Prologue
Social Media and Podcasting
My wife did a photoshoot with a model from Los Angeles last week who had recently moved to Nashville. As they were setting up, I heard her say something I found shocking (but not surprising).
"I get more work in Nashville than I did in LA. It's very influencer-based in LA, and clients want somebody with a big Instagram following, which I don't have."
Like it or not, the same thing is happening with podcasters – clients want to hire people who have the "social proof" of a big audience, not just knowledge and expertise.
This audience can be via social media or it can be via your podcast. In this issue of Big Podcast Insider, I talk about both.
By the way, if you send me a photo of where you record your podcast I'll share it on the Big Podcast Instagram page and our other social media accounts.
Podcast Marketing

14 Ways to Use Instagram Stories for Your Podcast
You know the saying – a picture is worth 1000 words.
Because of this, Instagram is a great tool for podcasters who want to reach a new audience as well as communicate with existing listeners. The Big Podcast Instagram page is an example of how we do it.
But beyond simply posting photos, "Instagram Stories" can help you take your social media connections to a new level. So check out this info on 14 ways you can do this.

Are you making these 3 common "representation" mistakes?
It's a new world. In general, people are more open to diverse opinions than ever before.
I've told the story of writing my Big Podcast book, which is a little embarrassing to think about now, but the majority of examples I used, as well as all the pronouns, were male. This was so common in business books that the four women I had working with me on edits missed it entirely.
But the fifth woman noticed it and mentioned it to me, so I changed it.
To be fair, when I started that project, the majority of podcasters were male. But even in a situation like that, it doesn't mean you can't be forward-thinking. It also doesn't give you an excuse not to change up when you're doing, once you know differently.
This article will give you something to think about if you're looking to be more inclusive and project more diversity with the podcasts you do.
Podcasting Tools

Grow your social presence the smart way - 14-day trial!
I have been using Missinglettr to grow my social media presence and get the word out about new podcasts for a couple of years. Recently, they released a new feature called "Curate" that will get your posts (and podcast episodes) distributed by others, so you'll reach even more people.
It's worth a look. And you can try it free for 14-days to see how it works for you. No credit card is required, so jump in and see how it works for you. And if you need something to share, tell people about newsletter.bigpodcast.com! ;)
Podcast Production

This trick will make your podcast sound "bigger."
Do you ever get emails from listeners and want to share them on your podcast?
You could read them, which is fine, but it's a fun gimmick to have a "robot cohost" using a service like Lovo. You simple input the email (or review, or whatever your "text" is) and Lovo turns it into spoken word you can play on your podcast.
It's like getting a voiceover guy (or lady – they have over 180 different voices) for free.
Definitely take a look. It's a good way to make your podcast episodes stand out from the crowd and share emails/reviews from your listeners in an entertaining way.

3 Rules for Podcast Guests (and Those Who Book Them)
Getting yourself (or others) booked as a podcast guest can be both difficult and time-consuming. Podcast producers are busy and often already have a guest strategy in place, so outreach to them is often ignored.
This is a "Hall of Shame" example of what you should never do when reaching out to a podcaster as well as the three things you should be doing, if you want people to pay attention to you and book you or guest clients.
The Wrap Up
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My goal is to better empower podcasters to be more successful spreading their messages and make more money with their podcasts.
I'd love it if you'll help me spread the word about this newsletter by sending your podcasting friends to bigpodcast.com/newsletter.