Hey Reader,
Shout out to my VA, Ana, who was able to get this week's episode up in short notice!
I love Hibachi. I love the food. I love the experience. That seems a lot like building in public, right? After all, the chef is literally cooking in front of us, building our meal. But according to Kevon Cheung – a guy who’s built his entire community by building in public – Hibachi is entertainment.
In order to build in public, you need to take your audience on a journey with you. That’s why he believes building in public is more like Omakase. This is where the chef will choose the foods for you, involve you in the process, and tell you a story about the food you’re eating.
That’s what Building in Public truly is, and today, we’re going to learn how to leverage it to build great communities and better products.
Thanks to Hostinger, Lulu and Sensei for sponsoring this week's episode.
Top Takeaways
- You need to talk about something people care about, not just vanity metrics. No one cares what time you wake up to write. They want to know what you’re writing about, and why you chose to write about that topic.
- Only your competitors care about how you do something – your secret sauce. Your audience is invested in you, and they want to know about the journey…both the ups and the downs.
- You shouldn’t just announce something when you’re not sure it will do well. Instead, tell your audience you’re exploring an idea. Ask them about it, and involve them in the process. THEN, make a decision and share that with them, along with why you made the decision.
| Listen Now |
Over the past few weeks, I’ve made a lot of changes to my show notes document that gets automatically generated when a guest books a time. It used to only have a few sections – Guest info, Questions, and Find Guest Name. Now it’s a lot more structured, including sections for Pre-show notes, each act in the interview, the post-show members-only content, and the latest addition: A “Sponsor break” line. A couple of weeks ago I made the decision to specifically announce the sponsors during the interview. It makes the sponsor break very clear (there’s only one), and it makes my editor’s job much easier. Before this, I’d tell him “just find a place around the middle where there’s a good break.” Now I can give him a specific timestamp and statement to look for (“but first, a word from our sponsors”). It’s always in the same spot too – right after act one. So we introduce the conflict, and then build a little suspense by taking a break. Adding that line – which is bold, and in red – gives me the visual cue to announce the sponsor break since I’m working inside the document, taking notes. It has seamlessly integrated into my workflow. While I haven’t talked to my editor about it yet, I bet he likes it too. |
Join me on Thursday, September 21 at 1pm ET for a free webinar that shows you how to review your podcast process, leverage automation, and free up your time, so you can focus on making great content. Here's what you'll learn in 60 minutes:
...plus a Q&A session where you can ask any question you'd like. Are you ready free 12 hours per week by getting a handle on your podcast process? Register for Free |
Until next time,
Joe Casabona
The Podcast Systems Guy
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