1 00:00:01,380 --> 00:00:03,960 Morgan Franklin: If I could give one piece of advice to every 2 00:00:03,960 --> 00:00:07,320 podcaster, no matter what your audience size is, no matter how 3 00:00:07,320 --> 00:00:10,590 many episodes you've published, no matter who your listeners 4 00:00:10,590 --> 00:00:14,640 are, it would be this, the difference between a good 5 00:00:14,640 --> 00:00:20,520 podcast and a great podcast is storytelling. If you're 6 00:00:20,520 --> 00:00:23,070 listening to this right now and you're struggling to find new 7 00:00:23,070 --> 00:00:26,220 listeners, if you're constantly feeling burned out from 8 00:00:26,220 --> 00:00:29,820 publishing and promoting new episodes, if you can't figure 9 00:00:29,820 --> 00:00:34,920 out what sets your podcast apart, this episode is for you. 10 00:00:35,400 --> 00:00:38,190 We're gonna talk about what kind of stories connect with 11 00:00:38,190 --> 00:00:42,540 listeners, how storytelling builds credibility and trust and 12 00:00:42,540 --> 00:00:46,410 how the most successful podcasters use storytelling to 13 00:00:46,410 --> 00:00:51,030 grow their podcast. Hello and welcome to podcast for profit. 14 00:00:51,030 --> 00:00:54,870 My name is Morgan Franklin. I'm a Podcast Producer, strategist 15 00:00:54,870 --> 00:00:58,920 and educator. This podcast will help you create and grow a 16 00:00:58,920 --> 00:01:03,150 podcast that cuts through the noise of social media and speaks 17 00:01:03,150 --> 00:01:06,510 directly to your target audience. If you're ready to 18 00:01:06,510 --> 00:01:09,900 create a podcast that will align you with the experts in your 19 00:01:09,900 --> 00:01:13,620 industry, position yourself as a trusted leader and create 20 00:01:13,620 --> 00:01:16,950 another source of revenue for your business, you're in the 21 00:01:16,950 --> 00:01:21,240 right place. Earlier this summer, I bought my first house, 22 00:01:21,270 --> 00:01:24,510 and of course, the week that I closed on my house was the first 23 00:01:24,510 --> 00:01:27,270 HOA meeting of the year, and the one that everybody in the 24 00:01:27,270 --> 00:01:30,270 neighborhood is required to go to. So this is a pretty old 25 00:01:30,270 --> 00:01:32,520 school neighborhood, and most of the people who live in this 26 00:01:32,520 --> 00:01:36,390 neighborhood have lived there for 25 plus years, many longer 27 00:01:36,390 --> 00:01:39,360 than I've been alive. So as you can imagine, I'm walking in with 28 00:01:39,360 --> 00:01:42,360 my little checkbook, not really knowing what to expect or how 29 00:01:42,360 --> 00:01:45,420 much this is gonna cost. Oh my gosh. I've only ever seen HOA 30 00:01:45,420 --> 00:01:48,870 meetings in movies, and to be honest with you, those looked 31 00:01:48,900 --> 00:01:51,840 terrifying. And so I sit down, and everyone is introducing 32 00:01:51,840 --> 00:01:54,690 themselves and saying how long they've lived there and where 33 00:01:54,690 --> 00:01:58,350 their house is. And it gets to me. So instead of saying, Hi, my 34 00:01:58,350 --> 00:02:00,840 name's Morgan Franklin. I've lived in this neighborhood for 35 00:02:00,840 --> 00:02:05,010 four days. I said, Hi. My name is Morgan. I just moved into the 36 00:02:05,010 --> 00:02:08,190 neighborhood. And if you've seen that blonde guy trying to push 37 00:02:08,190 --> 00:02:11,910 mow two acres with an electric lawn mower for the past 48 38 00:02:11,910 --> 00:02:15,240 hours, that's my fiance. And if anyone wants to say a prayer for 39 00:02:15,240 --> 00:02:18,420 him, that'd be greatly appreciated. The riding 40 00:02:18,420 --> 00:02:21,750 lawnmower is on the way. Now. What does me trying to get a 41 00:02:21,750 --> 00:02:24,600 laugh out of my retired neighbors have to do with 42 00:02:24,600 --> 00:02:28,740 podcasting and your podcast and telling stories on your podcast? 43 00:02:28,920 --> 00:02:34,410 We all crave connection. We all want to feel seen and heard and 44 00:02:34,410 --> 00:02:39,150 welcome. We want validation and we want community. So when I 45 00:02:39,150 --> 00:02:41,940 tell a story about how we weren't prepared at all to mow 46 00:02:41,940 --> 00:02:45,480 this yard, and we didn't have the tools we needed. I promise 47 00:02:45,480 --> 00:02:47,940 you, every person that room was thinking, Yep, I've been there 48 00:02:47,940 --> 00:02:51,210 before. I know what it's like to be a new homeowner, and I know 49 00:02:51,210 --> 00:02:54,180 what it's like to just be doing the best you can with what you 50 00:02:54,180 --> 00:02:57,570 have. Almost every single person came up to me and personally 51 00:02:57,570 --> 00:03:00,060 introduced themselves, and I feel more part of this 52 00:03:00,060 --> 00:03:03,030 neighborhood than I have at probably any other I've ever 53 00:03:03,030 --> 00:03:06,600 lived in. And I say all this to say I think storytelling is one 54 00:03:06,600 --> 00:03:10,410 of the most overlooked marketing strategies and underutilized 55 00:03:10,410 --> 00:03:14,130 content creation tools, yet it's proven to work over and over and 56 00:03:14,130 --> 00:03:17,310 over. Think about your favorite podcasters, the ones that you 57 00:03:17,310 --> 00:03:19,650 just you love the most. You can't wait to listen to their 58 00:03:19,650 --> 00:03:24,450 episodes. What do you love about them? Is it how they read a list 59 00:03:24,450 --> 00:03:28,230 of facts to you and like just rigidly outline this podcast 60 00:03:28,230 --> 00:03:32,670 episode to get the maximum value from your listening? No, it's 61 00:03:32,670 --> 00:03:36,540 the way they share information. It's the way they communicate. 62 00:03:36,690 --> 00:03:40,950 It's the way they tell stories. Now I'm from the south, so 63 00:03:40,950 --> 00:03:44,970 telling stories is in my DNA. All I do is talk, and I bet you 64 00:03:44,970 --> 00:03:47,940 couldn't tell but I am a yapper. No matter what anyone wants to 65 00:03:47,940 --> 00:03:51,570 talk about, I'm here to listen and to chime in. But I know this 66 00:03:51,570 --> 00:03:55,050 doesn't come as easily to everyone, and being a good 67 00:03:55,050 --> 00:03:59,250 storyteller is an art form. So how are you going to tell 68 00:03:59,250 --> 00:04:04,110 stories that connect with your audience. Step one is you have 69 00:04:04,110 --> 00:04:07,650 to have stories to tell, duh, I know, but this can be a lot 70 00:04:07,650 --> 00:04:10,890 harder than it sounds. Some of us are just running on 71 00:04:10,890 --> 00:04:14,010 autopilot, and if that's you, you're probably going to feel 72 00:04:14,010 --> 00:04:17,550 like, wow, what story would I possibly have to tell on my 73 00:04:17,550 --> 00:04:20,910 podcast? And if you're not paying attention to what's going 74 00:04:20,910 --> 00:04:24,780 on around you that might be kind of difficult. There is a level 75 00:04:24,780 --> 00:04:28,380 of intentionality that you have to reach in your everyday life 76 00:04:28,380 --> 00:04:31,920 to be able to retell the things that happen to you in a 77 00:04:31,920 --> 00:04:36,090 meaningful and interesting way. I'm working with a podcaster 78 00:04:36,090 --> 00:04:39,330 right now on a podcast, and she's feeling really burnt out 79 00:04:39,330 --> 00:04:42,840 with her show. We've all been there. I know I have. I keep 80 00:04:42,840 --> 00:04:47,160 asking her, if she was her listener, what would she have 81 00:04:47,160 --> 00:04:49,860 wanted to learn about? What would she want to know about? 82 00:04:49,950 --> 00:04:54,390 What would she want to listen to? Where was she 10 or even 20 83 00:04:54,420 --> 00:04:57,780 years ago? And when you're thinking about stories you want 84 00:04:57,780 --> 00:05:01,920 to tell on your podcast, that is an. Incredible place to start. 85 00:05:02,160 --> 00:05:05,190 What are things that have happened to you recently or 86 00:05:05,190 --> 00:05:08,010 throughout your life that you wish you'd known or had some 87 00:05:08,010 --> 00:05:12,480 kind of foresight on before they happened to you? Those are the 88 00:05:12,480 --> 00:05:16,050 stories to tell. When I think about this as it pertains to 89 00:05:16,050 --> 00:05:19,710 podcasting and telling stories and podcasting, I remember when 90 00:05:19,710 --> 00:05:23,370 I first started in production, and I hear a guest or a host 91 00:05:23,400 --> 00:05:27,000 going into a long tangent or a story, and I would start to 92 00:05:27,000 --> 00:05:31,470 shrivel up inside. I was so terrified of every moment of the 93 00:05:31,470 --> 00:05:35,400 podcast not being just a value add after value add after value 94 00:05:35,400 --> 00:05:39,090 add that I would get really torn up when someone was going on a 95 00:05:39,090 --> 00:05:43,050 long tangent or trying to tell a story, and now I love when 96 00:05:43,050 --> 00:05:46,560 people tell stories. I love when someone is so in the moment and 97 00:05:46,560 --> 00:05:49,680 the conversation enough to share a piece of their life and 98 00:05:49,680 --> 00:05:54,480 experience. One caveat is telling irrelevant or self 99 00:05:54,480 --> 00:05:58,050 serving stories. We've all been there, but people want to hear 100 00:05:58,050 --> 00:06:02,910 your stories. They do. They don't want to hear you brag. 101 00:06:03,120 --> 00:06:07,080 They don't want to hear a long, drawn out, pointless fact about 102 00:06:07,080 --> 00:06:11,010 you. They want to know about your experiences and your life 103 00:06:11,010 --> 00:06:16,050 as it pertains to guiding their own journey. So you can tell a 104 00:06:16,050 --> 00:06:18,990 story about how you succeeded in everything that you've ever 105 00:06:18,990 --> 00:06:24,000 done, but tell it in a way that gives me, the listener some 106 00:06:24,030 --> 00:06:27,450 insight, and makes me feel like I'm kind of getting a behind the 107 00:06:27,450 --> 00:06:32,610 scenes look at how I can do the same thing. Storytelling is one 108 00:06:32,610 --> 00:06:36,780 of the most powerful ways to build trust and earn credibility 109 00:06:36,780 --> 00:06:42,810 from your listeners, but the key is showing, not telling so what 110 00:06:42,810 --> 00:06:47,310 does that mean? It means taking the time to lay out a situation 111 00:06:47,400 --> 00:06:51,960 and tell a relevant story that relates to your topic or 112 00:06:51,990 --> 00:06:55,350 episode, versus just rattling off a list of facts and trying 113 00:06:55,350 --> 00:06:59,790 to move on. We want to know how something is relevant to us. We 114 00:06:59,790 --> 00:07:02,850 want to see ourselves in a situation and we want to be 115 00:07:02,850 --> 00:07:07,080 taken on a journey. Great storytellers see the purpose of 116 00:07:07,080 --> 00:07:10,800 telling the story equal to telling the story itself. So 117 00:07:10,800 --> 00:07:15,150 good questions to ask yourself are, what will my listener gain 118 00:07:15,150 --> 00:07:19,560 from hearing this story? How can I strengthen my overall message 119 00:07:19,560 --> 00:07:23,280 through telling this story, and if I didn't tell this story, how 120 00:07:23,280 --> 00:07:27,210 would it impact the final product of this episode? Would 121 00:07:27,210 --> 00:07:30,840 anything be lost? And if the answer is no, that's not the 122 00:07:30,840 --> 00:07:34,590 right story to tell. If your episode isn't better off for it, 123 00:07:34,680 --> 00:07:39,780 don't tell it. How you tell the story is just as important as 124 00:07:39,780 --> 00:07:42,930 telling the story itself, which brings us into the art of 125 00:07:42,930 --> 00:07:47,010 telling a great story. My personal best advice for telling 126 00:07:47,010 --> 00:07:51,150 a story that hooks a listener is to go all in from the beginning. 127 00:07:51,240 --> 00:07:55,380 You don't need background, you need intrigue. So what does this 128 00:07:55,380 --> 00:08:00,450 look like, and why are most of our stories so boring? Let's say 129 00:08:00,450 --> 00:08:03,180 you're trying to tell me a story about how you booked your first 130 00:08:03,180 --> 00:08:06,660 client. You could either say, as a consultant, I was booking my 131 00:08:06,660 --> 00:08:10,080 first client and there was so much going on that's kind of 132 00:08:10,080 --> 00:08:13,110 boring. It does get the point across, but you've already kind 133 00:08:13,110 --> 00:08:16,680 of lost me. What about I still remember the day I booked my 134 00:08:16,680 --> 00:08:20,460 first client because I couldn't believe Okay, dot, dot, dot. 135 00:08:20,910 --> 00:08:23,880 Both of these are saying the same thing, but one is hooking 136 00:08:23,880 --> 00:08:26,580 me in right from the beginning, and one is just kind of a 137 00:08:26,580 --> 00:08:30,870 description of what's going on. One is telling and one is 138 00:08:30,870 --> 00:08:35,010 showing your listener wants intrigue. They want to be 139 00:08:35,040 --> 00:08:38,550 entertained by your stories. And this can be done in so many 140 00:08:38,550 --> 00:08:42,240 different ways. It can be your tone of voice. I can't tell you 141 00:08:42,240 --> 00:08:46,080 how many monotone podcasters I want to listen to their podcast, 142 00:08:46,200 --> 00:08:50,490 but there is no inflection. They are giving me nothing. It is so 143 00:08:50,490 --> 00:08:54,690 hard to stay engaged and interested. If someone is taking 144 00:08:54,690 --> 00:08:57,150 the time to listen to your podcast, it's your 145 00:08:57,150 --> 00:09:01,200 responsibility as the person creating that podcast to give 146 00:09:01,200 --> 00:09:03,960 them something worth listening to, or they are gonna find 147 00:09:03,960 --> 00:09:06,390 somebody else who will now I'm not saying that you have to 148 00:09:06,390 --> 00:09:10,350 sound like a bad off Broadway actor, but you need to add some 149 00:09:10,350 --> 00:09:13,800 inflection and tone into what you're saying. How you say 150 00:09:13,800 --> 00:09:18,060 something is more important than what you say, and especially for 151 00:09:18,060 --> 00:09:21,330 audio only. Podcasts don't even get me started. This is all you 152 00:09:21,330 --> 00:09:25,530 have. So if you're giving me a monotone, boring voice about it, 153 00:09:25,530 --> 00:09:28,770 could be the coolest thing in the world, but if I'm not 154 00:09:28,770 --> 00:09:32,700 interested, I won't care, and I won't keep listening. But what 155 00:09:32,700 --> 00:09:36,000 about guests? If you're a podcaster that hosts guests, or 156 00:09:36,000 --> 00:09:39,780 does interviews of any kind, have you ever thought about how 157 00:09:39,780 --> 00:09:43,830 you're setting up your guests to tell their own stories. How are 158 00:09:43,830 --> 00:09:46,500 you encouraging rich conversation and making sure 159 00:09:46,500 --> 00:09:50,340 that a guest has the opportunity to tell those stories that are 160 00:09:50,340 --> 00:09:53,460 going to be meaningful to your listener? This is where 161 00:09:53,460 --> 00:09:57,210 preparation comes in, and why I always encourage podcasters who 162 00:09:57,210 --> 00:10:02,130 research and send questions to get. Before the episode, it's 163 00:10:02,130 --> 00:10:05,190 almost impossible to come up with, like, really, truly 164 00:10:05,220 --> 00:10:09,150 thoughtful and thought provoking questions on the spot. Unless 165 00:10:09,150 --> 00:10:12,810 you are George Stephanopoulos, I want you to stop thinking you 166 00:10:12,810 --> 00:10:16,680 can just interview someone off the cuff and it actually be 167 00:10:16,680 --> 00:10:20,610 worth listening to. For example, let's say you're interviewing a 168 00:10:20,610 --> 00:10:25,170 life coach, and you say, Okay, tell me more about a success 169 00:10:25,170 --> 00:10:27,840 story in your business, or something like that. That's a 170 00:10:27,840 --> 00:10:30,840 question I hear all the time coming from interviewers. Tell 171 00:10:30,840 --> 00:10:34,380 me about a success in your business. This is so boring. 172 00:10:34,380 --> 00:10:37,470 This is so generic for the listener and for the person 173 00:10:37,470 --> 00:10:41,760 you're interviewing who cares genuinely what listener is 174 00:10:41,760 --> 00:10:45,000 listening and thinking, wow, I really want to hear about this 175 00:10:45,000 --> 00:10:49,440 person's success that I just met five minutes ago. Instead, what 176 00:10:49,440 --> 00:10:53,220 if you ask, what's the first thing you work on with a client? 177 00:10:53,550 --> 00:10:56,400 Or even if you wanted to ask a similar question to the one 178 00:10:56,400 --> 00:11:00,930 before, what's your favorite story of a client's success? Get 179 00:11:00,930 --> 00:11:04,440 specific and think about the listener. What do they want to 180 00:11:04,440 --> 00:11:09,000 hear? What are they coming to this episode for? And what will 181 00:11:09,000 --> 00:11:13,920 make them come back? Every successful podcast host is able 182 00:11:13,920 --> 00:11:17,940 to leverage their own experience and knowledge to create 183 00:11:17,940 --> 00:11:22,380 community with their audience. We all need to remember this. 184 00:11:22,530 --> 00:11:25,830 It's not complicated, but it does take effort. It takes 185 00:11:25,830 --> 00:11:28,920 intentionality. It takes vulnerability. It takes 186 00:11:28,920 --> 00:11:31,140 practice. I know I'm still really working on that 187 00:11:31,140 --> 00:11:35,490 vulnerability part. It's hard to be vulnerable online, and I know 188 00:11:35,490 --> 00:11:38,490 sometimes telling stories about your own life can feel kind of 189 00:11:38,490 --> 00:11:42,600 violating, because you don't know who's gonna listen and you 190 00:11:42,600 --> 00:11:46,230 don't know who's gonna judge it or who's gonna judge you, and 191 00:11:46,230 --> 00:11:50,430 that is really hard, but I promise you this, if you aren't 192 00:11:50,430 --> 00:11:54,780 willing to take the chance and open up to your own audience, 193 00:11:54,990 --> 00:11:57,960 you are never going to have an audience. But like I said 194 00:11:57,960 --> 00:12:02,910 before, we all want validation. We all want to feel seen, and we 195 00:12:02,910 --> 00:12:07,560 all want to feel heard and have community. Your stories are 196 00:12:07,560 --> 00:12:11,310 worth telling, and there are people out there right now that 197 00:12:11,310 --> 00:12:16,470 are waiting to listen to them, you can do this. And as always, 198 00:12:16,530 --> 00:12:19,950 I can't wait to listen to your podcast. Hey, thank you so much 199 00:12:19,950 --> 00:12:23,070 for joining me on this episode. If you enjoyed the podcast and 200 00:12:23,070 --> 00:12:25,650 you'd like to hear more episodes like this one, go ahead and 201 00:12:25,650 --> 00:12:28,650 subscribe to the show. New episodes air every Monday 202 00:12:28,650 --> 00:12:31,620 morning. And if you found this episode valuable and you want to 203 00:12:31,620 --> 00:12:34,500 help other business owners and podcasters, will you leave me a 204 00:12:34,500 --> 00:12:37,740 five star review. It helps the show rank higher in the charts 205 00:12:37,800 --> 00:12:41,160 and brings more entrepreneurs the information they need to 206 00:12:41,160 --> 00:12:43,530 start making money on their podcast.