Listen to the full episode here
Welcome to Up an Octave, a podcast by Sonivia. I'm your host, Rue Spence, founder of Sonivia, the podcast management agency that helps women and non binary people take up space in podcasting. Up an Octave is here to support you in your podcasting journey. From how to market yourself, how to sound great, how to edit for your specific voice, and how to make your podcast feel like magic.
Thanks for tuning in, let's get into it.
Hello and welcome to the first episode of Up An Octave. I am so jazzed to be releasing my first round of episodes. It's my birthday, so I'm in a super celebratory mood. So let's get this party started. So let's start off by just talking a little bit about who I am and how Sonivia came to be. So I started listening to podcasts in around 2016 when I was driving like up to a hundred miles a day for work.
I was a social worker, so I was going on home visits and in between I would drive like from north of town all the way way south, everywhere and so I was listening to audiobooks and it was kind of like the audiobook to podcast pipeline for me. And so I fell in love with, I was a huge fan of Snap Judgment and then Haunted Places because I'm a spooky babe.
And so I fell in love with those and then I just continued to branch out. So like I said, I was a social worker and I was helping people who had individuals in their family with disabilities. I was helping them get in home services set up. And like I said, this was 2016, so shortly thereafter we entered the Trump administration.
And I just got so burnt out so quickly. And when my husband and I moved overseas, I was like, okay, I'm not able to do what I've been doing because the kind of work just wasn't available to me. And so I was really looking for a career pivot. I knew that I wanted to use my creative side a little bit more.
I had a theater background. We moved overseas in 2019. And I was starting to get back into theater. I was writing, life was going well and 2020 happened. So 2020 was really tough being overseas just because as much as we were struggling all over with a lack of connection, I was doing it in a totally foreign country where I didn't know the language yet.
And I didn't really have many connections. And so I started a podcast like so many of us did during that time. I started a show with a really good friend of mine and really learned like so many of us just on the fly. You know, I had a little bit of an audio background, like I said, from doing technical theater, but to convert that into podcasting was very, very different. I was super used to that live environment of live mixing and, and, you know, not having the ability to fix things in post production. And so to transition those skills that I had into podcasting was a completely new ball game. I learned on the fly. I was teaching myself as much as I could find.
And I realized I sounded like shit! I mean, I just, all of the tricks and tips and ways to balance my voice and my friend's voice did not sound good on our voices. And eventually I put two and two together, that it's because the only resources that I could find, the only tutorials I could find, were for men and by men.
And people who had lower register voices. And so, the equalizing did not sound the same for my voice, where, you know, adding a little bit of bass here for them made them sound really, you know, robust, made me sound muddy and underwater, and where they were cutting off for, you know, the higher side of their voices, That's where a lot more of our voices lived and so I sounded kind of short, you know, kind of tinny because of of those things that I was trying to do.
So I really had to just figure it out. That was incredibly difficult and it was incredibly isolating and I was really fortunate I tapped into the She Podcasts community on Facebook and was able to learn from some other women, you know, kind of what is working for them. And it was a lot of just playing.
It was a lot of, all right, if I lift this up by this many decibels and I lower that by that many decibels, and I tweak over here in this Hertz range or in that Hertz range. And so it was just this real baptism by fire. But eventually I got to a place where I was like, I'm actually pretty good at this.
And that was also right about when the climate of the pandemic was shifting. I don't want to use the word end because it would be like another year and a half. And then I actually got COVID. So didn't end, it just transitioned. And we started, you know, people were going back to work. And so my friend was going back to work and we made the decision to end our show.
I just could not shake loose of podcasting. At that point, I was so in love with it, so in love with the communities that I was finding, and the way that it felt to be sitting under my headphones and hearing what I was doing actually make a difference. And I'm not even talking, you know, make a difference in like a global sense, I'm talking just I could hear the difference of the audio when I was treating it.
I was like, this really matters to me. I've gotten good at it. And I was excited to be in this field. And so that's when I started freelancing as an editor because I wanted to help other people sound good because I was realizing the disparities that existed between women and men and people who are gender non conforming, I realized that there was such a disparity in representation.
And so I wanted to use the skills that I had gotten in a really hard boots on the ground way. I wanted to use those skills to support other people, you know, even though my show was in a place where we were walking away from it, I didn't want to just like let that knowledge rot in my brain. And so that's when I started freelancing.
And then we moved back to the States in the like, late spring of last year, of 2022, I was expecting my daughter, Olivia, and that's when I really decided to scale up from freelance and to actually cultivate Sonivia into what it has become today. So, that's kind of the, the really long and short way. of how I got to this place with Sonivia.
You know, having a baby absolutely clarified what I want, and it also really clarified why I want to do it. You know, having a daughter, And we are a multiracial family. And so having a daughter who is Black, that was somewhere else that I was like, okay, I really want to do the work now to change the world that she comes up in.
And if I can contribute equity, equality, and representation for women, for gender diverse people, and for people who do not look like me. That is what I want to do. I want to give her the gift of it not being that exciting to be represented. And I want it to be something that she is able to take more for granted than people of our generation are.
So because of that, I really had this clarity of knowing how I wanted to spend my time and how I wanted to engage with others. And so that is where Sonivia came from as a business, but it has really always been about supporting women and gender expansive people in this space. I talk a lot about how women only represent 29% of podcasts and how even more upsetting non binary people only represent 2% of podcasts and those just don't work for me. I just, those numbers don't do it for me. Uh, and so, Sonivia really is about helping to bridge that gap. And I, I have seen from conversations that I've had that one on one services are not within reach for everybody.
And so I really wanted to find a way that I could share what I know, share what I had to find out the hard way with more people. And so that's really where Up An Octave came from. I've been really fortunate that I've gotten to a place where I feel really good about the knowledge that I have. I've been able to support some shows and some really big wins.
From winning awards for podcasting, all my shows are currently in the top 5 percent of listen notes, and I'm really excited. To see that and to see how women and non binary people are taking up more space in podcasting and starting to receive the accolades for that too. So I touched on it briefly, but where the actual name Up An Octave comes from is that people with voices that we traditionally consider to be male.
Live right around 85 to 155 hertz. And voices that we would traditionally consider female, so higher register voices, typically range from around 165 to 255 hertz. So that's about an octave apart, and that's why it sounded like crap when I was trying to do equalizing and effects on my and my friend's voice that were this octave difference.
That's a huge, if you're someone who plays music or has a concept of what that looks like, if you just put your fingers on, you know, middle C to the next C on a piano, you can see. how big of a gap that is and how differently those notes respond and sound. And you can translate that to why it wouldn't sound good on a voice.
So that's where Up An Octave really comes from. But now I want to get into something that's going to matter a little bit more to you than just who I am. But it's important to me that this podcast feels like a relationship. I want this to echo what it's like to work with me one on one because I want it to feel more accessible to have that support in podcasting.
Even if we're not working hands on one on one together, I still want that feeling of community. So the first thing that I want to talk about on the podcast is how to get the most out of your show. And to me, this is a really foundational concept and that's about what type of show you want to have because I see a lot of people, myself included with my first show, that start ahead of their goals.
And what I mean by that is not having a clear vision for the intent of the show, because what I teach is that there are really three versions of a podcast. There is a fun podcast, there's a fandom podcast, and there's a funnel podcast and none of them are bad or wrong, but they're very different. And so if you don't have a clear vision for what type of show you're running, That's where you get in trouble.
So today I'm going to talk about what a fun podcast looks like. I wanted to start with a fun podcast because I feel like this is the lowest risk, lowest reward type of show. And this is what's kind of considered like a hobby podcast. You're just looking to learn more and share what you've learned, have fun with your friends, or like keep a personal record, kind of like, you know, a vlog on YouTube.
So with a fun podcast, there's less pressure to perform because you're not looking to be accountable to anybody. If you get supporters, it will most likely be through like Ko Fi, or Patreon. And you can expect a smaller listener base, which I stress so often that small isn't bad. If you know the function of your show. So if your show is just setting out to be fun having a small but tight community of listeners is honestly perfect. So potentially with a fun show you could work with brands or, you know, there's affiliate marketing opportunities to monetize.
But unless you are someone who's starting with a multi K following, it's unlikely for you to gain traditional sponsors with this podcasting model. So, if you're already an influencer and you have people tuning in just to hear your thoughts about life or whatever your niche is going to be, that can look a little bit different for traditional monetization, but if you're just someone normal like me or Susie down the street.
You're probably not going to gain the attention of traditional sponsors, and that's okay, as long as that's not your endgame. If you're looking to have a show that pays all your bills, and buys you a house, and buys your mama a car, a fun podcast is not the way to go. While this type of podcast can grow, it's much less likely because there isn't as much strategy behind it, because that's just the nature of this show.
It's by design that there isn't this kind of strategy, because of how differently it functions. So, these podcasts will find their people, but it's just on that much smaller scale. I think that the fun model of a podcast makes for a great first show, because it lets you kind of test the waters. You learn to operate with these much lower stakes so you can kind of learn on the go and figure out from one week to the next what works, what doesn't work.
You hone your skills and then as your skills increase and the idea of spending more time, more effort, and more money on a show becomes more comfortable. That's when I think you can look to pivot to a different show model, whether it's a fandom or a funnel show. If you're interested in learning how to edit or you want to sharpen your skills, but you don't want to invest in as nice of equipment, so maybe, you know, you, you stay with like kind of a generic mic that you find on Amazon for like 30 bucks or something like that, that to me is where a fun podcast is really your bread and butter.
Because when you're scaling to either a funnel or a fandom, that's where there's that more pressure on you to have a higher production value. So if I personally was going to start a fun podcast today, I would focus on keeping my costs really low. I have invested, I don't want to say, I've invested a ton of money on podcasting equipment over the years, because honestly, mostly I'm curious.
I have mics that I don't even touch because I'm just curious about how they sound on my voice so that I can recommend them or not to other people. I, right now, am using a Rode PodMic. It's the XLR version. There is a USB version of this mic. I've got it plugged into my Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 and I've got that running into my computer.
I would not go that route if I just wanted to have fun. If I just wanted to have fun, I would get, you know, a 30 cheapie off of Amazon. That's a USB that plugs straight into my computer. And I would just rock and roll. That said, I would still suggest going a dynamic mic route instead of a condenser mic.
And I recommend that to just about every single podcaster. Because it just means that you get to focus less on what the rest of your setup is like. If you're interested in some of my equipment recommendations, you can find that on my website, which is sonivia. com, under Home Studio Recommendations. Those are all of my affiliate links to the equipment that I have, to the equipment that I suggest.
Now, this is going to be my advice across the board, no matter which of the three podcasting models you're following. And that is that I recommend editing with Audacity. That's what I teach and that's what I personally use to edit myself and my clients. I'm actually recording this on Audacity right now.
I am an Audacity Stan, through and through and through and through. Now as far as hosting, I would recommend hosting on Spotify for Podcasters, which if you've been in the game for a while, used to be Anchor. And that'll keep your costs down as well. And since their analytics aren't quite what I would consider to be the highest, because they're not currently IAB certified at the time of recording this, you can get away with that because where those IAB analytics are really important is when it comes to getting the attention of sponsors.
So if you're not looking to do that, if that's not your biggest priority, Then I don't think that you need to worry about paying for hosting that includes those. I would stick to the freebie. And most importantly, a fun podcast should be just that. It should be fun. If it feels like too much work for a hobby, take a step back and explore why you're feeling that way and how to get the fun spark back into it.
It shouldn't feel like high pressure, like high stakes to record, to edit, to produce, to research. If you're just here to have fun, it should always feel like that. '
AD Break: Hey don't mind if I do, I'm just cutting in for a minute to share something exciting. Ever thought about making a podcast that doesn't feel overwhelming?
If you're listening to the show, then I know you're curious about making the best podcast you can. And that's where Sonivia comes in. I'm your podcast launch specialist, and I'm here to take your show from concept to content. I've immersed myself in the world of podcasting for years, and I have got the knowledge and industry secrets to help make your show the success that we both know it can be.
If you're ready to take the leap and start sharing your voice with the world, head on over to sonivia. com and snag your free call. Let's chat. Oh, and by the way, the party's still on. I decided to keep celebrating until Halloween. So mention Up An Octave when booking your call before October 31st for a cool $50 off of your launch.
Let's make some podcasting magic together. Your dream show awaits! Anyway, now back to the good stuff.
Alright, so before we wrap up this episode, we're going to be answering a question from That Hoarder at That Hoarder podcast. So let's take a listen to what they have to ask.
"Hi, I'm That Hoarder from the Overcome Compulsive Hoarding with That Hoarder podcast. I have a podcast about a very stigmatized mental health condition.
And as a result, I podcast anonymously. By not giving my name, I can talk more openly about life with hoarding disorder. The podcast is doing great. I recently bypassed 100, 000 downloads, and I get great feedback about what I'm doing. My question for you is how best to get the word out about a podcast when you're podcasting anonymously.
I want to reach as many people who are struggling with hoarding as possible, but I can't even share the podcast on my own personal social media channels. I have social media for the podcast, which is great, and I've guested on other podcasts and had guests on mine. But if you have any other ideas for getting the word out, I'd love to hear them.
You can find out more about Overcome Compulsive Hoarding with That Hoarder at overcomecompulsivehoarding. co. uk or just search your favorite podcast app for Overcome Compulsive Hoarding with That Hoarder. Thanks so much."
Okay, so I'm actually going to be talking about this a lot more on an episode next month, but the advice that I always have for how to reach a wider audience is to identify who that is. And what they're doing at this exact moment. Where are they spending their time? And what does their day look like? So, for someone who is experiencing compulsive hoarding, they may not be leaving their house as much. So, finding communities online would be a first place that I would suggest. So if there are support communities on Facebook for people who experience compulsive hoarding, that could be a great place to look as well as, Reddit, maybe discord servers for people who are experiencing that. Now, this is often my advice, and I have people come back with, well, Facebook groups don't allow self promotion.
I agree with this, and it should never feel like self promotion when you are inviting people to listen. So, oftentimes, those groups will have a day that you can self promote, and that's a great place to just drop a link, say, hey, give a listen. But in general, when you are trying to share your podcast with new listeners, it should always be from a place of service for them, not for yourself. Because the communities that we build are really not about us. They're about the people who are listening. So while the ecosystem of podcasting is that as podcasters, we do depend on our audience, you know, our show is just spat out into the ether if no one's listening. But the reason that our shows are successful is because of the people who believe in them.
So I always try and reframe promotion into a way that it is serving. So if you're talking about a specific aspect of hoarding, look for people who are having conversations about that in those groups and Be authentic with them. Authenticity to me is, is the first step of marketing. You know, if you see someone who's specifically talking about maybe online shopping, I'm not super well versed in the world of hoarding, but let's say someone is compulsively shopping online.
If that is something that you have recently addressed on your show and you see a post about that, ask to continue that conversation with listening to your show. You know, okay, so Susan posts, Susan or Susie, Susan is like always my go to name. So Susie posts, I am really struggling with my online shopping habits.
And so that's an opportunity for you to engage as your anonymous profile and say, "Wow, Susie, I completely resonate with this. That's also something that I have dealt with. And I actually talked about it on this episode of my show. And feel like I had a really impactful conversation about that. Maybe it would resonate with you. I give some tips on how I manage that or how I'm trying to manage that. Maybe that would be helpful to you." So it should never feel like you're just like, "Hey, listen, listen to my show!" it should always feel like you're addressing a pain point for your target market. And it should always come from a place of genuine desire to support your listeners.
So for example, with my show, I want you to listen. I also am offering my services, but at the end of the day, I am here to solve your problems, which are not feeling represented in podcasting, and wanting to make the best show that you can. So while I definitely benefit from having listeners, I want it to feel mutually beneficial and I want you to feel like you are a better podcaster for having heard this episode.
And so that said, thank you so much for listening to this first episode of Up An Octave. I'm super excited to grow this show and take you along with me as we take podcasting up an octave. If you found this show helpful, please share it with a friend who needs to have a podcast or maybe who already does have a podcast.
And just like your podcast, mine needs ratings and reviews to grow. So please rate on your favorite podcatcher, whether that's rating and reviewing on Apple Podcasts or Just waiting on Spotify and help me spread my message out far and wide. This is really a passion for me, and if you're here, it sounds like it's probably a passion for you too.
So the next two episodes are on fandom and funnel models of podcasting, and those are already up. So go take a listen, and I will talk to you next time.
Comentários