Charlene Walters, MBA, PhD is a business and branding mentor, corporate trainer, TV host, author, and contributes to publications like Entrepreneur Magazine.
Charlene joined me to talk about what it means to be a business and branding mentor, and how live streaming has helped her grow her business. She hosts a regular talk show that airs on the DB&A television network, a 24/7 streaming channel available on Roku and Amazon Fire.
Launch is a show for entrepreneurs, intrapreneurs, side hustlers and anyone who wants to launch their entrepreneurial spirit and life to hear from other experts and authors who have been in their shoes.
She also launched a book earlier this year called, fittingly enough, Launch Your Inner Entrepreneur. We talked about what aspiring business owners can expect from the book as well as where the idea came from to write it.
Video and live streaming have become key to the networking aspect of Charlene’s business.
“You get to meet so many great people, and you also pick up a lot of tips from them as well,” says Charlene.
“I always recommend to entrepreneurs that it’s a good idea [to start a podcast] in some form just to network with other people. That’s been the brightest spot of this time home during the pandemic. My network has just exploded during this time.”
Monte Weaver is an entrepreneur, YouTube and Amazon Live influencer, Mastermind course teacher and tech guru. He joined me for the latest episode of the K-Stream Podcast to talk streaming tech and building a YouTube channel. And while we spent time talking about those things, our conversation went even further to include:
How he built his business
What’s behind his Mastermind courses
Helping video creators think more simply for content ideas
Focusing on message first before technical details when creating video
How he got into live streaming and made it part of his business
Why now is the time to get on Amazon Live if you’re a creator
How it’s actually not as hard as people think to get influencer brand deals
Monte is on the cutting edge of live streaming and digital tech, and he’s more than willing to spread the knowledge to fellow creators.
Jason Vaughn is the director of business development at CVW Event Productions in Washington, DC. Jason joined the K-Stream podcast to talk about his background in event production, which includes a stint with minor league Baltimore Orioles affiliate the Aberdeen Ironbirds and ultimately led him to CVW where he’s spent the better part of the last decade.
We talk about how his company reacted to COVID-19 and shifted their focus to producing virtual and hybrid events. Hear how a high school graduation spring-boarded them into finding success in the virtual production world.
Interesting Takeaways
Live events, whether it be sports or corporate events, are all about telling a compelling story.
Virtual events should be treated like live, in-person events. Even if there are recorded video elements, no re-dos. If we were not in a pandemic, you would be delivering the same message on a stage.
Live streaming is a never-ending learning session.
Streaming around the clock for four straight days is 100% possible.
With some venues starting to charge more for using their internet, hybrid events are forcing producers to re-think how they create solid internet connections in unique spaces.
It’s on producers, not the clients, to make sure people remotely attending a hybrid event get the same experience as those in person.
Kimberly Flowers is the founder of Remote Producer Live!, a fully remote production company that focuses on helping entrepreneurs produce online shows to help their business. Kimberly founded the company a little more than five years ago, and has seen tremendous success and growth over the last year.
In episode 16 of the K-Stream podcast, hear Kimberly talk about how the company came to be, why they’ve had success in taking the production element off the shoulders of business owners, the importance of the strategy that goes behind a production, and how setting up working systems helped her company grow.
I particularly enjoyed what Kimberly had to say about broadcast strategy. It’s easy to get caught up in the technical side of things. Yes, it’s essential that lighting, sound, internet connection and video quality are great when running remote live productions, but if you’re working with business owners and entrepreneurs that are more focused on their message like Kimberly does, you also need to help your clients understand how to effectively communicate that message during a live stream. They don’t really care about the behind-the-scenes.
For example, when considering live streaming on social media, you have to remember that a large portion of the audience is likely just stumbling upon a broadcast as they’re scrolling their feeds. They may not have seen promotions. How can you best grab their attention, and more importantly, keep it?
How often should you have the on-air talent repeat introductions? What’s the call to action at the end of the stream?
Those are just a few of the many considerations when it comes to live broadcast strategy. Hear Kimberly talk more about that in the clip below.
I’ll admit, I haven’t been putting a ton of time into the show notes of my podcasts. I know I should give them more attention, but sometimes I’m so eager to get the next episode up, I scrap something together and click “publish.”
My recent conversation with Jaclyn Schiff, CEO of PodReacher, a company that helps turn your podcast episodes into blog posts, taught me a ton about show notes. In addition to how to better market your podcast, we talked about what should go in show notes, whether or not they attract a new audience, and the difference between show notes and a blog post for your episode.
One piece of the interview that stood out to me was whether or not show notes help with your podcast SEO. Will show notes help new audiences discover my podcast through a web search?
“I think of show notes as a resource for your current listeners,” says Schiff. “I don’t think [show notes] are an entry point for people to learn about your podcast.”
There just isn’t enough meaningful text within show notes to have them rank in a web search, she says.
This isn’t to say show notes should be neglected. They’re a great way to entice listeners to download or stream your content, especially your current audience and those searching around within a particular podcast app like Apple or Spotify.
Getting your podcast some visibility within those various apps or platforms is an emerging topic and one that Schiff says she’s paying very close attention to.
If someone is searching around within one of those apps, their search terms could be somewhere in your show notes, therefore potentially bringing in another listener.
Another piece to consider including in the notes are time stamps. According to Schiff, people use them as kind of a table of contents, especially if episodes are on the longer side and not as produced or edited.
I know, personally, I love this feature on YouTube videos and hadn’t even considered it for podcasts. But it makes sense.
In my case, I stream all of my podcasts to YouTube, so I could potentially be getting a nice two for one deal there. If I’m putting effort into my podcast’s show notes and including time stamps, that content is 100% relevant on YouTube as well – maybe with some minor tweaking.
Since your show notes, at least at the moment, may not create a ton of discoverability for your podcast, it’s essential that you’re marketing it elsewhere if you want more ears.
“If you want to focus on that, the better bet is to be turning episodes into blog content,” says Schiff. “Then people will find you through Google search.”
Don’t think you have time to create articles and blog content? I get it. It takes a lot of time. And not all podcasters are writers. Engaging people with the written word is not an easy skill. But podcasts that do well do a lot of repurposing, whether it’s posting video clips from their episodes on social media or streaming them on various channels, or creating blogs.
Just like there are companies out there that help you edit video or produce a podcast, there are companies that will help you write blog posts from your episodes as well. For example, Schiff’s company PodReacher.
“We optimize audio content for text…a question we get a lot is ‘is this transcription?’ It’s not,” says Schiff. “The process is to really organize and structure it with that audience in mind. What is the useful information from this episode that a person’s going to read?”
They provide someone who has an open mind and the brain space to think what is the show about and how can they entice people to want to listen?
Check out the full episode with Jaclyn to learn more about PodReacher, as well as what constitutes a good episode blog, good show notes, and what’s next for podcasting.
For about a year, I’ve been fine tuning my at-home podcast streaming setup. I love how far it’s come, so I wanted to share some of the equipment I’m currently using and loving, as well as ask whoever reads this to please send recommendations!
I’m always looking to level up my gear. I know my background could use a little work, so I’m still figuring out how to best tweak that. Is it a green screen? Better artwork? More to come.
Wide shot of the setup
Here’s a list of my podcast camera and audio equipment:
In the latest episode of the K-Stream podcast, we’re discussing building online communities using tools like Facebook Groups. I spoke with Josh Benson, founder of Howard County Dads, a non-profit organization and community group based in Howard County, Md. which is just outside of Baltimore.
Josh founded Howard County Dads as a Facebook group back in 2018, and has since grown the group to more than 680 members, in addition to an Instagram and YouTube presence. And he’s also turned the group into a non-profit organization helping to support local dads in need and promoting engaged fatherhood.
In this episode, we talk about:
The story behind creating the Facebook group
How Josh has used social media to create a community of dads in Howard County, Md.
Strategies and tactics for keeping group members engaged
Lessons he’s learned in managing a Facebook group over the years, including some of the struggles along the way
What Josh has in store for the group in 2021
Josh and his group have done some incredible work in the community, which also happens to be the community I currently live in. And, as a father myself, it was a pleasure to learn from Josh and hear his experience in creating something special for the dads out there. Hope you enjoy.
Despite a lot of the workforce working remotely at the moment and no longer commuting, podcasts have never been bigger.
According to a recent study from Edison Research and Triton Digital, 75% of Americans are now familiar with podcasting. That’s 212 million people and an increase of 10 million in just one year.
If you think you have something to say and you want to turn it into a podcast, there’s no better time to get started. Plus, the barrier to entry is low.
With tools like Anchor and an iPhone, you’re pretty much all set.
In a recent interview with fitness coach Jordan Syatt, he talked about using an iPhone to record all of his podcasts when he was first getting started.
“If you go back and listen to my first 50 podcasts, you’re going to notice a dramatic difference in the sound quality, and that’s because I was literally just recording them on my phone. My podcast still did very well with those episodes,” says Jordan.
“Regardless of how good the sound quality is…what matters most is what you’re saying, the message you’re getting across.”
With that being said, I’m guessing if you’re reading this, you have some sort of smart phone. And you also have access to free apps like Anchor. That’s really all you need to get started with a podcast.
Now, I also understand how awesome it is buying new gear. Even if you want a high-quality mic, it likely won’t break the bank.
Below are a couple mics that myself and a former colleague, Wallen Augustin, co-host of the Savvy Dialogue podcast, chatted about in a previous episode of K-Stream.
Wallen and his wife have two of the Rode PodMics, as well as the Rodecaster Pro, and their show sounds like it’s done in a professional studio, when it’s really done from the comfort of their own apartment.
They also use Anchor, which allows them to bring in guests, edit the audio, insert sound effects or music, and publish across platforms all from within the app.
This is just the infancy for podcasting, and I can’t wait to see what 2021 brings.
Episode six of the K-Stream podcast features my good friend and former colleague, Wallen Augustin. Wallen is a marketer, entrepreneur and podcast host. He and his wife, Jane, host the Savvy Dialogue podcast, and Wallen has owned and operated his creative production company, Wallen Digital, for around four years, all while maintaining a separate full time job.
We could have likely talked for way more than an hour, but in the time we spoke, we covered:
Starting a production company helping small businesses get their message out
Using lessons from marketing jobs to create compelling video
Shifting from producer to consultant during COVID-19
Starting a podcast
Building relationships through podcasting
What it’s like hosting a podcast with his wife, and more.
Hope you enjoy. Please follow Wallen @WallenAugustin on most social channels, and be sure to check out his website at www.savvydialogue.com.
I had the pleasure of having Christoph join me for my latest podcast. We talked about how to get the most out of your content, how to decide what and where to post, how to determine the best content strategy for your business, why live stream and much more.
In the clip below, Christoph talks about some of the first things he talks to clients about when it comes to developing a content marketing strategy, as well as some red flags to look out for that might signal a client you should stay away from.
Jason Vaughn is the director of business development at 
