It’s Q&A Week here, unofficially!
I did an Instagram Story Q&A earlier this week, but didn’t get to answer all the great questions I received. So, that brings us here. Answering more questions! Fun!
(Click here to read the answers to all the Annie-related questions I received, and go here for answers to the running-related ones.)
Today: answering all of your questions about podcasting and the Ali on the Run Show.
A day or week in the life of producing the show!
I always want to do this, and then life moves so quickly that I can’t keep up with documenting everything. But yes, I will do this, at some point, when I can commit and remember. Right now, I’m totally buried in all things podcasting, since the Love on the Run series launches on Monday! Seven days, seven episodes, fourteen guests. It’s a massive undertaking, and it’s fun and I love it, but it is a LOT of work.
A bit about the process:
- Find a sponsor for the series (UCAN!)
- Determine number of episodes (Valentine’s Day is on a Sunday this year, so I decided to do seven episodes: one every day, starting on Monday and culminating on February 14)
- Plan lineup of guests! Make sure list is diverse, and that, this year, all different types of love are being represented (i.e. not just romantic love this time!)
- Email potential guests. Wait for a response!
- Schedule conversations. Hope their availability lines up with mine! Try to be as flexible as humanely possible! #makeitwork
- Prep conversations. These ones are easy to prep, because we keep it pretty light and fluffy, TBH. Lots of “how did you meet?” and “was it love at first sight?” and “be honest, do you ever fight?”
- Re-confirm and schedule conversations in Ringr; send links to guests
- Record! Have fun! Hope technology cooperates! (It has, so far, for the most part.)
- Download audio files, convert, export, and save
- Write and record the intros, sponsor reads, and closers for all seven episodes
- Send intros, conversations, sponsor reads, and closers to my editor.
- He puts everything together with music, returns the files to me, and then I “top edit,” which is basically just cleaning up the conversations while simultaneously writing the show notes, finding appropriate links to include, and time-stamping the conversation.
- Return edited file to my editor, who converts it to an MP3 file. Check, done!
- Repeat those steps seven times, for each episode.
- Request photos from each set of guests so I can use them when I share and promote the episodes and the series
- Email graphic designer about creating a graphic for the series. Send him everything (haven’t done this yet!) he needs, including text, photos, and sponsor / show logos. Do a few round of revisions until it’s just right.
- Prep series by uploading each episode to my podcast host, and adding the show notes (plus all photos, cropped and resized accordingly) to my website and my hosting platform. Schedule them for their specific release dates.
- Share and promote each episode when it comes out, including swipe-ups for sponsor in Instagram Stories.
It’s a lot of work!
More On the Job soon?
Yes! Season 4 launching in March!
Do you ever get down because your podcast isn’t growing as fast as you want? How do you cope?
Not really. I don’t obsess over the numbers. I care more about the feedback. Are people sharing the episodes? Are new Apple Podcasts reviews coming in? (Please consider leaving one if you haven’t! I appreciate them so much!) Are numbers not going down? Those factors matter more to me than overall downloads.
Though at the start of the pandemic, when life shifted so immediately and so dramatically, that was a bummer. I was coming off this high from being in Atlanta for the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials, and I was so excited about what was coming up on the show, and then people stopped commuting, people were home with their kids, everything was nutty, and numbers did drop substantially. They’re actually not totally back to where I’d like them to be, but I understand that many people listen on their commutes, and that’s not a thing right now. But 2020 was my most successful year to date by all measures possible, so there’s plenty to celebrate!
Will you do another moms podcast? Please!!!
I loved doing the Motherhood Mondays series, and I definitely want to bring it back. As soon as I can commit to spending time finding a sponsor for it, I’m all in! (I’ve also thought about bringing it exclusively to Patreon if I can’t find a sponsor.)
What do you look for when partnering / creating a sponsorship with a brand?
I want it to be a brand that I already know and love and use. My thought is that I would never expect you to spend your hard-earned money on something I don’t spend my money on! I want to love the product and the people. And I want to know that it’s a company I can stand behind. Beyond their products and services, what do they stand for? What has the last year looked like for them? What role do they play within the running industry and communities? No company is perfect, of course, but I do want to know that the ones I partner with are ones where our values are aligned.
Who is your dream podcast guest right now?
Dr. Fauci! Dr. Jill Biden! Allyson Felix! Katie Couric! Dan Levy and Annie Murphy! And spoiler: two of my favorite Peloton instructors, who were dream guests, are both confirmed for March 2021! Can’t wait!
If you couldn’t talk about running anymore, what topic would your podcast be about?
Motherhood, maybe. I like talking about that. Women entrepreneurs, I like talking to them. Or maybe a Schitt’s Creek fan podcast? Let’s go with that one. Dream big!
