Episode Transcript
[00:00:09] Speaker A: Well, hello everyone, and thanks for tuning in to another episode of the Bottom Line Me podcast. I'm your host, Ann Allard. Today I have a very special guest. He's someone who works tirelessly behind the scenes to make sure that every episode we produce sounds amazing. He's our incredible podcast editor and producer, Andrew Herbert. Now, before I let Andrew speak, I just want to take a minute to acknowledge and celebrate his hard work and dedication over the years. Without your expertise, Andrew, and your creativity and your meticulous attention to detail, I don't think our podcast would be what it is today. So. So thank you so much for all that you do. Not only the editing, but also often guiding me and our guests through many of the technical sides of podcasting that most of us are not real familiar with. And you always seem to make sure that everything runs smoothly. So welcome. It's really good to have you on the other side of the microphone for a change. So tell me, how does it feel?
[00:01:18] Speaker B: Feels great. And thanks for that amazing intro. A little too much.
[00:01:25] Speaker A: You're one of my favorite people, you know that? And everybody in the audience now knows it as well, so great. Well, before we kind of dive into our topic of podcasting today, take a minute or two to tell our audience a little bit about yourself and what kind of got you inspired or interested in getting involved in podcasting.
[00:01:47] Speaker B: Well, I'm Andrew Herbert. I've been with Old Republic for over seven years now.
We started the podcast, I believe, in the pandemic. I mean, it was 2020. We really started it and got it off the ground.
[00:02:03] Speaker A: Right.
[00:02:06] Speaker B: But we really wanted to get into podcasting because we found that it was the format that people could sit there and, you know, drive or get some work done. At the same time as listening and getting educated.
[00:02:18] Speaker A: Exactly. Yeah. You know, I don't think I know anybody today that doesn't have some podcast that they. They listen to. So that's kind of a good way for us to. To get started. Do you find that there are any emerging new trends related to podcasting, and if so, what are they?
[00:02:35] Speaker B: I've noticed a lot of the short form platforms there. Those clips are a lot, a lot of them are from podcasts. I mean, they're people are doing a full hour long podcast and then cutting it up for social media. That's been the going trend now.
[00:02:52] Speaker A: Oh, interesting. That's interesting. Yeah. Well, and I think, you know, our model obviously, has been the bottom line, so that we do try to keep it short and sweet. And I know myself, I Can tell probably after three minutes whether or not it's something I want to listen to. So if I look and I see that something is an hour long recording, I might think twice about whether or not I'm going to listen to it.
[00:03:19] Speaker B: So my little, my little hack, when it comes to listening to an hour long podcast or something like that. Yeah, put it on double, double speed.
Oh, that's a great little two act half an hour.
[00:03:33] Speaker A: Yeah. Well, that's really interesting. And that was kind of my next question. Do you think that there's an evolution in the way people listen to podcasts today? Or, you know, are there any, is there anything that you, that you'd want to share about how a listener decides or listens to a podcast?
[00:03:52] Speaker B: At least for myself. I know we're not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but if I'm browsing different podcasts or want to find something new, a lot of it's based off the thumbnail. It's, it's looking at your title and looking at do I care to spend time.
[00:04:09] Speaker A: You know, that that's really interesting because I find the same thing. Even if I'm looking for something on Netflix, if the title of, of the movie or, you know, the series doesn't capture me or grab me right away, I'm probably going to just pass right by it. So now thinking about that is really important. So let's talk a little bit about, because I, I would imagine that some of the people that listen to our podcast maybe would want to dip their toe into this at some point in time. So can you share a little bit about the process of how a podcast gets produced?
What are the challenges that people might face and how they might even overcome some of those?
[00:04:55] Speaker B: Yeah, honestly, I think the biggest question when people start podcasting is they're always worried about the equipment and their setup and not worried about the content they're looking at. Oh, what's the best camera? What's the best microphone? How do I edit this? And they, everybody has a laptop, everybody has a phone if they want to. Do they want to record something, you know, in studio. I mean, just get started with what you currently have and see if you even have a decent show, see if you even have the content to continue on before investing a bunch of money into the equipment, software, or different platforms. Really a lot of the platforms now have capabilities to edit within them, you know, so we do a virtual podcast. You're in Massachusetts, I'm in Pennsylvania. We use a platform called Riverside and there's tools within it that allow you to edit so you can just get started.
[00:05:51] Speaker A: Yeah, well, as I said, I'm always amazed at what you do with these things after we finish recording because it is way outside of my area of expertise. But, you know, you talked a little bit about how people become interested in a podcast, but are there some best practices on how you engage a listener and build a good, you know, commute a good following?
[00:06:18] Speaker B: What we've been learning now is your hooks are crazy important. Understanding what topics your audience are interested in and before all that, define who your audience is. I mean, we've, we've carved out a niche now that is title agents for anyone who works within an agency.
And we know, hey, these agents care about X, Y and Z. Let's start answering those questions or start looking at that as the content.
[00:06:50] Speaker A: Yeah, exactly. Yeah. And as I say, I like the simplicity of it, but are there any ways that people might incorporate more interactive elements? Like one of the things that we're not able to do with at this point? Maybe we are, and I just don't know. It is to engage the audience more and get feedback on what they like, what they'd like to hear us talk about. How do you go about doing that?
[00:07:19] Speaker B: Social media or email? I mean, you can literally just have a call to action be like, if you have anything you want us to cover, email us at XYZ for. What we've learned as well is Google search is great.
[00:07:33] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:07:33] Speaker B: I mean, as soon as you start typing something in, it starts populating with what it thinks you want to search. And you can backwards engineer that in a sense to be, well, what is title insurance? It'll come up with extra tags on there that people have searched for, so you can use that as. Okay, we know this audience has been searching for this.
Let's start answering those questions if we know that those answers.
[00:08:02] Speaker A: Interesting, Interesting. What about humor? You know, do you think humor is a, you know, particularly with. With what our audience level is and who we're. We're trying to reach.
Does humor have any place in this at all?
[00:08:18] Speaker B: I, I believe so. I mean, anything can be funny depending on who you're talking to.
[00:08:23] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:08:25] Speaker B: But it's just a matter of riding a thin line of what's appropriate and what, what is your audience actually care about?
[00:08:33] Speaker A: Yeah, any funny story you want to share with us and remember.
[00:08:40] Speaker B: I don't know.
Well, I've had to cut stuff, I'll say that.
[00:08:48] Speaker A: Yep.
[00:08:49] Speaker B: I have a, a wide range of things that I find funny, but I also know hey, maybe we should pull that out. Maybe, maybe not everybody's gonna appreciate that comment.
[00:08:59] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, exactly. I know it's, you know, I, I agree with you. There is kind of a fine line here that depending on who the audience that you're trying to attract, you got to think about that. You know, do you have any favorite podcasts that you could share with us or, or something that would really kind of help. Help somebody that might be interested in podcasting? Listen to. I'm always listening to other podcasts to, to get some ideas on how to interview somebody or have a conversation with someone. So any thoughts on that?
[00:09:34] Speaker B: It depends on niche. So I listen to educational stuff, but I also listen to stuff that is just conversation. So from an educational standpoint, I love Bigger Pockets Real Estate podcast. Every week, multiple times a week, they have a show that goes out and oftentimes they enter, they bring on a guest who is a, you know, a real estate investor and they will bring on their story, they'll talk about what got them into, what got them into it, what challenges they faced.
So I think it's good to, you know, have a pre interview understand what you're actually going to discuss and not just wing it. Even if it's a basic conversation of what your bio, if you're going to bring somebody on, what, what is your basic history at the very least. But I also like entertaining podcasts. I listen to. I, I'm kind of a nerd when it comes to some of the entertainment. So I like Stephen King.
I read a lot of Stephen King. So there's niche, there's specific podcasts that are Stephen King podcasts. They just talk about his books and movies that have come out and they bring on a guest every week that has something to do with either they're either an author or they're somewhere in film. They discuss their background and their connection to Stephen King. I mean, it's, it's all about the.
[00:10:59] Speaker A: Preparation and what you're in and what your interest levels are. I know. I mean, I actually have found that over the, you know, the years. I even enjoy books that you can listen to rather than read. I mean, I still love to read, but there's something about being able to multitask, I think. You know, like you said at the beginning, you can be driving around listening to a podcast on your way to a meeting or an appointment and, you know, fill your brain with something that's either of interest to you or kind of motivates you or gets you excited. But it's also Great. Just for relaxation and entertainment. So it's my go to for just about everything I want to learn these days. You know, I mean, I still read and I still go Google things, but if you really want to get perspective, I think podcasting or anything that's of in audio recording is one of the great ways to do it today.
[00:11:57] Speaker B: Exactly.
[00:11:58] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah. So anything else you want to share with us about podcasts? Do you have any exciting guests that you want to share with our audience that I don't even know about or somebody that you'd love to see us bring on to interview?
[00:12:15] Speaker B: Well, we've had some success with with external outreach. I mean, there's plenty of places where you can find guests. Bring on.
There's Facebook groups, there's whole websites of directories, people that say, hey, here's my background. I want to be a guest on a podcast. We've reached out to a number of potential guests. Say, hey, we know we're super specific here. I mean, there's not a lot of people that are in the title insurance world in the first place and can speak to it intelligently.
So we've made some decent contacts, one of which is a rock star that left the music industry and became a real estate professional. So we are trying to get him on as soon as possible.
[00:13:10] Speaker A: Awesome. Well, that sounds very. I can't wait to do the pre interview with him and learn more about what he has to share with our audience. Because I think, you know, so many of us, when you're transitioning, even if you're working for the same company, if you're transitioning from one role to another, getting that perspective from someone who moved from one role to another can really be helpful in our business.
There's no question. So awesome. That's great. Great. All right, Andrew, what about the bottom line here on this topic? Have you got one for us?
[00:13:44] Speaker B: I think the bottom line on podcasting is do your research, look into other podcasts and see what you like about other ones and bring that into your own without, you know, without stealing the format. Yeah.
And preparation. Preparation's key. And my third point would just be to get started. Don't worry about the equipment, don't worry about the software. Just use what you currently have.
[00:14:11] Speaker A: Jump in. Huh? Just jump in. Yeah. Great. Well, great. Well, this was really a great conversation. I'm so glad you were able to take some time to join me and share some of these ideas and your thoughts with our audience. So thank you very much, Andrew, for all you do and for coming out from behind the curtain and having a conversation with me. So thanks again and to our audience as always. We really appreciate your joining us. And we Hope that in2025, everybody will continue to learn, grow and prosperity.
