“How to Become the Center of Influence Through Cultural Podcasting” with Anthony Frasier of the ABF Creative Podcast
As part of my series of interviews about “How to Become the Center of Influence Through Podcasting”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Anthony Frasier, founder and creative director of ABF Creative. ABF Creative produces original and multicultural focused podcasts for Fortune 500 companies. ABF Creative was founded in 2018 during a residency at Audible’s Newark Venture Partners.
. . .
Can you tell us the “backstory” about why or how you got started as a podcaster?
My answer is pretty simple, I love storytelling. To go even deeper, I love telling stories that no one has ever heard before, or didn’t realize they would care about. Today the podcast scene is flourishing with podcasts, but no one seemed to be focused on multicultural narratives. That’s when we jumped in, and decided we were going to plant our flag here. Black culture is more than Hip Hop and sports, Latin culture is filled with nuances beyond the surface level as well. This is our specialty.
Can you share a story about the most interesting thing that has happened to you since you started podcasting?
I found out the president of Republic Records Monte Lipman caught wind of a story I told about meeting him at age 15. I don’t know how he even found the podcast and post, my guess is some SEO magic, but I’ve never asked him either. Because of that podcast we ended up re-connecting and now I can pretty much ask him questions anytime. I try not to shoot him a note unless it’s important though.
The best part about podcasting is you never know who is listening. When thinking about advertising it’s always about the number of listeners. However, when you’re building a solid podcasting brand, It’s about the quality of your listeners, just as much as the numbers.
Can you share a story about the biggest or funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
The largest mistake I ever made was lacking consistency in the beginning of launching a podcast. People always think a solid brand is built off of colors, logos, and pretty videos. The truth is, someone more consistent will compound their way to success quicker than you will. Consistency builds your brand and your listener base, not your graphics.
How long have you been working in podcasts and how many shows have you aired/worked on?
My first podcast ever was in 2008. Since building ABF Creative, we have built and launched 6 multicultural focused podcasts. We’ve mostly worked on branded podcasts, behind the scenes. We are looking forward to now building our own identity with our newest lineup starting Fall 2019.
What are the main takeaways or lessons you want your listeners to walk away with from your current podcast?
With our latest podcast “Through Her Eyes” we want to put the listeners in the shoes of a black mother who just lost her son to gun violence. America doesn’t quite get it. The pain, trauma, and devastation that happens to these mothers and families after a loss like that shouldn’t be swept under a rug. We want these stories to serve as a catalyst to real sustainable solutions to the violence that plagues our young people in black and brown communities.
Check out the full interview in Tracy Hazzard’s Authority Magazine article about Anthony Frasier!
. . .
Podcaster Influencer, Anthony Frasier of the ABF Creative Podcast shares the best ways to:
1 ) Book Great Guests. The best way to book guests is a warm introduction. If you know someone that knows someone, take advantage of that connection. Another great way is to reach out via social media. Sending short but simple notes to people you want to interview (hopefully they aren’t uber famous) you’ll almost always get a response. Just keep in mind if you use social media to make sure you are presentable. All your links work, your photo shouldn’t be a bathroom mirror, and your bio does not have booking info.
2) Increase Listeners.Organically growing listeners is tough. There will never be anything as strong as word of mouth. So, make sure your podcast is actually worth talking about, place yourself in the listeners shoes when you think of your show ideas and show topics. Make it easy for people to share by actually asking them to share on the show, but also by implementing easy to share buttons and using services like “click to tweet” which almost takes them out of the driving seat and makes it super easy.
The other way to grow your listeners is how any business would grow their customers. Advertising. Learning pay per click advertising will be the most valuable skill you will learn in 2019 as a content creator and/or business owner. There are free and cheap courses online that will give you everything you need to know. When it comes to podcasts, you need to use video ads. Take advantage of services like Headliner.app which allow you to create “Audiograms” which are videos for audio. Use those as your video ads on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Youtube. Learn about how to find your ideal listener online, and target your advertising to hit them. If your podcast is actually good, that organic effect will take place as well.
3) Produce in a Professional Way. I learned about producing podcasts by watching videos and reading books on how radio programs are produced. Then, I took it a step further and did the same for television and film. Even though I’m producing podcasts, in 2019 the lines are so blurred between media formats that all knowledge is transferable. Invest in your setup. I think it’s great to start with whatever you have, but begin to save up and learn how to use more high quality equipment, take a few online classes on how to mix and edit. You’ll never regret it.
Always be a student. You’ll never know everything. If you think you do, you’ll fall behind quickly.
4) Encourage Engagement. Have your listeners be able to join or be part of something exclusive or special. Live events are the new rave and they are a lightning bolt for podcast engagement. Even if you don’t have a large audience posting your event online and marketing it as a normal event will still pick up people who would have never discovered you through their podcast app. The engagement with you live on stage and even with other people in the audience will create a lifelong fan.
Another way to capture and engage is to create a VIP list. This can either be a paid or free list that your super fans can sign up to get extra bonus material such as behind the scenes audio, bonus segments, videos, etc. You can use platforms like Patreon or Substack to fast track this.
Nothing gets people hyped up like a free giveaway. Running a contest to win something of great value and finding a unique way to connect it with listening to your show. Using a service like KingSumo makes this a breeze.
Call to actions are the ancient but classic way to engage. At the end or beginning of each show remind your listeners to hit you up on social media and to give you feedback. Sometimes that’s all some great shows need to do. No bells, no whistles. Just raw engagement around your topics.
5) Monetize. I struggled with monetizing podcasts for a while. Podcasts are fun and in some way is now an art form. The basic way to monetize your podcast is to sell advertising. My advice to a new podcaster is not to aim so high. They listen to Tim Ferris getting sponsors like Audible and think they should go do the same. Don’t overlook your local businesses. While they can’t give you thousands of dollars, they can possibly give you a few hundred dollars. I used local advertisers and was able to make money back from equipment I bought and more.
The live shows are also now a great way to monetize. It’s pretty simple the more popular your show, the higher you can charge in ticket prices. There are podcasts that are now charging as much as $100 a ticket to see them live. You can sell merchandise at these shows, and even sell them online as well.
What makes your podcast binge-listenable? What do you think makes your podcast unique from the others in your category? What do you think is special about you as a host, your guests, or the content itself?
Check out the full interview in Tracy Hazzard’s Authority Magazine article about Anthony Frasier!
