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Interview with Guest Abel James

Well so far today, we've covered really the why of podcasting. Why it's so, so massively growing right now and how you can actually use it to get really, really results in your business. Then we went into really understanding the foundation of a podcast. What goes into that and then really had a structure your brand and position, your podcast for success with your theme. And now we're going to really break it down into the content that you're gonna want to share and be able to structure your podcast for success and what I want. And I'm really excited about the next guest that I'm bringing on Abel James, who has the number one health and fitness podcast in ITunes. And so what was the reason I'm gonna bring able on And what's so exciting is that we're gonna talk about how to really use your podcast to create a community ah, following and really an engaged thrive community where it's not about selling for the podcast per se. It's about putting great content out there and really being able...

to connect with your audience. So we're going to cover really about what techniques to use how Abel's built his huge drive and following from this podcast and been able to position himself for success with a podcast. A lot of times, people ask me, Well, what's the number one way to monetize my podcast? Like, right now, what I want you to think about again is what we talked about earlier today. The themes being your theme of your podcast, your branding, but also how you're going to get people to want to share that, because our ideas, we want people to share and take to the next level for the podcast. So we're gonna really dive into that, and then we're gonna go into content strategy. So I'm gonna This is gonna be very, very interactive. Where I'm gonna bring up some of the life students students here. We're gonna fill up their content strategies and what they're actually going to start to talk about on their podcast. And then I want you to fall along with us as well as we go through those steps. And actually, really, this is what we're gonna lay out your 1st 5 10 You know, 10. 20 podcasts. So you have your content, you're set up for success. So what I'm gonna dio just really quickly. I want to talk about on contacting Curation again. I knew I always come back to this. What's your number? One goal that you wanna have set up for your podcast is to achieve for your business. And again, this is where your content comes from. So we didn't talk about this last time, But affiliate marketing is a great way to monetize your podcast by other people's offers. So how you want to be able to position that is the content you talk about you can then either through experts at your interview and you can become an affiliate for them and then drive traffic back to your website, but also you. There's plenty of other. We're gonna talk about this in monetizing, but there's plenty of other places where you can actually talk about different products and services and then be able to become an affiliate for them and drive traffic back to your block that way. But it's based on the content that those affiliate marketers, the offers that they have also joint ventures or another great way were based on the guests that you want to bring on your show in turn, into profitable to adventure partnerships and backdoor JVs. We're gonna talk about that later. A swell, but again, that's based on the content that's going to get them to want to come on and be a guest for your show. And then, obviously, sponsorships and community are a lot of other big goals. So the one thing I want us to think about is again. Remember I said the number one question I get is, what do I talk about on my show? How do we really structure that? And what should I talk about? These are some of the best places that you can find fresh, relevant content that people are gonna want to talk about that are gonna want to share. But I'm gonna give you great ideas for your podcast. So Google alerts, If you're not familiar with Google Alerts, this is a really cool tool. It's really simple. You can literally google Google alerts and what'll happen is you can put in their key phrases that you want information on. So let's say, for example, that you're talking about health and fitness you can put in health tips or anything that has that key word that pops up in press releases on you could be emailed either daily weekly, and I think they have a monthly one if I'm not mistaken. But it makes it really easy cause then you can send those Google or its right into your Gmail account, and then you got content immediately that you can connect in with. No came then also top bloggers that you can actually find out what they're talking about. Get ideas reference that with your content, social B is a great place to see what people are actually talking out about their and what questions they have. And you can also see what people are sharing any common themes that are happening. Their email list. If you're on anybody's email s from content they've talked about. This is a great way to spin off on that and be able to give credibility and recognition in different areas and also be able to use that for ideas. For you to talk about smart briefs. That's another great You can actually sign up for that RSS feed. They've got great titles. I really like when they come with their news with the emails that you get You can actually see the titles will give you great ideas as well. Um, there's plenty of entrepreneur magazines out there. And then, like we talked about earlier looking at the Amazon bestseller books for ideas for content and then check out what other podcasters and what other YouTube channels are doing out there for content to stimulate your ideas. So what I want to do right now is I'm gonna bring able on. So Able James has the number one health and fitness podcast in all of ITunes Has had that for three years running. And so what's really great about able shows? It really talks about fitness and healthy tips, but he covers a lot of different genres in different topics. On his podcast, he doesn't video podcast, so I know he's a favorite of the Creative Life studio. So we're gonna bring able on right now, or we're gonna actually gonna dive into how he uses content with his podcast. And then how we monetize is his podcast as well. High evil. How are you doing? Great. So great to have you here. We're really, really excited. And everybody up in the booth says hi. So they're excited to have you back. But I love everyone, Booth. So I'd love for you to start by talking about with your podcast. Really? Number the number one reason why you launched a podcast to start. Yes. So the short story is that basically, I felt duped. I was in my early twenties, and I had been following all my doctor's advice for various genetic things that involved the thyroid, high blood pressure and the rest of it. And by following that advice, I found myself over the course of months and then years getting fatter and sicker. And then basically, I didn't I didn't want to put up with it anymore. And so I tried to figure it out on my own. I stuck my nose in the research on, read everything from bodybuilding books, spent a lot of time on pub med on, came up with my own kind of dietary protocol and then just dropped, like, £20 in about a month. And all of these medical issues basically disappeared all at once. On I was like, That was crazy. Easy. Why doesn't everyone know this? And so I started up the show basically to bring together some of the top minds who I trust in the field of health and talk about things that actually matter in a way where we're not just like pawning wears and selling supplements that may or may not work. And what have you? We're actually talking about things that people can do to really take their health into their own hands on. It's been a heck of ah, fun, right? Yeah, and his pockets is absolutely phenomenal. So I know you've been awarded a lot for the past three years for the Fat Burning Man podcast, and I left for you to talk about. One of the key things we're talking about today is the theme of the podcast and how to brand your podcast. So I'd love for you to talk about how you developed your brand and have built a community and a following behind that. So originally when I started Fat Burning Man, it's really interesting. I started it for men, and it was just kind of like tongue in cheek. It's a silly name, but now I'm tied to it forever. But at the same time, it's kind of memorable, right? It likes it sticks in your mind, Um, and it's a heck of a keyword Terms swell, just kind of nice, but I really I was paying attention to who was listening to the show and who was reading my books and the rest of it as I moved forward. I think it's really important to plan for success and not just kind of, like throw stuff out there and then do nothing as as a next step, but actually throw stuff out there and then see what's working. And so what I found pretty quickly is that, um, the vast majority of people were listening to my show and and buying my products at the beginning, where women not men, even though it was meant for men. I'm just like, Well, maybe I should reevaluate what what I'm doing, and then it just kind of went from there, and I allowed this show to kind of become its own beast by interacting with the community, asking guests what they liked the best. And I'm always in constant contact through Twitter and Facebook, and especially my email list with folks who are listening to the show just to see what's working, what's not working Yeah, No, I love that. That's been a common theme. Able that we've been talking about is just letting the Pa Kist evolve as we grow our brand. So let's talk about the content. How do you pick the content for your podcast and really home that in for what your listeners are looking for? So I've tried a few different ways of doing at the very beginning. I did some soliloquies where it was just me talking and the microphone, and I found that that was an enormous amount of content, especially considering my show is kind of like especially then was longer form was like 40 to 60 minutes, sometimes even more than that now doing a little bit less. But the way that I generate content today is by listening very, very closely. Teoh my community. It's a lot of paleo crossfit, real food, slow food. Try to save the world type. People on day have some pretty choice opinions about who they want to listen to on who they don't. And so what I try not to dio is generate content from people who, like make the rounds of Good Morning America on the Today show and basically just read the back cover of their cover of their book with their talking points over and over again. I try to kind of like, uh, get something different out of the guests, kind of like maybe in a nice way, take him off guard a little bit So they talk about something that they really care about instead of getting into that auto pilot mode where they're just kind of rehashing stuff that they've said on every other show. But really, since my show is interview based, the majority of the content itself comes from the people who were talking, which is usually the interviewee. Now there are questions that I ask throughout the show that are basically coming for my community. I'm always like I said, in touch with them. So if they want to hear about intermittent fasting or how you know I'm doing this cool new experiment home, eating 90% fat and building £15 of muscle or whatever, I'll listen to them and be like, Is that cool? Do you want to hear about that? And they'll say, you know, these topics are cool, These ones we don't care about at all on De. So I kind of like drop those while I'm interviewing people. And it's a lot of fun because that that way, it's always it's not all on you, which I mean the burden as a content creator of creating that much content. All yourself is enormous, and the most important thing is consistency, so you don't want to drop off. And if you can basically rely on some other people like your community and the people you're interviewing to create awesome content with you, then it makes your life a lot easier. Oh, absolutely. So what are some of the best ways you engage your community to share with where share with you what they want and what they're looking for? Ask them in a way that they'll respond. Toso, uh, think of it this way. If you get an email from someone and it goes on for 10 screen lengths, you know it goes through their life story and then, you know it asks you questions. You have to read through it in the paragraphs or whatever. You're never gonna respond to that email, or at least you're gonna put it on the back burner for a while and just be like, Oh, I'm totally overwhelmed The way that I do it is basically just like quick question. Do want to hear more about intermittent fasting. You know, it will be like that on Twitter on Facebook, but mostly, like I said, my email list. That's like kind of the intimate connection that people can Onley get, uh, that way, you know, that's That's where I kind of pour my heart out a lot of the time on DSO. People pour their heart up back, and they were really honest about what they like, what they don't like. And that's that's kind of a cool tool, because on social media, obviously it's it's public, like when someone post something on Facebook. It might not be the way that they're actually feeling it's the way that they're feeling and then censored such that other people can see it. So when people are writing you, a personal email responded your email on you actually read them and pay attention. You can get some really cool insights. Yeah, you really can. And just asking them like Abel said, and having them engage with you, it'll open that up and really get you incredible content. So able. Let's talk about the big question that everybody always has when it comes to podcasting. How do you monetize your podcast? And I love for you to share how you have built your community and how you do that specifically through your content. Curation with your podcast? Yeah, it's my way of doing It is a little bit different People who have listen to my show. No, that I don't do any advertising, no sponsorships or what have you That could change down the road, But I've found that it's much like I hate listening to commercials. It annoys me, and I usually switch away. And I know not everyone's like that. And there are great ways to monetize on the front end if you do choose to go the advertising around. The reason that I didn't for the most part is because, like I said at the beginning, I felt duped by like supplement companies that tend to own magazines that basically they influenced the message that's coming through in order to move more product than they do that through everything from magazines to podcasts and other pieces of media. So I just, you know, I've kind of sacrificed a lot of income on the front end just to say I don't want to mess with that. I want to keep the message clear now. That said, I certainly monetize it to the, uh, effect of about seven figures. The way that I do it, though, is by basically, um, putting an enormous amount of free content out there similar to creativelive and a lot of other people who have been on creative creative life. You deliver a lot of value. And then if people want mawr, if they want something that's a little bit more organized or a specific product, or even to join my mailing list, they have to make that first, um, action of commitment in order to get marketing from me. If that makes sense, So usually the way that I do it is direct to market. So they joined my email list and then I'll tell them you know what products I actually use that are in my cabinets, who I really trust in terms of partners and affiliates and that sort of thing. And, uh, and even more than that, I just make an enormous amount of products of my own. Like I basically built a nap company Out of that that spun off from my podcast following based upon what they were asking for. We just actually launched a nap today. So now we have two in the top 10 which is kind of cool. Um, and so it's It's more about, like, creating that platform. And if you don't have advertising on front and you can get a lot higher, I know that one of the biggest reasons that I stayed at number one for so long is because I didn't have advertising because that just when everyone else does, that puts you at a huge advantage. And then if you congrats really, really quickly, then you have been always monetize later. Yeah. So the biggest strategy for you then, is having people connect with you on your podcast, get to know like and trust you. Then make that first step go sign up on their email list. And then what are the next steps that you dio to move them into becoming customers within your business? Yes. So it's all this engagement ladder, right? So they start off, then they might find my my blawg or my podcast. They listen to dip their toes, and if they like it, then generally they'll sign up for my email list or, you know, follow me on Twitter or Facebook or something else like that. And then they'll start to see some of the products that I have. And every once in a while, I should say on my podcast, You know, when I launched a new app or when I launched a new product, Oftentimes I'll mention it, but it's not. It's certainly not a hard sell, Um, and so once they buy a product, it's segmented so that we know that and they're tagged and we basically treat them is high value customers. And we asked them more for their advice. And the more that people buy from us, the more we value their opinion in terms of what products we should build for them. And so it's kind of like crowd sourcing all of your product creation as opposed to kind of creating something in a vacuum, like writing a book or create a video. Siri's without really knowing what people want. This is pretty cool because at every step of of the process. You know, I'm giving some of my coolest customers were really into what we're doing. First access to the products that we're building for free so that they can help us build them. And that's just so much fun on. And it's brilliant to be able to do that, to build that community and then have them tell you what they're looking for, which I think is great. So what? What are some tips that you can provide for the brand new podcaster to help them get out there and really market their podcast? Well, obviously, these days the word is out. A lot of people are jockeying for position in the podcast market, which I think is really cool, because before, it was kind of I remember. Like when I first started my podcast, I really just wanted to unseat Jillian Michaels from the number one spot, which I happily did. But now, now it's really like Why Toe Open and a lot of my friends who have podcasts is well like like Dave Asprey, Jonathan Bailor. Ah, lot of people who have been on Creativelive as well, actually just had lunch with Noah Kegan, which is awesome um, it's a lot of us are up there and we're on each other shows having a great time. What I would say if you're starting out is to get into that network off podcasters, because when you can basically mastermind with other people who are just getting started, then you're gonna find the tips and tricks that make your life easier. Whether it's scheduling guests or finding a new thing about Apple's algorithm of how they rank products are, excuse me a podcast, and put them into new and noteworthy or anything else like that, getting together with other people who are really interested in it. And it is important. Um, I would also say, and obviously I'm biased here. But the longer that you can postpone, like hard selling on the front end, what I mean by that is advertising. Or if you have a book or product, just saying this now. If you start a podcast and you start off selling right away, it's much, much less likely that you'll get a lot of steam from the get go. So I would say while you're getting started, you're going to be worse than a lot of other people out there just because you're not as practice. Probably so take some time, get used to the flow of things, get really good, get polished. And then you can start leveling up your game going after the big advertisers or going after, you know, some more serious modernisation schemes. But podcasting can be a huge money maker. But I would I would hesitate to say that it's a huge money maker right away. So use it as a tool to build your platform and really figure out who you are and what you stand for. And then you can always monetize later. Yeah, brilliant. So what do you see for the future of podcasting? Uh, actually, I was just talking Teoh know about this and a few other people. I think it's going to be huge. You can already see that with the amount of devices that we have all over the place. You know, I have, like, a galaxy tablet on IPhone and IPad and ah, lot of other things like that. Um, and those air really stealing the TV time. So, you know, like I I don't know of anyone who really watches like the Today show or Good Morning America or like most of my friends, don't even watch the news. What they're doing is listening to podcasts and other things that are like podcasts reading blog's instead of newspapers. So I think that we're going to see that speed up Mawr and Mawr and little people like us. You know, the the independent content producers. I think you're going to really start ruling the Internet when you look at, you know, the fact that Flappy Bird has basically taken over the entire APP store all the APP stores, right? With this ridiculous, silly little app, it's basically bigger than anything that could ever be on CNN, right? And that comes from like one person doing one thing. I think we're going to see more and more of that, Um, but the window of opportunity is closing. So the time to build your platform is right now because, you know, a year from now, two years from now, who knows how much more saturated is going to be, I'd say that you should get right on it. Yeah, I love it And just Teoh one of the comments of the things that we're talking about today as an on demand generation. We've just moved into that where we want content when we want where we want, how we want. So as more and more people are shifting over to the devices wanting that type of content, what is your advice for helping the podcaster stand out and really own and to find their marketplace here in the next 12 or 6 to 12 months? Be real. I was stalking Teoh Bedroom Shojaei yesterday, actually, who has also been on creative. Probably is a good friend of mine where he met. Actually, this is really cool, Quick story. He was on my show a few months ago and I ask my my listener base what? Their favorite show, Waas and a lot of people said that show with bedroom was awesome. But he met with his his marketing team, and they basically said, Well, you weren't selling enough. You weren't sticking to the talking points. That was a worse show ever, and they picked it apart in front of them. Um, at the same time, it was like the fan favorite, So I think if you combine those two things together, you can come up some pretty interesting insight as to how you can create really cool content and get the fans toe. Love you by ignoring the people who, you know, are supposed to be experts. And all this what we're seeing is basically the old way of marketing is dying. And if you try to do it any more, you're gonna fall behind. So be really be yourself. Don't sell too much. Just people will identify with with who you are, as long as you're honest with yourself. And really put that out in in a huge way. Yeah. I love that. Oh, yeah, I got a question. Hi, this is E V one of the hosts. I know you can't see us right now, but we had a question come in from the chat rooms and they were asking and it kind of goes along with maybe not selling too much. But how do you convert your followers and often is into paying customers? And do you have any tips for all of our chatters and everybody out there online? Who wants to do that? And they're not really sure how I know that that's the sexiest part. But I would really just say build your platform. So, for example, like the amount of money that I'm making from monetizing my platform right now is peanuts compared to the book deal that we're working on and, you know, potential movie deals and the rest of it. So it's like the way that I monetize is basically by direct marketing to the people on my email list and occasionally, social media. But the real bang for your buck is, you know, in terms of conversion, if if you're going direct to market your email list, generally speaking, if you're doing it right, you'll get 10 to 20 times the conversion that you'd get on Facebook or Twitter and some of these other social media platforms. So if you have something to sell, you have, you do have to ask for that sale when you're reaching out to your consumers. But if you're building things that they really want, then they'll buy it, and you don't have to rely on sneaky sales tactics or, um, or crazy copy writing or the rest of it. You can just be yourself and be like, Hey, I made this cool thing and you guys helped us build it and It's exactly what you want. Here it is. Let us know what you think. It's a brilliant. I was able to just out a huge mastermind, and one of the world's best copywriters were there. And he said, You know, it isn't it isn't always about the copy. If you have the best product, it doesn't matter what's on that to be able to sell it. So I just love that. So just the last question I have here for you, looking back on what you've learned, what would be the biggest mistake that you had to correct that would have helped you move forward faster, Um, that you can think of or maybe, ah, tiptoe. Help people move forward faster with their podcast. This one sounds simple, but it's huge. Make a workstation, have a podcast station. So right now, this is where I do my show. I use this computer actually on Lee for that, But what that means is that my microphone is always set up. It's always plugged in. I don't have to, like, check all of the signals every time. I don't have to, like, set up the lighting or whatever. This is just a cool part of the room that has a reliable Internet connection, which is so important and everything is separated ago. So if I need to do a show, I could just roll up five minutes before and everything's already set. I would say the more that you can do that and make your life easier. Um, it will allow you to create so much more content than if you have to unpack your laptop and, like, put all these cables together and make sure that the microphone is that the right length, you know, from your face and the rest of it just make your life easier. Have have a workstation and you'll be, ah, content creation machine. And most importantly, you'll be by being a content creation machine. You'll get better and better and better because you're getting practice every time you put out a show. I love that, and if you can't tell right now, but able stands when he podcasts, I just want you to chat about that really quick. I think it's great because it really gets the emotion going and really involved people. So any other last tips that you can share for for podcasters able. There are so many technicalities, so many things to do. You're never going to be able to do them all. Certainly not perfectly. So just get to it and start putting it out there. You know, start practicing. Um, don't try to hold it close to your chest and make everything perfect, cause if you do, it probably won't come out. And when it does, it'll be like stilted and weird, and it won't be really so, um, make a fool of yourself in front of many people as you possibly can, and it will enable you to eventually get to the place where when you are really under pressure, you can have a great time. Relax a little bit more and your well polished, so you don't have to worry about it too much. Fantastic. Well, thank you so much able and already. Congar, check him out of the fat Bernie man podcast over an ITunes so thinks they're unable for taking time out to join us on Creativelive. Thanks so much. So just like Abel's talking about, like we talked about this morning being yourself, being authentic, being rial. So all of this is to help you really craft your pockets. You have the confidence. So then when you go out and actually start doing your podcasts and your episodes, that you're really engaged with it and can be real and what I love, what Able talked about is being the practice, the practice part of it. I mean, that's one of the biggest things I think podcasting is so powerful for business owners has become. We become better communicators. We have more phone with our content, and we become better teachers and trainers.