Pod Mahal

Effective coaching equips you with tools that last a lifetime.

Last week I taught a piece of software to a retired police officer in Wisconsin.

It unlocked a new world for him—I could see it on his face with each feature.

If you’re looking for hands-on support with owning your means of digital production, check out our consulting packages at podmahal.com.

Chris on shopping for Kevin Hart’s meal for the first time

This clip is from my episode with , a personal chef to Kevin Hart and some of the biggest streamers in the world.

Give our full episode a listen on Apple, Spotify, or YouTube! Just search Habit Chess Podcast.

The microphone you choose won’t improve the quality of your ideas.

Just pick one that fits your budget and move on to what your episodes will be about.

Should you have a website for your podcast?

If it gets in the way of maintaining your production workflow, don’t worry about it for now.

If you have a product or service on the backend, there’s more incentive to set one up.

But if you just want all the places for your show to be available on one page, it’s not going to make or break your show.

That being said, if you have the time or resources to invest, it’s a worthwhile project to knock off your list.

Just not at the cost of your episodes or other growth oriented tasks (for most people).

If you’re thinking about starting a podcast, check out the Vodcast Accelerator. It’s a step by step system to help you launch a video podcast that serves you, your people, and your purpose:

Vodcast Accelerator — Pod Mahal A step-by-step system to build a high-quality video podcast that serves you, your people, and your purpose.

This prompt helps identify strengths you might undervalue.

Think about the people around you in real life.

Have you ever wanted to get fan mail from your podcast?

This feature is something that Buzzsprout has which is genius.

It adds this link to the top of your episode descriptions on audio platforms that easily allows people to send a text to your show.

No extra costs or setup like a Twilio account either.

This enables you to connect with people listening directly.

It’s a game changer in podcasting for creating conversations with your episodes.

Recording a podcast is a socially acceptable way to have a real conversation.

The “Bannister effect” breaks psychological barriers of things we see as impossible. It happened with the 4 minute mile. And now it’s happening in the content world.

Podcast audiences are known to be loyal, which is why so much money is pouring in to get in front of them.

(Part of) how Joe Rogan had such a loyal audience from the beginning is the very thing that makes podcasts slow to grow.

But with an incredible tradeoff sometimes.

He’s mentioned how he practically made it harder to find by not promoting it aside from just doing another episode.

Coupled with how hard podcasts were to discover anyways from 2003-2017.

The people that went out of their way to find and listen were obviously highly interested.

No one found it who would be halfway in.

And if they somehow did, there was another deterrent in place.

3+ hours of content.

So these fans compound over 5,10, or 15 years.
It’s odd, but deterrents that repel the wrong people works.

Your conversion rates are higher because there’s more of the right people coming in at the top of your funnel.

If you liked this, you'll probably enjoy some the free Notion templates and tools I have to help you launch and grow your podcast.

You can download them for free here:

https://podmahal.com/free

Understanding how skill acquisition works can change how you play the hands you're dealt.

Have you ever wondered how big of a team is behind top ranking video podcasts?

I’m talking about the in-person shows surrounding ‘famous’ creators, athletes, and personalities, etc.

I’ve found that most of them average between a team of 2-8 people.

This number depends on how aggressively they are promoting and distributing media across other platforms.

Keep this context in mind next time you’re comparing a solo operation to these teams.

The 4 corners of a camera frame can fool you into thinking this ‘famous’ person does all the editing, designing, and even picking guests up from the airport.

There’s usually several people behind the camera you never have and never will hear of that are responsible for what you’re seeing.

Money is usually not the first limiter for these brands. It buys status, which they can cash out on in a variety of ways, making it beyond profitable.

It’s never been easier to be robbed of your focus.

One tweet. One ad. One comment. One click. One scroll.

We’re all recognizing that it doesn’t take much for even the most focused people to become distracted.

If it feels like you don’t have time to start a podcast, structure your show in a way that saves you hours per week on content production.

Follow this funnel to streamline your process.

Want to guarantee it’s worth your time before starting?

Take the free 5 Day Podcast ROI course at podmahal.com/free

If you want to launch a video podcast on YouTube, here are 29 bite-sized tasks from my checklist.

I’ve used this to help launch dozens of shows since 2016.

When I started forgetting steps, I ended up making the longer version of this checklist for myself as an SOP.

Feel free to customize this for yourself:

1. Sequence your first 10 episodes as descriptive as your brain allows for without getting too hung up on it - topics
2. Choose a podcast name
3. Write the description for your show, which will show up on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube
4. Write an Intro Script under 60 seconds for your show that you can record or remember to say each time
5. If you want music for intros and outros, choose something from Storyblocks, Epidemic Sound, MotionArray, Envato Elements, or Pixelbay.
6. Get the gear you need to press record
7. Get Podcast Cover Art / Logo made in Fiverr or design it yourself in Canva (3,000x3000px)
8. Record your first episode (be prepared to toss it or use it as a test)
9. Write / script a few bullets at minimum for your first 3 episodes
10. Get a YouTube channel banner image designed or make one in Canva (2560x1440px)
11. Set up online recording software like Riverside, Squadcast, or Zoom if you’re recording guest episodes
12. Write your Guest Outreach Script if you’ll be inviting people on your show
13. Choose a hosting service (I recommend Buzzsprout)
14. Create YouTube defaults for descriptions so people can click your links
15. Write show notes and episode descriptions for each episode
16. Upload and publish 3 episodes to Buzzsprout or chosen hosting provider
17. Make sure Apple ID is verified
18. Submit show to Apple Podcast directory
19. Submit show to Spotify
20. Submit show to Stitcher, Google Play, Audible, and any other directories you’d like to be searchable on
21. Write a ‘30min reminder before showtime’ script if you want to remind with your recording link so it’s fresh in their inbox
22. Write an Event Description for Calendly or your preferred appt booking system
23. Choose times you are open to recording each week so you know this when scheduling with guests, co-hosts, or yourself
24. Write your “Episode is LIVE!” Script to send your guest when an episode releases
25. Use captioned clips to promote your show on Instagram, FB, Linkedin, TikTok, Threads, and/or X
26. Get trackable and shortened Bitly or Genius links for Apple, Spotify, and YouTube descriptions
27. If you have a website, embed your mp3 player, YouTube video, and any show notes as a blog post to take advantage of search engines
28. Embed your show links everywhere you can that makes sense. Linktree, website home Page, newsletters, landing pages, e-mail sequences, etc
29. Build an e-mail list with a freebie to connect with your top listeners who are considering your service/product

If you want a step-by-system for launching your video podcast on YouTube in the next 30-60 days, then the Vodcast Accelerator might be the perfect fit for you.

✂️ Check out the curriculum and sign up at:

Vodcast Accelerator — Pod Mahal A step-by-step system to build a high-quality video podcast that serves you, your people, and your purpose.

When you think someone is famous, it’s worth asking: famous to who?

Even those with mainstream fame aren't known to everyone.

There are actually billions of people who don’t know about the very person you might think is famous.

I recently discovered the biggest streamer in the world last week.

Think about someone who has 13 million viewers on YouTube technically has 4-5x the reach of mainstream TV networks.

But you may have no idea who that is.

Up until 2005, we all had a sense of who’s famous.

There were probably 10 people everyone could name from seeing them on TV.

But now, with the variety of communities and platforms, someone can be famous to a small group of people.

And blissfully unknown to the rest.

Who is ‘famous’ in your world that might be unknown to your friends and family?