AMA Voices Episode 2: Podcasting What & How with Podcast Producer, Art Eddy

Rob:

AMA voices captures conversations about marketing diversity and more impacting our community in the Triangle. I'm Rob Ainbinder, VP of external communications for AMA Triangle and your host today. We welcome Art Eddy podcast, producer, creator of the Art of Fatherhood and a dad. Welcome Art.

Art Eddy: Thanks for having me, Rob. I appreciate it, sir.

Rob: Sure. No problem at all. So let's just jump right into it. Um, you're a podcast producer and you, you do your own podcast as well. Let me ask you, how did you first get into podcasting?

Art Eddy: Yeah, so quick, you know, quick, uh, synopsis is, uh, I used to work in radio and while I was like, towards the end of my radio career, they were saying like, Hey Howard stern, Oprah. They're having these like segments after their shows. And they kind of do like an after show and they're calling it a podcast and they're using it for supplements to drive more people to the website because with the radio, they can kind of see the writings on the wall. They like, we need to drive people to the website. And at the time I was, um, not only, um, a producer for a morning show, but I was also like the promotions director. And so we would always try and like give prizes out to people like, oh, you have to, you know, go online and register and become a fan of our website or whatever

Rob: Right.

Art Eddy: Yeah. And so podcasting started then, and then the guys I used to produce the show with, or, um, that I produced a morning show with. We all got outta radio and we're like, we still like doing this. Let's do podcasts. So I've been podcasting for about, I don't know, 15. Yeah. At least 15 years right now. And it it's been fun. We've been, we've been enjoying it. Um, yeah. And then I've kind of helped out people with their podcasts I've produced. Uh, you know, I have a, um, besides the art of fatherhood, which is my mainstay where I produce and host that show, I do, um, some con uh, consulting work and I'll produce other peoples shows and all that. So I got into radio. I was there in the beginning of the inception of podcasts and still here, man.

Rob: nice. Wow. I didn't know. You were such the OG in podcasting. that's, that's really cool. Well, that's great. What do you know when you, when you work with companies, what do you like best about working with companies and helping them launch podcasts or originate podcasts?

Art Eddy: Yeah. I just, I, I love questioning like, in the sense of, in a good way, not quite like why you're doing a podcast, but like in the sense of what are you looking to do? What is your goal? What's your purpose? Like, how can I help you? And I think with anything, you know, podcasting is, is weird because you would think like with anything, it takes time. Like if you wanna be a good cook, I mean, you are great at ribs, man. Right? Like you're great at cooking. You're great at barbecuing. All of a sudden you didn't have this kn like, let's do this. And your ribs in the beginning were like, great. Like if you looked at, you know, if you, if you froze like your first, you know, batch of ribs to now, you'd be like, wow, my process, my taste, and everybody loves it now. Right? Yeah. So, but with podcasts, you almost think it's kind of like a radio show or like, Hey, I can do that. Like when someone, you and I are into sports, if someone sees a, a broadcaster, oh, I could do that job. Right. Really

Rob: .

Art Eddy: But with podcasting, people think like I can talk I'm, you know, I'm entertaining pretty much. You are, you just gotta find your niche. And especially if you're running it for a business, you gotta see just like any, anything in your business, you gotta plan it out. And yes, there's gonna be some highs and lows in the beginning, a lot of lows and everyone looks at their downloads right away. And like, don't look at that. If, if you look at that, you're, you're gonna be, uh, disheartened and you're gonna be like, well, why am I doing this anyways? Right. So right. I would say for, for people who are looking to get a podcast, just kind of plan it out and then look for people like me to help you out. And we'll definitely give you the, you know, the, the kind of the basic steps to get started and obviously producer show,

Rob: Right. Kind of a related question. What advice do you have for a company or an individual considering podcasting? Because this podcast is targeted to marketers and it could be a CMO or a, you know, chief marketing officer. It could be a marketing coordinator, a marketing specialist at a business or nonprofit in the triangle. And, and I'm just curious, you know, what advice do you have for a company or individual considering podcasting,

Art Eddy: If you're looking for a different way, right? Like how to connect to your, your target audience or a market, or trying to get your ways out there, like your message out there in different ways. Podcasting is great. Whether yeah, more people probably are working from home. Right. But if someone's going for a walk or a run and they don't wanna listen to music, the same music they bought , you know, on their library, they want something else, podcasting, especially if they're into something they'll, you know, they'll seek it out and they'll find it. And whether someone is on a commute, like on, you know, a train and just wants to kind of zone out before their, their Workday starts, you have a good 30 to 45 minutes to an hour to whenever people travel, you know, how many people commute, you have that time to, um, get a captive audience.

Art Eddy: And it it's a great way cuz I mean, everyone's kind of, I mean, PO like, like I said, podcasting's been for around for a bit, right. And some people are like, oh, we gotta target Mar Facebook, uh, ads on the, on their marketplace or, you know, we'll do Twitter parties. And then it's like, now it's all about Instagram and videos. You gotta get them in three minutes or now it's TikTok like 22nd videos and we'll market to them. And I've seen some great creators that way, but podcasting is great because it's in the Palm of your hands, on any of your devices and you can listen to it, whatever. And you know, just for, you can listen to a podcast anywhere, even if you're not, you know, have wifi and don't wanna stream somewhere off of like, you know, 3g or LTE, you can download a podcast or a bunch of 'em and then there you go. So mm-hmm, , I would say it's a great way to connect with your audience in a different way, but also maybe not just get your voice out there, but get, you know, your other employees out there or just, you know, invite other people who have the same, you know, mindset as you on your show and then that you can grow your audience that way as well. Mm-hmm

Rob: great. Well, thanks for that. I think that'll be helpful to a lot of our listeners, um, moving on to things other than podcasting for a minute, uh, favorite sport

Art Eddy: Football.

Rob: And I think I know the answer to this next question. Favorite football team

Art Eddy: 49ers.

Rob: Okay. And what time of day do you get your best work done?

Art Eddy: Uh, whew. That's a good question because for me, my family, my, my productivity clock kind of changes depending on what everybody else needs. Mm-hmm I wanna take care of my family first and then I can go in there, but my, my brain is always like thinking creatively and I'm like putting things out there and if I get, you know, an idea, I might just put in my notes or just text it myself. And the next day I'm like, all right, sweet. Let's go. Or if I have some downtime and no one, you know, everybody's either gone to bed and I'm watching a game. I'm like, all right, I'm gonna start typing and working on something right there. Mm-hmm so it, it, it's almost when the moment strikes me or the, when the mood strikes me I'll work. But I would say, especially now that the kids are still in school and you know, my wife has a traditional nine to five. Yeah. I would say from like 10 to two or three is when I get most of my good stuff done in, in the sense of like, I can be productive. No, one's really bothering me. I can get, uh, all the things on my to-do list. Cause that, I mean, I'm a very routine person. And so okay. Monday through Friday, I know Monday I'm doing this Tuesday, I'm doing this. And so I would say between the hours of 10 and two are like the best for me. Okay,

Rob: Great. Uh, next question. What is the most important podcasting lesson you've learned over your career so far,

Art Eddy: Find something you're passionate about and whether, if you're doing a podcast or if you're helping someone out, whatever their passion is, mm-hmm, make sure that they're, they are talking about their passion or in this case. I mean, if you're running a business or, you know, you're the vice president of marketing or you're the CEO and you wanna get your stuff out there, obviously you're gonna have a passion for your company and your business and what that niche is. Right? Sure. But I would say the biggest thing is podcasting about something you love and you are not going to get tired talking about, because if you get tired or if you're thinking like I'm done talking about this, mm-hmm , it's gonna come out. People are gonna be like this guy doesn't or this, you know, this person doesn't sound engaging. Sure. He, I don't even think he or she wants to talk about this. Why am I

Rob: Listening to it? Right.

Art Eddy: So I I've seen some burnout. I've seen people like, oh, I've seen people do this type of podcast. I wanna do it too. And then like three or four episodes in they're like mm-hmm yeah, I'm done. And, and in initially it takes a little bit to get your podcast going off the ground. Um, sure. That's why, you know, people hire me cuz it's just, there's a lot of, kind of like grunt work or people don't know what they're doing. Mm-hmm you kinda want, you know, you kind of wanted that guided hand. So I would say the biggest thing I've learned is just be passionate about your subject that you're podcasting about. Cuz not only would be good for you, but it'll be good for your listeners.

Rob: really good point art. Very good point. What's your favorite podcast?

Art Eddy: Um, this is gonna be a weird, I guess it's I this, well, maybe not weird because I gave my background in radio and all that, but I think the one I listened to consistently, there's a lot of one great ones out there. Don't get me wrong. Mm-hmm but the one I listen to a lot is the Dan labard one that used to be on ESPN. Right. They, uh, now actually, uh, went their own separate way and they have their metal LA media. Okay. Is their company. And actually one of the former CEOs of ESPN, uh, John skipper is working with Dan labard and his crew and they're just expanding. They got a bunch of people on there, but um, wow. It, they treat it like a radio show, like in cuz they had like a, you know, three or four hour time slot and they still mm-hmm they put their podcasts out like for a day and then they have a bunch of other people in their podcasting network. So they're never, uh, there a day doesn't go by even Saturday and Sunday, they, you know, um, schedule stuff there really. They definitely, um, treat it like a radio show Monday through Friday and wow. It's just there's radio elements that I like about it, but then obviously there's podcast elements. I like about it. Sure.

Rob: Interesting man. That is a heck of a schedule to keep from production side daily.

Art Eddy: Yes. But the good part for them is they had that radio instinct already and they had pretty much the bulk of their crew there. Sure. But what they're doing now is even expanding more so I can see like they got a lot on their plate, but they do it really well because they're seasoned veterans.

Rob: Yeah. What, if any, are there, you know, are there a couple of podcasting or marketing books you really dug into that you really dig?

Art Eddy: Um, you know, there's the ones that like, you know, a lot of people say like, um, you know, I'm, I'm blanking on that name, but um, CEOs eat last or something, right. Like, okay, there's one like that. And then, um, sure. Uh, there's a few in there, but like I, to me, like, I, I actually like you, I'm gonna say you are a great resource for marketing for me. because you and I, you know, we, we Willem each other and we'll like share certain things and sure. Be like, Hey, check this out. So like, I know I'm not like trying to pander to, uh, my, the host host over here, but like you are really great and you've known I've, I've been very grateful and appreciative of the stuff you're like, Hey, check out this, check out that like there's a lot of podcasting, um, sites and also things I follow on, uh, you know, social media that if they have certain articles about marketing your podcast or just marketing in general, doesn't have to be about podcasting. Yeah. Um, I've learned some stuff. I, I think you and a couple other people I've worked with in the past, they've been helping me out. And I, and, and it's great because obviously you're hosting this show. Right. Um, in, in terms of marketing and all that. So I trust in you not only in your, do I trust in your ribs and your barbecue but also trust in your marketing skills. So you, you are one of the leaders, uh, of where I get my marketing information. So I thank

Rob: You. Well, I appreciate the art. That was a little unexpected, but I, I do appreciate it. Um,

Art Eddy: Well, no, I, I think that just to kind of go with that though, too, like we have created a network and of friendship, but also right. We know what we're looking for. Like you, since you and I talk, we talk about our goals. We talk about certain things that, you know, we, um, that we're looking to do with our businesses and all that. Right. So I think you are, I think it just goes to show with your marketing prowes and your skills that you're like, oh, this would be a great article. I I'm, I'm guessing. I mean, I'm guessing you do it for other people that, you know, that like, Hey, so, and so would appreciate this, like, you know, Tammy would appreciate this, Denise or Tom would appreciate this. I'm gonna send it to them. Right. I'm just throwing names out there. But like, I feel like you're, you're, you're good that way. And I think whatever it is, if like you have a good friendship circle of not only good friendship, but like no, you people know what you're aiming for and your business they'll help you out. And you do that for me all the time.

Rob: That's that's so great to hear art are, it's very kind of you to say, um,

Art Eddy: Cause let me just say the books that I'm reading yeah. Are mostly star wars science fiction. Like every player won all that stuff. Cause when I want to, right. Sometimes because of the podcast where I'll listen to audio books when I'm cleaning the house or doing yard work or whatever, right. Mm-hmm , that's the time where I just want my brain to unwind and just like, don't think about work. Right. Just so I can kinda enjoy the grunt work of doing mowing the lawn or whatever the case may. Yeah.

Rob: Well, look at, look at greats like Winston Churchill, what did he do when he needed to get away from it? He built brick walls around his house in England. So we're talking about a Titan of military yeah. In England. What did he do to get out of his own head when he needed to? Right. And so you're doing a very similar thing, you know, it's, it's, it's really interesting when you read about other people and how they get out, get away from work. Yep. And you're like right in line with that, you know, so we're kind of coming to the end of our time together here. Uh what's one question you wish I'd asked you and how would you answer it?

Art Eddy: Hmm. Um, Ooh, that's a really good question, man. Wow. Um, whew. Uh, I would say in the sense of maybe where do you see podcasts and going? Right. Um, and I, and I would just kind of answer that in the sense of like, well, you know, especially going back with my radio days, it's, it's similar to where the heyday of advertising on the radio is now. I think the heyday of advertising on podcast, mm-hmm, because it's a great way to a, to, um, reach an audience. And if there's someone like, if like, you know, I just mentioned the Dan LA avatar, they talk about a whole bunch of things, but you know, they also talk about sports. So right. If you're a company that is targeting to people who are fans of, you know, all the different major sports or even minor sports or whatever the case may be, you can find that in there, on these podcasts.

Art Eddy: And the biggest thing is I would say is just make sure that you connect with some, like, I, I wouldn't take a, and this is gonna sound weird, cuz any time you wanna take, you know, revenue you wanna take in profits, but just make sure that the, when you market your show on a podcast, you are in sync with your, with your message of your podcast. Right? There's a couple of companies that I just said no to mm-hmm just because of the message was a little bit different than my podcast and I didn't want to send yeah. Uh, the wrong message. If I'm talking about one thing and talking, you know, if I'm talking on one side of my mouth to my podcast, then while I'm advertising, it's something different. It's a different message. Sure. That wouldn't be so good.

Rob: okay. That's, that's really helpful. Definitely. Yeah. If you get to the point where you're sponsoring, you want your sponsorships to align with your, with your program.

Art Eddy: Yep.

Rob: Yeah. That's great. And for those that are either watching us on YouTube or listening to us, where can they find you online art?

Art Eddy: Yeah. Thank you very much for asking art of fatherhood.net. Um, that's uh, where my side is and anywhere you listen to podcasts, check out the art of fatherhood. Um, you know, as we're recording this right now, this week's guest was, uh, John Sally used to play for the pistons and the bulls and the Lakers and all that and all those teams. And then, uh, he just came out, uh, starring in the Disney plus movie called sneaker Carella, which is, uh, kind of take on Cinderella, but deals with sneakers. So that was in my wheelhouse. So yeah, just, you know, art of fatherhood.net, uh, on Twitter, art, Eddie, the number three. So art, Eddie three. And then if you, uh, everything, if you go to art of fatherhood.net, you can kind of find where I'm at on all, on all aspects of, uh, social media.

Rob: Great. Well, we'll definitely add that to the show notes.

Art Eddy: Thank you.

Rob: Yeah. Thanks. Thanks for being our guest and thanks to our listeners for listening. AMA voices is produced by AMA triangle, a nonprofit educational voice in marketing across the triangle for over 40 years. Listen to the podcast on apple, Google, or wherever you listen. Find out more about our marketing events and training for marketing professionals of all levels@amatriangle.org.