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If you live in the United States the past 3 weeks have felt like a year. 🫠 It’s election year and also one of the most significant and historical presidential elections of our lifetime.
Over the past month I’ve heard a lot of opinions on the right, left and quite frankly the pits of hell. Everyone has an opinion, but the bigger question is - should you share it on your podcast? 😬
In this episode I’m breaking down the pros, cons and my best advice for sharing your political opinions on your podcast.
Creators and Guests
Host
Morgan Franklin
Morgan Franklin is a podcast producer, strategist and educator. Since 2020 Morgan has founded and produced multiple top ranking podcasts from the health industry to beauty. Featured everywhere from Good Morning America to Martha Stewart Living Morgan's passion and knowledge for branding and podcasting have helped countless business owners and brands grow their impact and bottom line podcasting. Morgan is the Founder of Podcasts for Profit and Morgan Franklin Media, in addition to host of Podcasts for Profit with Morgan Franklin.
What is Podcasts for Profit with Morgan Franklin | Podcasting Strategy for Podcasters?
If you’re ready to create a podcast that will align you with experts in your industry, position yourself as a trusted leader and create another source of revenue for your business you’re in the right place. Podcasts for Profit will help you create and grow a podcast that cuts through the noise of social media and speak directly to your target audience. Stop letting the algorithm determine your social marketing strategy. Stop letting trends dictate the kind of content you’re able to create. Hosted by expert podcast strategist, producer and educator: Morgan Franklin, Podcasts for Profit is your step-by-step guide to creating a podcast that will transform your business, opportunities and life.
Morgan Franklin: I graduated
high school in 2011 and it's
weird how that feels like both
yesterday and also three
lifetimes ago at the same time,
depending how old you were in
2011 you might remember it as
the year William and Kate got
married Harry Potter ended or
Kim Kardashian got divorced from
Chris Humphries after 70
something days. It was also the
year Verizon started carrying
the iphone four, and pretty much
launched us straight into the
smartphone era. My dad bought me
an iPhone the day I graduated
high school, and I still
remember all my friends and I
completely obsessing, huddling
around this thing like it was
the monolith in 2001 A Space
Odyssey. From the moment I got
that phone, I was obsessed. And
I don't even know if obsessed is
a strong enough word, but around
that same time, I remember an
adult, maybe a parent, or my own
parent, saying, posting on the
internet is like peeing in a
pool. First of all, gross.
Second of all, what? It took me
a long time to figure out what
that really meant, but today,
it's a phrase I think about
almost every day, because once
something's on the internet, you
can never get it back. You can
never change it. It is
permanently tied to you for the
rest of time. Hello and welcome
to podcast for profit. My name
is Morgan Franklin. I'm a
Podcast Producer, strategist and
educator. This podcast will help
you create and grow a podcast
that cuts through the noise of
social media and speaks directly
to your target audience. If
you're ready to create a podcast
that will align you with the
experts in your industry,
position yourself as a trusted
leader and create another source
of revenue for your business,
you're in the right place. So
this week, we're going to talk
about politics, politics on your
podcast, the pros, the cons,
what every podcaster should
consider before discussing
politics on their podcast.
Before we get into this episode,
I want to share a few
disclaimers. The first one being
your podcast is your podcast. I
truly believe intuition is more
important than any advice anyone
could ever give you. And if you
feel called to share your
opinion or your story or your
thoughts, you should do it. The
second one being, I'm American.
I was born in America. I've
grown up in America. I currently
live in America. If you're
listening to this from anywhere
else, I do believe that
information is general enough
for anyone to benefit from it,
but I can only speak to my own
experience and knowledge of this
government and how politics
works in America. The third
being, I will not be sharing my
political opinion takes or
stances on this podcast. Not to
say I won't share them in other
places on the internet, because
I'm sure I will or in other
capacities, but that is not what
this podcast is about, and at
the end of the day, me sharing
my political opinion on this
podcast does nothing for you the
listener. The past two weeks
have been a totally insane time
in American politics. We started
with the assassination attempt
of FORMER PRESIDENT DONALD
TRUMP, PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN
dropping out of the race as the
Democratic nominee, and about
400 other subplots in between.
It's been a crazy month, but
what's been even crazier are
people's reactions. Right? Some
are good, some are bad, some are
downright disgusting. But it
brings me back to the
introduction of this episode,
when you post something on the
internet, it's like peeing in a
pool. You can't get it back, you
can't make it go away, you can
only dilute and deflect and hope
eventually to filter it out. Our
words have consequences, no
matter which side you're on, the
past month has felt like the
chickens coming home to roost on
some of the ideologies shared by
both sides. And I truly believe
it is the slow and deliberate
branding of both of the major
political parties in the United
States that's changing how we
see each other. Instead of us
all being proud Americans were
now proud conservatives or proud
liberals, and I think that's a
really big problem when you
don't believe your neighbor or
your community has your best
interest at heart. How is it
possible to grow but that's the
situation we're in right now,
and it feels terrible because
the stakes feel so high. We're
all in this pressure cooker
where it feels like if we don't
make the right decision right
now, the United States, as we
know it, will cease to exist,
and this will have all been for
nothing. And I just want you to
know if you feel like this, if
you are feeling this kind. Of
urgency, I want you to know,
talking crap on your podcast is
not going to help anything.
Sharing your hyped up political
opinion is not going to change
anyone's mind. In fact, it will
most likely cause them to not
listen to your show. If your
podcast is about anything other
than politics, news or current
events, the likelihood of you
growing an audience from sharing
your political opinion is
incredibly slim. And maybe
you're thinking, Morgan, this is
how I educate people. This is
how I educate my audience on
what's going on, and if I don't
talk about it, who will? How do
I advocate for myself and my
beliefs, if not on my podcast?
And you know what I hear you I
do. But here's a few things that
I want you to ask yourself, Does
this have anything to do with my
podcast, the normal topics of my
episodes, or my audience at
large? That's question one.
Question two is, Will what I'm
saying give perspective to
others, or is it just an opinion
I want to share? Three is what I
have to say worth potentially
alienating and upsetting 50% or
more of my listeners. And then
lastly, if I waited two weeks,
would I still feel as
passionately about sharing this
opinion, and let's talk about
that last one. If you waited two
weeks, would this still matter
enough to you to bring up on
your podcast? And I think that's
a really good question. This is
a good rule of thumb for anyone
talking about pretty much
anything ever especially if
you're feeling fired up,
especially if what you're saying
is controversial or passionate
or divisive, will it matter in
two weeks, and if you can wait
two weeks to record it, because,
wow, there are so many times as
a Podcast Producer and as a
podcast listener, I wish people
would have just slept on it
because we all say wacky stuff
in the heat of the moment. You
know it, I know it, but that
doesn't mean we want that wacky
stuff linked to us forever and
ever in eternity online, you are
entitled to your opinion, and
thankfully, if you live in the
United States of America, you
have the right to say whatever
you want, but I think there's a
difference between a right and a
reason, and that's what I really
want you to take from this
episode. Is there a reason to
say what you're saying? Is it
going to grow your podcast? Is
it going to make you money? Is
it going to improve your brand?
Is it actually going to make an
impact on someone? If that's
your reason for saying it, I
went to a women in business
conference earlier this month,
and one of the breakout sessions
was about first impressions. The
whole point of the session was
to talk about how to make a
first impression on someone that
leads to a lasting professional
connection. If you're a business
owner or a creator or a
podcaster, you know this is a
very important skill to have,
that could be your next client
or sponsor, or connection to
your next client or sponsor. And
do you want to know? The first
thing this speaker said, the key
to a lasting first impression is
listening. Listening. Who wants
to listen? I'm trying to allow
someone when I meet them, right?
I mean, I think that most of us,
that's our first reaction when
we meet someone, is to think,
How can I impress this person?
How can I make a memorable
impression? How can I show them
that we are connected, or that
we have something in common, or
that we have common values, or
that they should remember me.
And you know what I'm hearing a
lot of when I say that, I, I, I,
me, me, me. This is not about
you. Meeting someone for the
first time is not about you. And
you know what? Your podcast is
not about you. And if you want
to build a community, you have
to remove yourself and your ego
from the equation. Because, yes,
this is your podcast, but you
didn't create it for yourself to
listen to. Now, am I saying that
you should never share your
opinion or thoughts online? No,
especially if you have a solo
podcast. What else would you
talk about besides your own
thoughts? What I'm saying is to
create room, show respect, be
thoughtful about what you say
and how you say it. If you're
endorsing a political candidate,
great, say why you love them.
Say why you're proud to vote for
them and what you hope they do
for this country, not why you
hate the other person, not how
they're gonna burn this whole
place to the ground, or why you
think they're a totally
incompetent goober. We have to
take the high road. We have to
hold ourselves to a higher
standard than the mainstream
media, because all mainstream
media wants is to get views.
Debate us with entertainment and
crazy headlines to get more
advertising dollars. If you want
to blame one side in this
country, blame the corporations
and big media that are using our
patriotism for profit. It
doesn't matter if it's CNN or
Fox News or MSNBC, they're all
owned by huge, multi billion
dollar corporations that know
they make more money and get
more views when we are fighting
with each other. And I don't
know about you, but I don't want
to be part of this cycle, and I
don't want to continue
perpetuating the lies that one
side is evil, or that just
because you're one party and I'm
another, we don't both want
what's best for this country and
the world? Do we always agree on
exactly how to do it? No, no, we
don't, and that's okay, but we
need to turn down the
temperature. We need to listen
to each other. We need to stop
the name calling and childish
backstabbing, and even if you're
doing it just so that you don't
lose podcast listeners, you know
what? That's an okay place to
start, because one habit turns
into a lifestyle, and maybe
before you know it, you're
actually listening to someone
that's not in your political
party, and maybe you don't agree
with them at all. You think they
don't really know what they're
talking about, but you're taking
a moment to listen instead of
just completely shutting down
and falling apart. We all have
so much more in common than we
think we do. I've worked with
podcasts and clients on both
sides of the aisle for several
years, and I can tell you one
thing, they both love America.
They do. They both want what's
best, or at least what they
think is best. And no matter
what side we could all benefit
from listening more if you
haven't already registered to
vote, go ahead and go to
vote.gov. And register. Do your
research. Check your sources. Be
a good source if you are one.
And as always, I can't wait to
listen to your podcast. Hey,
thank you so much for joining me
on this episode. If you enjoyed
the podcast and you'd like to
hear more episodes like this
one, go ahead and subscribe to
the show. New episodes air every
Monday morning. And if you found
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