“How to Become the Center of Influence Through Localized Podcasting” with Adam Schick of The Gator Tales Podcast
As part of my series of interviews about “How to Become the Center of Influence Through Podcasting”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Adam Schick.
Adam is an account executive for The Wilbert Group, a public relations firm based in Atlanta. He is also a freelance podcast host/producer who has launched and curated podcasts for the Florida Gators, Atlanta sports marketing agency MELT and Atlanta mixed-use development Halcyon, producing a total of over 200 episodes in the last four years.
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Can you tell us how you got started as a podcaster?
In 2015, I was working as a freelance broadcaster for the Florida Gators when my boss approached me about an interesting opportunity. With podcasts taking off as a new storytelling vehicle, he wanted me to help them launch an official podcast for the athletic program that highlighted players, coaches and insiders in a way that hadn’t been done before. Since there weren’t many other athletic departments producing podcasts, we looked to entertainment and news podcasts to help guide our research. Following a few months of planning, we launched Gator Tales in August 2015 and have produced over 175 episodes and counting!
Can you share a story about the most interesting thing that has happened to you since you started podcasting?
It’s hard to think of one thing, but what I’ve really come to appreciate is that everyone has a story to tell. Sometimes it may take a different approach or strategic digging to get there, so the key is asking the right questions to encourage them to open up. I’ve also found you can learn a lot more about an interview subject by asking them about their hobbies or passions outside of the box they generally occupy. For example, a football player may give very boring and generic answers when asked about a game he recently won, but could light up when asked about the music he listened to before the game or the movies he watches to unwind off the field.
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?
Like most new media endeavors, technical difficulties are always expected but rarely anticipated. Early on, I was still mixing and matching equipment to see how to get the best sound in the most portable package, but this would often lead to unusable audio or recordings that didn’t save properly. Ultimately, I started to create processes that had back-up recordings whenever possible and paid much closer attention to the recording software while the interviews were taking place, because most of the time there was no option to re-record them.
How long have you been podcasting and how many shows have you aired?
As I mentioned earlier, I started podcasting in August 2015 and have produced over 175 episodes of Gator Tales for the University of Florida. Also, I was commissioned by the Atlanta-based sports marketing agency MELT to create an educational podcast called The Struggle is Real for aspiring sports marketers in 2018, which was a 24-episode series. Finally, I recently launched a podcast program for the PR firm I work for (The Wilbert Group), and our initial podcast is called Halcyon Trailblazer, which is intended to promote a new mixed-use development just north of Atlanta by highlighting tenants and community members with unique personal stories.
What are the main takeaways or lessons you want your listeners to walk away with?
Because I host a variety of podcasts on vastly different subjects, there isn’t one takeaway or lesson I expect listeners to gain from a show. Rather, I just hope that they learn something new or find a commonality with a subject from each episode.
Check out the full interview in Tracy Hazzard’s Authority Magazine article about Adam Schick!
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Podcaster Influencer, Adam Schick of The Wilbert Group Podcast shares the best ways to:
1) Book Great Guests. The key to booking great guests is expanding your network and maintaining connections with people who can help you deliver for your audience. This means staying in touch with people even after you interview them, as they could know other people who might consider joining your show as a guest based on a referral.
2) Increase Listeners. The most important step every potential podcaster needs to take is identifying whether there is a defined audience for their show and if they have a way to reach that audience. Too often, I see organizations and individuals start podcasts without first considering if there is an audience for it, which is certainly a misstep for businesses that want to leverage the medium to boost their brand.
3) Produce in a Professional Way. Podcasts have very low barriers to entry, but there is still a cost if you want it to sound professional. I’ve had a lot of success with portable recorders from ZOOM and Tascam, which range from $100-$400 and can be found on Amazon.com. Pairing these with handheld microphones can produce great results in any setting so long as it doesn’t have too much ambient noise or echo. For editing, I use the free software Audacity that is available for Mac/PC and find it has a number of features that are helpful, such as compression to evenly boost audio levels and noise reduction to remove background noise.
4) Encourage Engagement: It’s always great to encourage interaction and keep your audience engaged, so I make sure to reference the respective organization’s social channels on every episode I produce. This connection is especially important in the early stages when you are trying to convert casual listeners into subscribers, which is the ultimate goal to make sure they continue seeing and consuming your content.
5) Monetize. The best way to monetize podcasts at this stage is by selling title sponsorships. This often includes multiple mentions during the episode in addition to placement on the podcast artwork. You can also use the data available from most platforms to clearly understand what your audience looks like and how many people you are reaching, which is very valuable to advertisers.
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 Adam Schick!
