We all like to hear ourselves talk. What if you had the opportunity to create a solo podcast where talking is all you do? Many creators are doing so. That may seem like a walk in the park, but it might actually be a herculean task.
It seems like everyone is starting a podcast at this day in age. So, what sets you apart? What encourages your listeners to keep coming back? A huge part of creating a successful podcast is finding your niche and knowing your audience. You may love a topic, but how long do you think you’ll be able to discuss that single topic by your lonesome? The way Go Rogue X’s podcast guest Nichole Hamilton found her way to her niche is slightly different. “For me, you know, I wasn’t like, oh, I want to have a podcast. What should it be about? It was the other way around for me. I was like: I have things to say. How do I get it out there?” Finding what you want to say is vital to the success of your podcast, especially if you plan to host alone.
Another important factor to consider when hosting a solo podcast is the direction. Flying by the seat of your pants is much easier when you have a co-pilot. “You really need to have an idea of how you’re going to get from point A to point B… you’ve got to know the point you’re trying to make. How do all these different elements you’re pulling together contribute to the larger goal?” For some, bullet points are a great tool for staying on track. For others, a script with every word written out is necessary. Keep in mind as you plan your script, that the way you speak will influence how your listeners hear what you have to say. The tone of your show can be dry and boring; or inviting and fun. Music can play an important role in implementing a mood to your podcast. When you don’t have a co-host to help you transition, using tips, such as these, can add a fluidity that helps all the pieces of the puzzle fit together.
A final, key step in creating a successful solo show is staying organised. Production can quickly turn discouraging when ideas, grand plans, and to-do lists get lost in the mess. Creating a schedule and sticking to it each week can be beneficial, but exhausting. Many podcasters choose to batch record. Set a day that you can record two or three episodes so that you don’t have to panic at the last minute. Mark your calendar up to six months in advance with days you will dedicate to recording and producing. Plan out show notes that will help you stay on track while you record. There are many organizational ways that you can keep yourself on course and help avoid the typical burnout of doing work solo.
Hosting a solo show can be challenging, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be done! Learn the ropes and find what works for you. By staying organised and keeping your audience captivated, you can create a fantastic solo show.
Show Notes:
[00:02:24] What are you obsessed with this week?
[00:06:45] About Nichole
[00:11:43] How do you create an engaging podcast without a co-host?
[00:15:20] How do you decide on your podcast’s direction?
[00:21:05] Pointers for first time solo show hosts
[00:26:35] Growth without feedback
[00:29:56] How do you know a solo show is not for you?
[00:34:00] What’s next for Nichole?
[00:38:15] Rapid Fire Questions
Show Quotes:
“For me, you know, I wasn’t like, I want to have a podcast. What should it be about? It was the other way around for me. I was like: I have things to say. How do I get it out there?” [00:11:56]
“You really need to have an idea of how you’re going to get from point A to point B… you’ve got to know the point you’re trying to make. How do all these different elements you’re pulling together contribute to the larger goal?” [00:22:18]
“If I listened back to my early episodes that I started with… it was bad, but we started somewhere and we’ve gotten progressively better.” [00:28:56]
“You see people jumping on the trendy train of a podcast. I just don’t think that that’s the best way to have long term success.” [00:31:35]
Links:
Bryan Fittin- https://www.instagram.com/heybryanhey/
Loren Lewis- https://www.instagram.com/thislovelylewislife/
Nichole Hamilton
- https://www.instagram.com/nichole.hamilton/
- https://www.instagram.com/chiaroscurohorror/
- https://www.instagram.com/disneynativepod/
Transcript
So, um, I do think that it’s really important that you do have a topic you’re passionate about. Because if the goal, I think is to, Oh, I just want to have a podcast and be popular and get lots of followers and lots of downloads, you know, I don’t know that that’s. Necessarily going to be successful if you don’t have passion for the topic.
Hey, what’s up everybody? Welcome back to the go road podcast. My name is Brian Finn. This is the podcast to doing marketing differently, and so we are always like to have like interesting topics, so we talk about like. Podcasting, live, streaming, um, social media, that type of thing. And so I’m very excited to have an awesome guest on with us today.
Nicole Hamilton. How are you Nicole?
I am great. How are you guys doing?
How’s the weather there? So good. Oh, it’s cold. And then hot in the afternoons and freezing and sleet, and then it’s, you know, t-shirt weather, so, yeah, all over the place. So
I have to reconcile.
Yeah, it does. It does. And you were going to be coming back here soon.
Yeah. Excited about that. Yeah. Where are you at right now?
Um, we are in Lakeland, Florida, which is. The centralist of central Florida. We’re right in between Tampa and Orlando. We’re about 45 minutes. Either way.
Oh, that’s awesome. So to the beach or to all the other attractions?
Yeah, we live in, um, like a mid sized city.
If it was an Arkansas, it would be a big city. Um, but we don’t have to deal with any of the big city stuff. But with where within 45 minutes of concerts and sports and beaches and theme parks, I mean, it, it really is a. Great part of the country to live in.
That’s awesome. That’s awesome. Well, we’re going to dive into some really cool stuff with you today and I’m very excited to, uh, to share that.
So some of the solo show type preparation, which you do an amazing podcast, and we’re going to jump into some of that in just a second. I never introduced you and
your friends
just hanging out over here. Nicole and I, we’re just, we’re just riffing. We’re old college friends and so, you know, we don’t get to see each other very often.
So this was, I’m so, so excited that you’re on the show today. So. Uh, but before we get into all the fun stuff,
yes.
There she is. Here’s Lauren, start us off. Lauren. What? We’d like to have some fun, right?
Yes. We like to start each of our show with what are you obsessed with this week? So Nicole, what are you obsessed with this week?
Um, how’s shopping? Um, my husband and I have both been. Like on Zillow, on realtor in the middle of the night, several nights at the past month. Um, we’ve just been combing through stuff. Um, we don’t necessarily have to have a house purchased before we move, but we love to how shop anyway, so we’ve just been like.
Head over heels in the housing market, and my parents, actually tomorrow we’re going to look at houses for us.
Oh, nice. Yeah, that is a, that’s awesome. And that’s definitely, I mean, that’s stressful because obviously if you’re not in the place that you’re going to, I mean, you obviously know Northwest Arkansas in general, but yeah, if you’re not here to actually look at the houses, that’s.
It’d be a little stressful, so,
yeah. Yeah, a little bit. We’re like a little picky. We don’t want to live in like a brick house with a triangle roof in a suburb. Um, we like older houses. We like, I know. I always, every time I say that, I’m like, yeah. Nicole, that’s where most people live. Like, do you need to chill?
Um, but we like older houses. We like a little bit of quirk, a little bit of weirdness, a little bit of character. So, um, it’s like, Oh, there’s lots of stuff like in our price range, but we have to find just the house was like. Just the right amount of weird, and that’s where we want to live.
Well, and not a ton of renovations and problems.
And the old, older houses, I love them as well. If it was my choice, that would probably be something similar to what we would do. Uh, but we are in a brick house in the suburbs, essentially, but we have like a walkout basement. That was kind of one of the reasons why we bought the house. It’s like, yeah, we didn’t really care too much about the outside.
It was just like walkout, basement and plenty of room for the kids. Yeah.
It’s to be comfy.
The playroom gotta have it. So. Alright, Lauren, what are you obsessed with this week?
Sorry, I was like really trying to like scramble on what
you want me to go. Do you have yours yet?
I mean, I do. It’s not super exciting, but I did today receive a fallback from your wife.
Hmm. I have a wax, which when you think that’s exact, it’s the scented wax. So like it’s, the brand is Sensi and everything, but I’ve really enjoyed having warmers in my house. Which your wife? Yeah, he loves the warmers
and stuff.
And so I was excited to get six different new sense for the spring and they’re all like really fresh, which gets me in the mood to clean.
Nice.
So I’m kind of excited to like get into that mode because I’m tired of winter. I’m done.
I’m ready to move on. Move on, let’s move on.
That’s mine. It’s not very exciting.
Well, I, it is nice. I will say to walk in the house and like, everything just smells good all the
time. Yeah. She had kids.
Yeah. Um, she had something on last night.
It was like cookie something and so it smelled like she was making baking something and so then it like made me hungry. I was like, Oh no, like cookies or sweets or something. I’m like, it’s so late. That just smells so good in here. So anyway,
if it smells,
yeah. Smart. That’s smart. Um, okay. So my obsession this week, and actually Nicole, you’ll probably appreciate this.
Um, and I think it’s uncovered as a podcast, but it’s about the satanic panic, um, back in the mid nineties. And it’s about Martinsville, Saskatchewan, uh, to where basically it was like this preschool that was being used. The kids started accusing. The preschool owners of say, tannic rituals and like all kinds of terrible things.
Uh, essentially nothing was true out of that. And there may have been like a couple of charges. I’m not all the way through, but just knowing the overall story. And so anyway, it’s a great podcast if you’re into like kind of true crime stuff. It is very interesting how all over, I remember this back in the 90s everybody was just terrified of satanic Colts and everybody was looking out for that stuff.
And obviously like the West Memphis three there’s a lot of that that like. Fear that a lot of, um, people now go back, obviously, and look at the, um, the cases that people went to jail for, for things that probably weren’t necessarily true or they weren’t guilty for. So it’s really sad. Anyway, I don’t mean to bring us down there, but if you’re looking for true crime podcasts, that one’s out there.
Uh, but yeah. Yeah, no problem. There’s not transition though, because, uh, Nicole, you have an interesting podcast. So tell us just a little bit about you, your podcast, what got you started? You haven’t. Actually multiple podcasts. Um, but, uh, we’re really interested to kinda hear about you and kind of give a brief overview and then we’re going to dive into really your thought process when creating your podcast.
Okay. So I have loved horror movies and scary, spooky stuff my whole life. I mean, ever since I was a little kid, and so I have. Well, like Brian said, I have two podcasts. Um, one is actually about Disney world, and I cohost that one with a friend of mine. Um, but the one I’m really like passionate about, that’s my baby is my horror podcast and it’s called chiaroscuro horror, not as an Italian word.
It’s actually an art term. And it refers to an art technique where the artist uses you just like really, really dark darks and really light lights, and they create these like high contrast compositions. So I was like, to me, that speaks to what the horror genre does. Um, you know, it takes you to some really dark places.
And it shows you like the darker corners of life. And I think that that really serves to contrast, you know, the lighter things in life. And it’s unlike any genre. Um, comedy is a, is kind of similar in that it does things that, you know, other genres don’t do, but it really does stand on its own. And I’m so, I’ve always loved it and I’ve always been fascinated by it.
And, um, I actually started a blog. It’s been maybe five years ago now. Um, and I was just writing about, um, themes that I thought were interesting films that I thought were interesting. I’m just trying to dig into like the deeper meaning and, uh, came to the realization that I enjoyed writing, but it’s like really difficult for me.
It takes a lot of time. It takes a lot of work. And then I thought, you know. I’m a pretty good talker though. I talk a lot. So I was like, what if I, you know, turn this into a podcast and talk about things instead of writing it down. And so that’s how the podcast idea was born. And I’ve been doing it a little over a year.
November was a year, and I’m, I’m still, I’m still loving it. You know, sometimes you start something new and then you sort of lose. Deem, and it is hard sometimes to like be consistent and make yourself like, do the work and get the episode out. Um, but I still love it. It’s probably the most creatively fulfilling thing I’m doing right now.
Wow. That is awesome. That’s awesome. We actually have. Well, a lot of people that, that come to us asking about podcasts and they always, they always want like their own personal podcast too. They’re always talking about like, I really want this. And like we talk about like, well, what, what is a topic that you enjoy?
And obviously they have 10 different topics. It’s like, what’s a topic that you can talk about for 52 weeks? Or, you know, even something along the line of like a weekly thing. And they’re like, well, I have about 10 episodes in me, which is okay. Right? If it’s, even if it’s a monthly podcast, that’s totally fine.
Um. But it is one of those things where it’s kind of like you really do have to enjoy it. You have to go through those hard times too, because it’s going to, it’s not always super fun because there is a lot of work into it. Um, but. Keeping it going. And that I saw that I saw your year anniversary on there and actually listen to that episode kind of the year in review.
Um, and I thought it was fantastic because you, yours is not just completely storytelling. It’s not just interview, it’s a lot of solo. But then there’s also a lot of audio kind of engineering in there as well to kind of evoke emotion and you do a lot with it. And so, um, that was kind of one of the reasons when we wanted to have you on, because, uh.
Just fans of your podcast. Um, and then obviously even the promotion side around it with your graphic design background, um, as well. And you do a great job with those graphics, so it’s pretty cool stuff. So, um, so Lauren, do we have any quotes, any questions.
So that’s actually really interesting. So I am typically the one that does some of our more of our show prep and does the research.
And so I was going into kind of finding information on how to prepare for a solo show cause, um, it’s really different when you have a cohost. Um, I think about all the times that I’ve started to blank and I can look to Brian, he can see the panic in my eyes and he can help me out. When you have a solo show, you, you can’t do that.
Um, and so I did some research and there was nothing. Yeah. It was like really, there was not much out there at all on how to construct a solo show. There was a lot in how to start a podcast. Um, but there really wasn’t a lot of, um, advice and wisdom on how to prepare yourself for a solo show and how to do that well.
And so I was really excited about this interview. Today, because I want to be some of the people that are actually putting that out there because we have talked to some of them. It’s particularly our clients who do a regular interview show where they would like to do a solo show and they realize it’s a, it’s a whole different animal.
Yeah. Um, and so Nicole, if you could kind of go into how do you create an engaging podcast without a cohost. Well, first of all, I appreciate that you think it’s engaging? Um, because for me, you know, I wasn’t like, Oh, I want to have a podcast. What should it be about? It was the other way around for me. I was like, I have things to say.
How do I get it out there in a podcast? Just sort of naturally came. So, um, I do think that it’s really important that. You do have a topic you’re passionate about because if the goal I think is to, Oh, I just want to have a podcast and be popular and get lots of followers and lots of downloads, you know, I don’t know that that’s necessarily going to be successful if you don’t have passion for the topic.
And so for me. That was just easy. Um, however, I started the Disney podcast that I have first, and that was easier because like you said, we were sharing, I’m sharing the load with somebody sharing the work, and we do prep for that one. Like we figure out what we want our topics to be and we have like a rough outline, but we didn’t sit down and talk.
And it goes where it goes. You know, and it’s fine. It’s pretty stress-free. Um, but of course it is totally different when I do CURO Schiro. Um, I have a similar process and that I do have an outline. I’m probably like three to six months ahead as far as like what I want to do each month. Um, cause that’s another thing.
It’s monthly. I, there’s no way I could do it weekly or even biweekly, I don’t think. Um. And of course it was easier at first because you know, I’ve been a horror fan for 30 years and I have a lot of thoughts about things. But like as you go through, you have to find new things that you want to put out there.
So, um, thus far, the well has not run dry, thankfully. Um, but for me, it’s really all about planning. And so, like I said, I have sort of my three to six months out, um, of sort of what I want to do. And then I slowly refine that. So I’m kind of keeping my eye out for, okay, I want to do this topic. You know, what films should be on my radar, or do I need to rewatch something?
Do I need to read articles? You know, is there like supplemental media, like other podcast episodes or just things in history that are relevant to this? And like the closer I get to. Um, episode release time, I just kind of like hone in more and more details about that. And I’ve discovered that depending upon the topic, sometimes I can just do like bullet points and then just talk it through and it’s fine.
Other times I’ve tried to do that and it’s a train wreck and I’m like, I’m all over the place. So when that happens, I have to go in and basically write the entire episode, like script out the whole thing. And then when I read it back.
Yeah. No, that’s awesome. And that’s, that’s actually some pretty good insight because even with yours, like I said, you, you add in a lot of music. So there’s a lot of, there’s a lot more than you just sitting down in front of the camera or in front of the microphone and just talking for 20 minutes or 30 minutes or whatever.
Um, there are, there are scenes like some breaks in there cause you have a lot of clips that you added as well. So if you’re talking specifically about, um. You know, a TV series or a movie or something. I know that you kind of pull some of that stuff out. And even just going into it, like, um, it’s, it’s just constructed really well and it seems like it’s intentional.
Right. And so, um, and where would you say this is kind of follow up and. What did you kind of get some of that, that thought process by listening to other podcasts, or is that just kind of how your writing goes where it’s like, Hey, I’m really telling a story. Just even kind of your love for film and send them.
I like to be able to say, this is how I want my podcast two to go.
Yeah. It’s a little bit of all of the above. I would say that listening to other podcasts, um, definitely has been like a huge contributing factor. I do listen to a ton of horror storytelling podcasts, which has been great because, um, you know, you get to hear how they, like you said earlier, how they use music to sort of create the mood before you even kind of get to the content.
So that definitely has been an influence. Um. But one of the first things I do when I have a topic in mind is I go find, I’m a music clip that I’m gonna use for the intro to kind of set the stage for the whole thing. Um, and that’s fun for me. So it’s like before I ever have to really do any research or sit down and like really hammer things out, I can just go find something that’s going to set the tone.
Yeah. So that’s been really great. And I also feel that because it’s just me talking for 2030 maybe 40 minutes, I feel it’s important to have a little bit of audio and the clips and just something to help break it up, especially if I don’t have a really great transition from kind of one topic to the next.
I’m like, let’s put a little clip in there a little, you know, some kind of audio doodad in there and it’ll feel a little more natural than just, okay, now we’re switching gears.
Yeah. Yeah. Well, I don’t that about even with yours too, you don’t, you don’t necessarily, it’s not one specific thing, and I kind of mentioned this, where you do have, you know, kind of some interviews or thoughts with other people like you bringing them on.
So can I give their insights? Um. But then also like kind of some, some reading stuff that you’re doing as well as, um, you know, you don’t review just films, right? Uh, you talk about even your year review, which I didn’t listen to this episode, but the, uh, the shining mini series, um, and kind of your defense of the shining mini mini series.
And so it was, it was very interesting to kind of see the different things that you’re doing now. I was very excited on your Instagram. You posted something about Midsummer and I was like, Oh, she did a review of ms. like I was very excited to listen to it. And you have not done an episode on that?
No. Okay, so you just got to stay tuned because full core is coming in April.
Okay. Okay.
So I will be talking about mid summer, mid summer. Yeah. Well, full of horror is like, it’s a little obscure. It’s, there was a lot of it in like the 60s and the 70s and it’s just starting to like make a big comeback. So I’m going to talk about that and definitely going to talk about. Summer?
Yes.
Well, I’m a, I’m a big fan anyway, and so anything they really put out, I’ve, even if it’s been kind of, eh, like written hereditary was great. Um, even, I’m trying to think of, well, I just watch tusk. I’ve been wanting to watch it for a long time when it first came out. It’s so weird. I love Kevin Smith.
Definitely. And I love Kevin Smith as a director and an actor. And so I was, I love red state. And so Lauren and I were talking about this. She is not. She is definitely, she’s not in this, so this is a, this is me kind of nerd now with you, Nicole. So yeah, this is
the previous episode. I nerd it out with Daniel about Saifai and
you had his chair
chilling over.
I do love Spotify. Yes, he did. I was relating it to which I knew the Witcher was not Saifai, but I’m like, I’m thinking like fantasy, scifi. They definitely don’t blend together. But
there was a moment, horror fantasy, scifi. It get to know there’s a, there’s some crossover there. There’s definitely some like nerdy crossover.
So
thank you Nicola.
Yeah, I am not a horror fan. I am the biggest chicken out there. Um, so I, um. I was telling Brian, I can barely make it through the trailer of it. Um,
which for me, I went to see it in theaters four times, I think. Total.
Really? Yeah. Like my husband read the book, absolutely loved movie. I mean, they were, it was all about it.
So yeah, it was, wow. I’m just sitting over there just telling them that.
Yeah. Her husband, we kind of have our own little movie club. Right. And so it is one of those that he, uh, we have, we have tried to kind of. Make a, uh, like going to see different movies, like we saw dr, uh, absolutely. Yeah. Together, which was a lot of fun too.
So I did, I did, I will say this, so I’m not a huge Stephen King fan, so, um, I do like the new adaptations and the things that have come out. Um, I’ve enjoyed watching them. I will say the shining as a child, I watched that or had some like understanding of my mom was terrified of, and so always kind of referenced it.
And my dad also looks like Jack Nicholson with his hair up in the mornings. So there’s, I’m telling you something, I actually watched the like late nineties mini series of the shining as well, which I loved it. I actually thought it was cool, but so seeing that again. Bye. It just terrified me. It was more of a nostalgia thing than the actual movie being scary.
I just, there’s just so much. So many things happened. So many emotions.
Yeah. There were some really great, powerful images and that movie for sure, like regardless of how you feel about the story or whatever, it was a beautiful movie.
Absolutely. Absolutely. Well, and that’s what, so can we got to get back on?
Lauren, you’re supposed to keep us on topic.
I’m not going to be like interrupting mid
sense, like stop Brian.
Um, so Nicole, from your experience, what pointers could you give to someone running their first solo show? I mean, we deal with people who either this is the break from their normal. How the interview style or this is what they’re trying to accomplish is to start their own solo show.
So what pointers could you give or what mistakes should you avoid? So I would again say pick something that you’re passionate about and that you’re knowledgeable about and hopefully that like you have a little bit of a niche that other people don’t quite have. Um, because that’ll give you an edge and you’ll have things to say that aren’t just out there a million times.
Um, and I would also suggest, and this is something I did not do, um, plan things out and maybe record three, four, five, six episodes and just have them ready so that you’re not scrambling and you’re like, Oh my gosh, their new episode comes on two weeks. What am I going to do? Um, so those would be my two big things.
And again, just. Have a plan, have a really good plan, don’t just like hit record and just start talking like you. You really need to have an idea of how you’re going to get to point a and point a to point B. And another thing I would say like, no, you’ve got to know like the point you’re trying to make.
And how all these different elements you’re pulling together, um, how do they contribute to the larger goal? Um, and I’ve struggled with that a few times on episodes where I’m like, okay, there’s a lot of connections here and there’s good stuff here. But like, what’s the point though? Like, what am I trying to say at the end of the episode?
And if I don’t know what that is all like table that episode and like maybe do it at a different time because I, I just feel like it’s not quite right. Ready yet. Um, so yeah, I definitely have that end goal in mind and plan how you’re efficiently going to get there. And don’t be afraid to cut. Do not be afraid to trim the fat because if you think, Oh, well, this tidbits really interesting, or you know, this thing is connected, but there’s not a great way to work it in, maybe you just need to cut it because your episode will not be as strong if you have too many tangents.
I think that’s great. Especially the batch recording. We, we tell people that all the time. It’s just way easier to knock out two or three episodes in one day. You’re already in the mode. You’re already kind of going through it. So, especially if that’s, you know, if you’re, it’s completely self-reliance, like it’s just going to be you, you kind of have to hold yourself to that and be disciplined.
I think
it’s good. And I do think having, um, kind of different, different styles is. Has been useful for me. I don’t know. It depends on how consistent you want to be. Um, Brian, like you said, most of what I do is like, you know, film analysis, but I do have people on sometimes. Um, I do, well, I think how many, I think I’ve done maybe two stories, but I’m going to be doing one in March because I don’t have a plan for an episode.
So I’m going to be reading, um, a full core story to kind of get people geared up for the April episode. So it’s relevant, but it’s different. But it’s a lot easier for me because all I have to do is like read the story and cut it together. I don’t have to figure out the content or when I do interview somebody again, it’s a lot easier because, you know, I figured out what the outline is going to be with and we just talk.
And, um, so for me, even though those things. Don’t fit exactly with like the goal of my podcast. I find that they’re useful and I’m, I think the, I’ve had good, really good audience feedback from those episodes, so I think people appreciate it. And I feel like if you do have those kind of extras, sometimes it’s my main episode, or sometimes I’ll release it as a bonus.
So I have two episodes in a month instead of one. So that’s worked really well for me. Just kind of mixing it up with some. Some different, uh, different types of episodes.
Yeah. And you, it, I’ve heard you mentioned this, but you have a Patrion correct. Your podcast. Um, yeah. Have you, are you releasing some of that content on there specifically?
So my Patrion is like sad and little. So if anybody out there, uh, wants to listen to my show and likes it and wants to contribute, like please do that. Um. So for now, the only thing that my patrons get is just they get early release every episode. Um, but there are like different levels. And I have other thoughts, like once I get to a certain amount of support per month, like I can release more than one episode of month.
Um, so I have like some of those things sort of like in the works, but I need more supporters before I can figure out like, Oh, what do these
people get. Yeah, no, that’s funny. I mean, we’ve, we are having more podcasters on in an, obviously Patriana is such a big deal. Um, know with my wife. I mean, she has one and she’s, she almost dumps too much content I think in there.
I mean, she provides like an additional, like two shows and then she has like a full study guide, which then goes with the episode and like you’re putting way more into the patriotic side than you are in the actual, uh, podcast regular episodes. Uh, but I think it’s good. It’s kind of a good mix too, of just being, having a way for people just to support you.
Like, Hey. Pay for my hosting, you know, cause it does cost, right?
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I would love, I would love if eventually I had enough support that I could like contribute like part of my hourly work week to it. That would be like the dream. If that never happens, I still love this and I will always do it.
Um, but that, you know, that would just, that would be great. Yeah,
absolutely.
So you kind of hit on something I wanted to talk about was that you’ve gotten some good feedback from your episodes, and that was something, I think when you have a cohost, you can bounce ideas back and forth of what sounds good and kind of, you can go through the highs and lows, I guess, of your podcast.
When it’s just you, it’s a little bit more challenging. So I wanted to ask, like if I’m the only one on my podcast, how do I get good constructive feedback. Oh, so that one is a little more difficult for me because I haven’t gotten, I’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback. I haven’t gotten a ton of, um, constructive criticism, so to speak.
Um, I mean, I know for sure like my audio setup is like bare bones, like it’s my little Yeti blue Mike, and that’s it, you know? Um, so that is one thing that I know for sure that can be better is just like the, the production value. Um, but at this point I’m like, not. Willing to invest anymore into all those things.
But so, so I’ve had a couple of people who are like in the audio, you know, tell me like, Oh, I can help you with that, or whatever. But it’s just, it’s just not been something that, that’s not a step I’ve been ready to take yet. Um,
well, you also, and I don’t mean to cut you off, but you actually started, um, you didn’t start with your, your set up that you have right now.
And I. I always encourage people when we, we always encourage people, like just if you have an idea and you want to talk about it and you want to create, don’t worry about the equipment wise.
Right?
You get our guests, you’ve got to know. Yes, this is awesome.
Oh my gosh, that’s, that’s Scarlet. So we, um, we just sold our house and so we’ve got lots of like inspectors and stuff coming through the termite man.
Okay,
so Scarlet, the one that’s in here with me, she’s always been a quiet girl, but we just acquired another dog about six months ago, and she’s a Barker. So when she starts to bark, then Scarlett gets excited. So I apologize for the
barking. Totally.
I know. I don’t remember where we were. We were talking about constructive feedback of how to get that from a solo perspective.
Yeah. Well, and, uh, so Brian was saying like, you got to just like start and, um, and I totally agree with that because, you know, if I listened back to my early episodes that I started with my Disney podcast with my cohost, like, it was bad, but like we started somewhere and we’ve gotten progressively better, and I feel the same way about a CURO Schiro I think it’s just gotten better.
And so hopefully I’ll continue. To make it better, you know, um, over time. But yeah, other than that, um, I’ve received, you know, people with, if they like a particular episode or whatever, they’ll, uh, they’ll message me across many platforms or, um, people, sometimes a few people have given me ideas like, Oh, what if you covered this?
Or what do you cover that. And, um, I’m always, especially with horror fans, like they’re, they’re nice, generous people. It’s a very supportive community. And I’m so, I’m always willing to take ideas and I’m like, well, if it’s something that I don’t, I don’t feel like I have anything new to contribute to the conversation.
It’s maybe not something that I’ll, I’ll do. Um, but it’s always good to hear, you know, what people are interested in.
Yeah. Absolutely. I think that’s good.
Yeah. So this is kind of an interesting question, but what would be some good indicators that a solo style show may not be for you?
yeah. Or you do need a cohost.
So like maybe the Disney one too. I mean, you guys talk about a lot of stuff on there too, so,
but yeah, we do. Um, I think, I mean, if it’s, if it’s difficult, if you find that you’re just having. Difficulty, um, getting it out on your own. And I think there has to be like a learning curve. So you need to give yourself a few episodes cause I feel like it does get easier.
But if you just feel like, man, I’m just like hitting a wall. I just can’t, I can’t do this. Um. I know that, or if you can’t keep yourself on task and you’re finding that like, can’t be consistent, I’m not sure how to structure this. Um, then I think maybe you need to look into, uh, getting another, another shoulder to lean on.
Yeah, absolutely. No, that’s, that’s fantastic. That’s self-awareness we talked about in another episode, being very, very self aware of, of really your creative process, what that looks like. I am very disorganized. And for Lauren, she keeps everything together. Right? And so if it was completely up to me it would, well, we’d probably be.
Maybe twice a year podcast. So I’m very excited. But I, I completely agree with that. It’s kind of understanding your strengths and where you fall short. And then also, I mean we talked about at the beginning, but making sure that. It is something you’re very passionate about because you don’t want it to be turned into a job.
Absolutely.
I got to figure out something to talk about to keep this going. Cause that’s
right. And that’s where, you know, you see people kind of like jumping on the trendy train of a podcast. And I just don’t think that that’s, um. But that’s the best, the best way to have longterm success.
Yeah. Yeah. No, I completely agree.
No, I mean, I absolutely loved. I think there’s a lot of people that podcasts is trending, and so they are like, I want, you had said earlier, Nicola, like, I want to be popular. I want the likes and everything like that, but that is not the recipe for a successful podcast by any stretch of imagination, because I think once you get into it, it is a lot of work.
And if you’re doing a solo show, particularly, it’s all on you, right? Yeah. And I think also, you know, if you do miss a month or, you know, whatever, I think you don’t beat yourself up. Just like, do better next time, you know? Um, that is one thing. I think that’s kind of. Where I figured out that I needed like sometimes to do an interview or sometimes to find like some kind of like bonus episode because I was like, well, I don’t want to burn out.
I know I’m not ready for this episode. Like, what else can I offer? Um, and so that’s, that’s where I kind of discovered those other things instead of just not doing anything.
Yeah, no, that’s good. Well, and even that, I mean, seasons are great too. If you can say, Hey, I’m going to record 15 episodes and then take a two month, three month break or something like that.
Like those, I’ve noticed that with a lot of, I’m like I said before, our true crime fan. And so a lot of those, those shows, they are heavily produced. They have to have a lot of, of really time intention into those episodes to make them what they are and they’re amazing. Um. But having to do that every single week, or even every single month is a task.
And so they say, Hey, we’re gonna, we have our season five or whatever coming out and it’s 15 episodes or 20 episodes or something like that. Just to kind of give a little bit of a break, like what you talked about with
batch recording too. So yeah, the people who do seasons are smart. I think.
I don’t, I think if I ever did one, it’d probably be that because you just never know.
I mean, but, or a monthly one, a monthly is great. That gives you that time to kind of invest in it. So. Yeah.
Yeah. I think also another tip is get to be friends with like other podcasters. Um, I’ve gotten to be friends with say three or four other horror podcasts and we all do things differently. Um, I’m even on a Slack channel with, um, my favorite horror review podcast, straight chilling if they’re listening out there.
Um, so I’m on their podcasts like when one of them can’t. Show up, I’ll come on their podcast, which is always fun. But yeah, we have a Slack channel that we get on and we’re constantly talking about stuff and, um, they’ve really kind of encouraged me and helped me over the years and they always let me like plug my stuff on their channel and everything, so, so yeah, definitely, you know, make some friends, uh, make a community out of the podcasting thing.
Cause it seems like most people are really willing to share and to build each other up.
Yeah. Oh, I think that’s phenomenal advice. I actually did something cause you’re doing it for the community. And so I mean it’s, it’s all those people that are involved. That’s pretty awesome.
Yeah.
Yeah. That’s good.
Okay.
Well, Nicole, we always like to ask when we have some guests on, uh, what is next for you? What’s going on with your podcasts and what are you up to. So, um, I’m just going to keep on trucking the way I’ve been going. Everything right now is going pretty well with, uh, with the system that I have. Um, so hopefully what’s next is more Patrion supporters show up.
That’d be great. But, um, in the co and the column of things I can control, um, so. Women in horror month is all February long, which is also cool cause it’s my birth month. So tomorrow actually I have a couple of my spooky friends are coming and we’re going to talk about art in horror and they are both female artists.
And they also happen to be female horror fans. So we’re doing that for women in horror month. So that’ll be out like the end of the month. And then March, like I said, I’m doing a storytelling episode, which will be, um, a creepy pasta story that’s full core. And then April will be the full core episode. And then after that, I don’t think I have a plan.
The time I get there. Yeah, I will by the time I get there. So
absolutely. Absolutely. Well, that’s awesome. Well, Hey guys, make sure to go check out Nicole’s podcast and your plug, both of them real quick too, so that way they know where to find them.
Okay, so the Disney world one is Disney native, and you can find [email protected] or on Instagram.
Facebook. All the socials. Um, my horror one is cure Schiro horror, and you can find it. Same thing, Facebook, Instagram, QRIS, Giro, horror.com. And you know what? I’m going to spell that for you because people are always like, um, yeah, that’s great. Can you send me a lead? So it’s C, H, I a R. O. S. C. U. R. O. CURO.
Schiro.
I think you’ve done a good job too, of designing a, your logo with that because you’ve, I think the second half is bold. Is that correct? So it kind of breaks, breaks up the word. Uh, I didn’t exactly know how to pronounce it either,
and so yeah, nobody ever does. It’s fun. It’s really fun to see if people are brave enough to say it before.
I do
sit actually before and then I don’t think I actually introduced your podcast. I should have taken that plunge.
Yeah, I figured you wouldn’t. I figured you would just let me.
Yeah,
but I’ll tell you this too, like you can’t be afraid of it because like I said, it’s an Italian word. I am from Arkansas. I pronounce it the way my high school teacher pronounced it.
It’s probably not right. And Italian would probably hear me say that word and be like, what. Yeah,
no, that’s
awesome. I’m like, it’s my brand. I’ll say it how I want. Exactly.
Exactly. Right. All right, well, Hey, thanks so much, Nicole, for being on today and obviously all the notes, all the show notes and everything.
We have [email protected] of everything that Nicole covered. Any links and stuff will be there. Make sure you guys go check that out. Subscribe to both of the podcasts if you haven’t already, leave us rating and review. Jump over to Nicole’s Patriot and make sure you support her and all the other podcasts.
Until next week. Thank you guys. We’ll see ya.
first question rapid-fire, would you rather cuddle with a baby Panda or a baby England? Why are you laughing?
It’s just they’re making you do the rapid Beck. So random. I’m going to go Panda. Whoa. I’m a bear fan.
That’s true.
He doesn’t want a bear hug coddling. I mean, they would rip your face off, but
I paint baby Panda.
Oh yeah. I mean, I’ve seen the videos of them like cleaning cages or
like grabbing onto your lasing fan is by far the best. That’s a mother. I have not
seen a sneezing.
Anyway, sorry,
Nicole. What’d you do? A baby penguin or vape Panda. DuPont huddle. I feel like a penguin because I would be afraid. Yeah, the Panda situation. I feel like there’s like. Mauling that could happen. Like mom’s going to show up something. So I’m
gonna
say penguin and run. I get with a Bay Panda cause I’ve seen all those videos of them like cleaning their cages and like them just like playing with the broom and like just wanting to be cuddled.
They are super cute. But I do, I mean you hear all the horror stories of like people dying.
So I use koala bears. All bears are like the hidden like killer. Oh it is? Yeah. I don’t think that’s right. That’s not true.
Kevin speaking bad qualities right now.
Oh, that is true. Um, poor Australia. Sorry, Australia.
All right, so thinking about Australian wilderness here, if you were stranded and really hungry in the wilderness, what’d you resort to eating a bug?
I’m gonna let Nicole go. Okay. I should’ve done that the first time. Sorry, Nicole.
Yes, I would. Okay. Yeah, I feel like it’s not too bad, and I mean, I grew up eating all kinds of wild game.
My whole family, they’re all hunters, so I’m like, yeah. I can handle it. I could make it happen.
Yeah, I would, yeah. I’ve thought about this before, like I have, yeah. Bear Grylls, you know, speaking of beggars, uh, bear Grylls, he always, you know, what do you need to survive and that type of thing. And I’ve seen it a few times.
I’m like, this is going to get gross, but like drinking, you’re on your end though. If you don’t have anything, like that’s a thing to survives. I was like, I could eat some bugs. I don’t know if I could.
Yeah. Yeah. I was seeing about the other day, cause uh, my husband and I, we are survivor fans and we were watching an old season and they brought back like a very old challenge.
They used to be at the beginning, survivor Wars was a food eating challenge and it was like native stuff from where they were. Most of them are insects. And so would be like a grub. You can’t see my hands if you’re just listening to the podcast. But it would be around like four to five inches. Oh, I know.
They’re like fat nasty, and they’d have to eat the whole thing. And I was like, I don’t know if I could now see if we, if you guys were a horror podcast, the question, would it have been, if you were stuck in the wilderness, would you have resorted to cannibalism
to survive?
So I was like, by the questions. I was like bugged.
Sure. It’s
fun to breezy people. The grasshoppers. It’s fun. No big deal. Right? But people, yeah.
I have a list of who would go first, right?
Yeah. Yeah. That’s very interesting. Okay. Hey, those are, those are pretty good. Lauren,
I don’t think you think that
we just, they were the pay. I mean, you know the pain to one. Yeah, of course. It’s a Baird, so. Well of course, Nicole though. You answered too. Slippery.
Fuzzy. Yeah. They’re not there. Yeah, they’re
fun to see them on, you know, national geographic. I’m assuming they’re just
super little lens or all puffy before they
get, but that is true.
I forget about that.
What is it about planet show? ?
What’s it called? Planet
earth. Planet earth.
And we’re done. We’ll, we’ll leave right there. Thanks to go.
Slip in the ankle has landed.
