Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | RSS
In this episode of the GradBlogger podcast, we look at the benefits of podcasting and how to get started with Dr. Lindsay Padilla from the Academics Mean Business podcast. We also include using your podcast to build community and making intimate connections with your audience. Plus, Lindsay has advice for someone just getting started, including sound quality and figuring out the backend systems.
Disclosure: Some of the links in the podcast show notes and transcripts are affiliate links (indicated with [Affiliate] in front). If you choose to make a purchase through these links GradBlogger will earn a commission from that purchase at no extra cost to you.
Introduction
[00:00:00] Welcome to Episode #6 of GradBlogger! Where we are helping academics build businesses and change the world through their online businesses. I’m your host, Dr. Chris Cloney, and in today’s episode, we’re diving into a bit of business coaching with Dr. Lindsay Padilla, talking about the benefits of podcasting and how to get started.
You may know Lindsay from her Academics Mean Business podcast, which is aimed at academic entrepreneurs. I was featured in Episode #44, where I talked about the importance of finding a niche for your online business. In this interview, Lindsay discusses:
- Why she started a podcast aimed at academics
- The benefits of podcasting, which include community-building
- How to get started in podcasting and academic entrepreneurship
Who is Dr. Lindsay Padilla?
[00:00:46] On her website, Doctor Lindsay Padilla describes herself as an ex-professor turned entrepreneur. Her story is interesting and inspiring. After getting her PhD in sociology and leaving the tenure track, she and her husband entered the world of online business, where they enjoyed success. A couple of years later, Lindsay connected her academic past with her entrepreneurial present by launching Academics Mean Business and, later on, Building a Better Beta, which shows you how to build online courses.
What does your business story look like?
[00:03:53] “I like to say that I accidentally started a business,” Lindsay says, “And I think that’s a trend that I found in a lot of the people that I interviewed on Academics Mean Business.”
She left her tenure track job at a community college, a move that she later regarded as a “giant leap” because it took place in the middle of the academic year. Encouraged by her husband, who was also an academic, she became a health coach. In April 2016, while attending a business conference, Lindsay realized that she could teach people better online.
“It took me about two years in business to realize that I was hiding a part of myself (by) not publicly talking about being an academic,” she remembers.
She also found that when she branded herself as a professor, people were impressed by her academic background. Her credentials convinced them that she knew what she was doing, and her business flourished as a result.
The Academics Mean Business origin story
The inspiration for Academics Mean Business came from what Lindsay calls “a Gary Vee moment.”
She attended a ClickFunnels conference where he was the keynote speaker. During the Q&A session, she told him that she was serving entrepreneurs by helping them build better courses, but thought that encouraging her fellow academics to become small business owners might also be a good idea. His response was immediate and enthusiastic: “Go do that.”
Encouraged by such a response from a digital marketer of Gary’s caliber, Lindsay went ahead. She imagined grad students, tenure track professors, and adjunct professors being inspired to start a business. Around two months later, she was recording episodes of Academics Mean Business.
What are the benefits of podcasting?
[00:15:48] Asked about the benefits of podcasting, Lindsay listed three of the most important:
- The ability to build a community
- Generating content that people value
- Making intimate connections with your audience
Podcasting as a community builder
Podcasts build communities. Dr. Chris Cloney found that when he didn’t know the answer to a combustible dust hazard question posed by a listener, he could find a subject matter expert anywhere in the world and ask them to come on his show. Having a podcast is an excellent way to reach out to people and get their stories and opinions.
Ship, Show, Share, Stack, and Scale
Dr. Cloney has a five-step framework he uses when generating content, and it fits perfectly with the podcast model. The steps are:
- Ship: Start creating and get comfortable with pressing the ‘Go’ button.
- Show: Have something to show people on a regular basis. In other words, send a podcast every week.
- Share: Podcasts are highly shareable.
- Stack: Podcasts are also easy to stack up. If you have five on one topic, you can use them to create a mega-post.
- Scale: If you’re willing to put time into creating podcasts, you can scale them up easily because they don’t have an ‘end’ date,
Making intimate connections with your audience
Podcasts can make fast and intimate connections. When Lindsay moved to San Diego, she was contacted by another professor who taught at San Diego College and was sharing the podcast with her colleagues. When they met for coffee, the professor told her that listening to the podcast was like having a conversation every day. She felt like she knew Lindsay, whose words of advice were an important part of her day.
What advice do you have for someone just getting started?
[00:22:42] Lindsay has the following advice for those who are just getting started in podcasting:
Good sound quality is important
“Audio quality is really important,” Lindsay says. She says that listeners respond more positively when you have a quality set-up. “It’s not expensive to make yourself sound good. It (just takes) some time and some tweaking.”
Figuring out the backend systems can be difficult
One of the most challenging aspects of podcasting is the back end, which has a lot of moving pieces. It gets even more tricky when you’re doing guests, as you have to get their details, make sure they appear, and confirm that their technology is compatible with yours. There is a lot to master.
Be focused on getting your listener a result
In addition to shipping your podcast and covering topics that excite you, Lindsay advises that you focus on getting your listener a result. In her first episode, she said at the beginning, “I have an origin story (and) I’m going to share it throughout these podcasts, but I want to get you a result today.” So remember: running a podcast isn’t about you, it’s for your audience.
Community Questions
[00:27:03] Lindsay responded to some questions from the community.
What is on Lindsay’s chalkboard?
One listener wanted to know about the list on the chalkboard behind Lindsay in the video. The answer? The names of her students! When someone buys her course, a video app called Bonjoro pings her. Lindsay then sends them a welcome video and writes their name on her chalkboard.
“That’s where the professor thing comes in,” she laughs, “But it’s pretty fun.”
What’s coming up next for Academics Mean Business?
Although she plans to keep Academics Mean Business going, Lindsay is currently on hiatus as she focuses her attention on Build a Better Beta (including a podcast related to the brand) and the Dr. Lindsay Padilla brand.
“But the storytelling and the stuff that’s happening in Academics Mean Business is not going to go away,” she promises.
Conclusion
[00:33:53] Podcasting is a powerful way for academic entrepreneurs to find an audience as they build their brand. When you deliver a quality listening experience and focus on creating value for the listener, the rest will happen naturally. Good luck!
If you like the material that we’re posting on the podcast and it’s helpful in your work and in your blog and in your business, please rate and review GradBlogger on iTunes so we can reach more people!
Leave a Comment
Have you started a podcast?
Let us know in the comments below so we can share your success story with our readers!
