Podcast E602 – Lessons Learned After 600 Episodes  ## Metadata - Author: [[Podcast – Kitchen Sink WordPress]] - Full Title: Podcast E602 – Lessons Learned After 600 Episodes - Category: #podcasts - URL: https://share.snipd.com/episode/058701a2-841c-429a-aff6-023236564ee3 ## Document Notes ## Highlights - **Start Email Marketing Immediately** - Start an email list on day one and treat it as owned audience infrastructure. - Offer a lead magnet and monthly actionable downloads to grow direct connections. Transcript: Adam Silver First and foremost, if I could go back, email marketing. I would tell the past me to start the email list on day one. I did not do this. And that probably didn't help as far as having that direct line to listeners, to y'all, because having that is a way more powerful way. And then just hoping that people listen and follow me on social. Because I've said that in the past, social media and those other platforms are bottom land. Email is my own turf. I own that list. So I've learned that a small, consistent list can build a stronger connection versus thousands of anonymous downloads. I'm trying to build a list over for silly little goals. It ebbs and flows. I'm about 120 people. I would love to double that, triple that, see where that can go. I don't know. So if you want to go sign up for a list, because I don't really have one right now for this podcast. I don't know if it's working. It might be working. I was at Aweber and now I'm at MailerLite and I'm not sure if the RSS feed's working. I think it is. It's kind of confusing. I need to really go fix that and clean that up. Anyway, ([Time 0:03:03](https://share.snipd.com/snip/6783768c-c540-489a-9256-f3fc9b3cd148)) - **Weekly Releases Build Trust** - Weekly publishing builds trust and a reliable rhythm with listeners. - Seasons give planning and rest, but weekly kept Adam honest and consistent. Transcript: Adam Silver Second thing I want to say that I've learned is seasons versus weekly releases. Now, I have been doing the weekly episode. It's a blessing and it's a grind. The consistency that I've done builds trust and a rhythm. And there are definitely moments where I thought a season break would be nice. It gives me that space for planning a theme, resting, recharging my creative batteries. But being weekly has kept me honest. It's the standard appointment I have with all of you. And I would say, you know, in that timeframe, some episodes, not my best, I may not love every single one that I've even produced. But I've had two hard episodes that I published. One was after the cracked rib that I had at a pre work camp Orange County go-kart accident. That was a I guess was, I don't know what year was that. That was at least nine or 10 years ago. It was short of breath because I couldn't, you know, do what I needed to do to get the episode out. I got it done, but it was just a very short episode. And of course, the other hard one was four days after my son's accident just last year. So yeah, Seasons could have been useful versus the weekly release. But now, and I guess the question begs, if I do a new podcast, will I do seasons or weekly? I don't know. I think I might do seasons or I might kind of make it to where it doesn't have to be evergreen content or calendar based type of thing like upcoming events. I might leave that part of that part of it out. So that way it doesn't have to be every week. Anyway, so there's that seasons versus weekly. Weekly has worked. ([Time 0:04:41](https://share.snipd.com/snip/570ac5a1-a1ce-4a04-a4c6-c10eea158a4e)) - **Add Video For Hard Topics** - Use video selectively for tutorials and topics that don't translate to audio. - Publish occasional videos to leverage YouTube as a discovery channel. Transcript: Adam Silver All right. Uh, another thing I've talked about for a long time would say video content. Now I have accepted the fact that audio is my comfort zone, but there's no denying that video can add a whole new layer, a short tutorial or a deeper dive once or twice a month could have Hit topics that don't translate well on audio. And I've said that before. It's hard to explain technical topics in an audio format. Dustin says it. Kyle used to say it. People say it all the time. It's hard to convey. So, and YouTube being a discovery engine in its own right, it'd be silly not to use it. I've done some content there. I have a couple videos I've put up there. I mean, my audio podcast is on YouTube automatically. I just have to auto feed through, not feed burner, but Lipson. But it would be nice to have more video. It gives the people to see me behind the mic, but it takes more time. I have to script, outline, edit, and then maybe the end of the day, how the sausage is made is what you all might want to see and having deeper dives. ([Time 0:06:10](https://share.snipd.com/snip/c409f1ad-1463-4b71-b2a8-6a82ebc90999)) - **Design Community For Frequent Value** - Consider a membership or community to deepen listener engagement and monetization. - Design the space so members return frequently and find real value, not another forgotten channel. Transcript: Adam Silver On top of that, moving on to the next one here would be membership and community. And I love me a community. That is surely, I'm not denying that for sure. Membership, it's a whole separate thing, working on that in a different way. But I'm pretty sure I wear that on my sleeve. The WordPress community is by far the longest group of people I've been around. Maybe theater from college would be after that. I don't know. Maybe not actually. Probably running would be next, obviously. So the idea of membership or community within the podcast has always been tempting. I have a name for the community. I wanted to call it the pantry because the kitchen sink, you know, whatever the pantry would be kind of neat. Having a place where listeners can connect, learn, support the show. It would be the natural next step. My friend Kyle Van Dusen nailed this with his approach over the admin bar. He built a great community there. And to be honest, it's a great example of how powerful that can be. He's monetized it. He's making a living using it. He has masterminds. You know, I am not going to lie. Little envious. We've talked about it. He's a friend. I like him. I'm not actually not envious. I'm happy for him. That's how it is. At first I was like, dang it. But you know, he did the work and it's hard work. It's such hard work that he doesn't reach out to me much anymore. Kind sad. Anyway, the tricky part, of course, is making it not just another Slack channel or another just place that people forget about, but a place where people want to check in daily or weekly Or even hourly for that matter. So yeah, membership community, still in my ideation, but I think it might be moving away a little bit or maybe more in the running space. ([Time 0:07:15](https://share.snipd.com/snip/9f36f98d-1c5f-4063-b68a-a9af2eb77da9)) - **Use Monthly Interviews Strategically** - Use interviews to add variety and reach but plan for cancellations. - Aim for one interview per month to balance solo efficiency with fresh voices. Transcript: Adam Silver All right. Next one is interviews. Now, I love the solo format because it's efficient, consistent, but interviews, different kind of energy. It's actually an easier show for me to prepare for, technically speaking. But when people flake out or don't show up or have to cancel, it causes a slight stress in me that I have to come up with a new topic or use something that I wasn't prepared to talk about, whatever It may be. So it does create variety, introduces a new voice, brings new listeners when the guests share it on their own as well. But like I said, they can be scheduling headache. So I'm not rolling out more interviews. Actually, I just reached out to somebody that I talked to at WordCamp US, be bringing them on probably in the next month. I'm going to try really hard to get at least one interview per month, if not every other month. ([Time 0:08:46](https://share.snipd.com/snip/cf903294-f927-435b-939b-463fc574ca69)) - **Only Take Relevant Sponsors** - Accept sponsorships only when they genuinely fit your audience and values. - Say no more often than yes to protect listener trust over short-term revenue. Transcript: Adam Silver So, okay. It's just about the balance there, right? So moving on here, sponsorships has always been interesting to me. It's a quote, the easiest money I can make possibly having sponsorships. On one hand, they validate the fact that a brand believes my audience is valuable. On the other hand, they do add pressure because the sponsor is if a sponsor is on a natural fit, it's awkward. And I've learned based on that sentence alone, that I say no more often than I say yes to receiving sponsorship dollars. Because if it doesn't match to who you guys are out there, if it's a product that I can't stand behind, and I don't use, I'm not after the money grab. I'm just not I never have been I've been offered some fair amounts of money, long term contracts. But if it doesn't match, if it doesn't feel right, then it's not worth it. I'd rather just move on to not having a sponsor. Like most of my episodes don't have sponsorships. Would I like to? Sure. I mean, income is income. It's not extra money. It's income. That's how I've always said it. So yeah, you know, I'm talking to a few people off and on consistently and we'll see if something comes up this next quarter. ([Time 0:09:35](https://share.snipd.com/snip/bdce6c98-76cb-4105-839a-452f4ac543d0)) - **Short Format Is A Competitive Advantage** - A concise, repeatable format becomes a listener habit and competitive advantage. - Short episodes under 15 minutes keep people returning and fit busy schedules. Transcript: Adam Silver And I have a few subs, if you will, format consistency. So for me, the format that I've landed on has worked. It's short, practical, repeatable. I have the segments every, every week, listeners know what to expect. And I think that is half the battle. I've considered changing the format going much longer. Like when I used to do episodes with Kyle Maurer at the Get Options podcast, we went just long. And I tried to keep that tight and shorter, but it just didn't. That episode, that format of that podcast had to go 45 minutes to an hour. Just that's how it was. This podcast does not. And I hear time and time again, when I meet people in real life, the fact that the majority of my episodes are short and sweet, sub 15 minutes is the reason people like the show. They like the fact that it's just a, you know, a tasty bite, if you will. And people keep listening. So I get that a lot. So the format's not going to change. I highly doubt it'll ever change as long as I'm running the show here. ([Time 0:10:49](https://share.snipd.com/snip/b79cac06-7575-4310-a4e4-99e90244750a)) - **Gear Stayed Simple Over Years** - Adam still uses the ATR 2100 microphone after 11.5 years and it works fine. - Shiny gear matters less than consistent content and showing up. Transcript: Adam Silver My tech and production gear has evolved, but it turns out, uh, shiny mics and content is better than a new shiny product. Excuse me. Uh, looking at my notes here, I mean, case in point 11 and a half years, I'm still using the same microphone and the same headphones, slightly different arm and different computer. But yeah, I use the ATR 2100, USB and XLR. It's works. It's fine. I have not upgraded any of that other, the audio stuff. ([Time 0:11:47](https://share.snipd.com/snip/06aa8de9-6e0a-4454-bb5f-9b44370fdcee)) - **Consistency Unlocks Opportunities** - Discipline and showing up weekly are the real secrets to a long-running podcast. - Consistency over time produces opportunities, friendships, and unexpected support. Transcript: Adam Silver You know, 601 episodes really only happen if you show up week after week. And that's the secret, meaning you do the work. I put out the podcast, whatever it is, as far as a secret, getting it done, just get it done. You know, and last thing, you know, surprises, the surprises are worth mentioning here, meaning that the friendships, the opportunities, the random doors have been opened because The podcast, something I never expected. ([Time 0:12:16](https://share.snipd.com/snip/0d46167c-5eee-4c43-b4ef-e495f7ec3676)) - **Podcast Brought Real-World Support** - The podcast generated unexpected support for Adam's family after his son's accident. - Real-world connections and empathy came from listeners and peers at events like WordCamp US. Transcript: Adam Silver You know, and last thing, you know, surprises, the surprises are worth mentioning here, meaning that the friendships, the opportunities, the random doors have been opened because The podcast, something I never expected. The support, again, that you all provided my family after my son's accident was unexpected by any stretch. WorkCampUS this past last week, week and a half ago, was a testament to that. People reached out and asked how he was doing. People who didn't know felt bad and gave me a hug. Tears were shed. I'm talking to you, Robert Jacoby, stuff like that. So very much a surprise really expected to do this 11 and a half years in still love doing it it's it's uh you know it's a passion project i don't i'm ([Time 0:12:30](https://share.snipd.com/snip/ed7642a5-a9f6-4d88-8462-d8e0b8d76709)) - **Monitor Client Forms Proactively** - Use tools like CheckView.io to monitor broken WordPress forms for clients. - Offer it as an add-on service to agencies to increase client value and recurring revenue. Transcript: Adam Silver Segment three, tip until the week. This is a service I found out about. I had a meeting with somebody, the guy who created it, Matt Schwartz, I believe, over at WordCampUS. CheckView.io detects broken WordPress forms fast. That's the tagline. Pretty cool. It's a service. There's a pricing to it. I don't have any connection to them. Starts at 35 bucks a month. Pretty neat. And it's really targeted towards agency owners. Something you can do for your clients as an add on service or kind of include it in your service packages. So check it out. I have no connection except that I've met with Matt at WorkCamp US. Looks pretty cool. Like I said, starts at 35 bucks a month and check view.io. ([Time 0:13:45](https://share.snipd.com/snip/43e7017c-b23f-48fd-bdd1-aee9f2cd9770))