Ginni Saraswati, award winning journalist shares How to, start a podcast, that Entertains, Empowers and Engage Audiences.
- Ginni is an award-winning journalist and host of the Ginni Show, Comedy & Connectivity. In this episode Ginni shares how podcasters can, create and produce, entertaining shows by understanding what they are good at. How podcasters can use their strengths to engage and entertain audiences.
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Excerpt from the interview
Ginni, I was reading in your bio that you’ve got a great radio story. It is an inspiration to all those radio personalities out there that are toiling for no pay!
My story well it is an interesting one, because I was in my second year in university studying creative art. There’s was a radio station in Melbourne, the city I grew up in Australia. They had a course going for people who wanted to learn everything about radio. The station was joy 94.9 which was Australia’s first and only LGBT radio station, and I think only one of three in the world at that time. Anyway I applied for the course and I got accepted.
That’s when my life changed. I was more looking to do producer type stuff. I didn’t want to literally get behind the microphone. I knew a couple of things would change if I were to get behind the microphone of an, LGBT radio station. I was completely afraid that this would automatically out me to everyone. I had not yet come out that I was gay.
How did you Transition from radio to starting a podcast?
I knew that radio and now, podcasting, is an intimate space, because people generally listen to radio or podcasts on their own. I needed to learn, how to start a podcast. It’s not something that you go “hey it’s Friday night let’s go to my place and listen to a, podcast!” Podcast listeners, are listening to a, radio, or an external device and it’s within a meter away from them or it’s right in their ears. So it’s a very intimate space, that’s why it’s so impactful and why, podcasting, has become so popular.
How to start a podcast that you can monetize?
There is a lot of money in, podcasting. Advertisers are getting a lot back from Ads because of the intimacy of the medium.
- 45 Percent of Podcast Listeners Have a Household Income of $75,000 or More
Podcast listeners, are a relatively affluent group. Compared to America as a whole, monthly podcast listeners are 29 percent more likely to have a HHI of $75,000 or more. Combined with the large ratio of, podcast listeners, in the coveted 25 to 54 demographic, this is why advertisers are starting to seek out, podcast sponsorship opportunities.
- 85 Percent of Podcast Listeners Have Attended College
Podcast listeners, are also an educated group, as they are nearly 20 percent more likely to have attended college at some point, compared to the U.S. population as a whole. And among people who have secured a four-year college degree, the difference is even more striking, with podcast listeners 40 percent more likely to have done so.
Podcasts, are the perfect medium for advertisers.
Podcasts, are very educational, it’s like you know the audio version of YouTube! Anything you want to learn, there’s a, podcast, that can teach you whatever you want to learn.
How to start a podcast with Radio experience
I found inspiration in the part of your story about working for 10 years on the, radio, for no pay!
Yes, when I first got into, morning radio, we started at 6:00 am, so I got up at 4:30 am, no matter what I did the night before. That’s how much I loved, radio. It did take a good 10 years of hustle, getting up early, staying back late. The first time I got on the, radio, I got the graveyard shift from 11:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m., which meant I was getting to bed like 2:30 am or 3:00 am, and then on the reverse, when I got the, morning radio show, I had to get up at 4:30 a.m. to make sure I was there for 6.00 am. It did take a lot of hard work; but you know no pain, no gain. Let’s remember nothing comes free. I don’t think you can do anything great that you don’t build up. It does take a lot of work and consistency to build anything great.
I worked for free for 10 years; but you know it was the most rewarding experience in my life. I got to meet and interview amazing people and make strong connections.
Mel Robbins tells the story as well about working on, radio, for free and almost losing her house because she was not making any money and her husband’s business wasn’t doing well. They almost lost everything. She tells a powerful story in her book the “Five-second Rule”
She now works for CNN and she’s blown up but it all started with working for free on the, radio!
Why you should start a podcast.
On my radio show we started to re-purpose some episodes into, podcasts. So I got the idea to, start a podcast, because one, the attention was going to, podcasts, and secondly, I wanted the freedom to talk about what I wanted to talk about. On the, radio, you’re regulated, you’re in kind of a regulated industry; you can’t mention or talk about certain things; so there’s no freedom in, radio.
Not so for a, podcast. You can talk about anything within reason on a, podcast. You can curse, talk about sex or whatever you want. That’s how Genni Media my, podcast production company, was born. Now my company Ginni Media is a boutique Podcast Production Company serving the vision of entrepreneurs, celebrities and influential organizations around the world. Specializing in, podcast production, and content re-purposing, they provide a concierge-style service to ensure your voice is literally being heard where it needs to be.
That’s awesome, if you are reading this and working hard at something and not seeing any fruit, just keep on working and building. Keep on sowing seeds at some point in time it’s going to grow into a forest.
I was listening to Joel Osteen this morning and he it can take a year, it can take ten years, or it can even take 30 years! You have to have faith.
LBGQ podcasts and radio
How did you have the courage to introduce your sexuality on your show even though it was a criminalized act in your home country of Sri Lanka?
Well I kind of lived a bit of a fragmented life back then. My family even though then I was on an a Gay radio station, weren’t exactly aware that I Gay. My mother never questioned me about the content of the show. They didn’t find out until about six or seven years later. I was doing a TV segment, I was like about twenty three years old.
My sister knew and certain cousins of mine knew, I didn’t really feel the need to come out because I don’t think it’s necessarily something that needs to be announced, because if you are in a heterosexual relationship, you don’t sit your parents down and tell them. So I was doing this TV segment in Australia on channel 31 at 10:00 p.m. on a Monday night. I didn’t think anyone in my family would be watching a Gay game show program at 10.00 pm on a Monday. But apparently my auntie and uncle were watching and they heard me say I am Ginni and I am Gay!
How to, create and produce podcasts, that entertain, empower and engage audiences?
Download to listen to the full interview with Ginni to learn some tips for creating and producing your podcast.
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Additional Resources to, create and produce podcast
https://myhelps.us/how-to-become-a-diamond-by-finding-your-purpose/
https://www.midroll.com/advertisers/
New Demographic Research Shows Who Really Listens to Podcasts
