of scrubbing through audio looking for that one bit
- Social media is short form, podcasts are long form, and long form is where people really get to know, like and trust you. One good clip a week plus a comment-for-the-link automation does the job
- Pop the video on YouTube even if it’s just two people talking in a room. People love the company
- Gone quiet for months? You don’t need an apology episode. Just come back and hit publish
ABOUT YOUR HOSTS!
Leonie Dawson is a multi award-winning entrepreneur who has created over $16 million in revenue in part-time hours. She is the founder of the Unicorn Biz & Life Academy which helps over 3,000 people build unique, joyful & abundant businesses.
https://www.leoniedawson.com
Tamara Protassow is a non-fiction writing mentor + creativity coach. She’s developed books with 55+ authors over 16 years, both for self-published authors as well as for Hay House UK.
https://www.tamaraprotassow.com
Links & resources:
Leave us a review! If this one gave you a kick up the bum to finally start your podcast, please leave us a five-star review. Aunty Leonie once cried over getting an A+ instead of an A+++, so honestly, five stars or nothing, babes.
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