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Episode 32  Tricia’s Tips on Platform Building

On this episode, Rob asks Tricia to serve as his consultant for a talk he needs to give that very night (as they are recording).  CFCArts, a performing arts organization in Central Florida, asked Rob to teach a workshop on the topic of how to start a podcast.  Rob said yes—and then decided he would need his sister’s input on this topic! He and Tricia agreed that they aren’t “all about numbers” for their podcast, but on the other hand, numbers represent people, and they are, indeed, all about people.  Their podcast has had over 10,000 downloads to this point, and are thankful for the listeners that made this achievement happen so quickly.

Rob asked Tricia to share what she has learned in building a platform of listeners, and together they discuss the following tips (with strong follow-up details):

• Find someone really fun to do it with—someone you love and trust.  Sharing the process makes it enjoyable.
• Be patient with yourself in the learning process, and commit to an attainable number of episodes you will do.  Then finish your first season and call it done!
• Showing up to your work and thinking hard is a useful process for any kind of creative work.
• Building your platform is not designed for your own fame.  Your purpose must be deeper than that: about helping others, whether there are 10 people or 10,000.  You carry a responsibility to help them.
• Write or record something every week.  Commit to something; accomplish something for your audience.
• Be faithful to the audience you have. 
• Build a relationship with your audience. Make it a dialogue. “When you toss the ball to them and they catch iand toss it back, catch it!”
• Post regularly.  Don’t disappear. Decide on a realistic time frame for your posting, and then commit to that.  Show UP.
• Pay attention to what gets traffic.  Your readers or listeners will show you what they like by the numbers of readers or listeners you have on each episode. “Love what loves you back!”
• Have a very small editing committee, just a couple of people whose opinions you really trust.
• Keep the long view in sight.  Don’t worry if you don’t get a thousand readers your first month; if you add even a few more listeners every week, before long you’ll have loyal readers or listeners.
• Don’t need anything from your audience.  Don’t ask them to buy things, share things or do things. Just give to them.
• Don’t ask them to listen to what only your therapist should hear. Their job is not to validate you. “Only give away in stories what is healed and whole.”
• Be so good that they can’t ignore you!

“Writing is breathing for me. I read to inhale; I write to exhale.” – Tricia

Resources Mentioned in this Episode:

Todd Henry, who writes of having “a body of work,” not just one thing you do as an artist. 

Seth Godin – no actual quote, but an agreement to quote him no more than once per episode! Seth writes his blog every day, not for his readers to read, but for him to genuinely think.