Convo with Friendz is a weekly podcast that consists of a group of 4 friends, Rodney, Lakeba, Earnest, and Nosha, discussing and addressing all aspects of life… Where they focus on politics, media, lifestyle, fashion, and casual conversation. You most definitely don’t want to miss the things they talk about. Now grab your headphones to tune into their conversations.
What is ConVo with Friendz all about?
ConVo with Friendz podcast is a podcast where anyone can tune in and feel like they are talking with their best friends. They are creating a space where everyone feels welcome. The hosts all have different perspectives and political views so the conversations they have aren’t one-sided. The conversations can go from a political view to “how do you tell your spouse that they need to lose weight?” It’s a weekly podcast so the conversations are never the same. We also have a segment where our Friendz, listeners, can write us, and ask whatever question that’s on their mind called The Letter.
Tell us a little bit about your personal background – how, and why you started your podcast?
Hosts Rodney Wash, Lakeba Wallace, Earnest Taylor Jr, and Nosha Harwell, all have a media and entrepreneurship background. They wanted to create a space where they can combine their creativity and have a genuine conversation about what’s going on in the world. They want their listeners to feel like they aren’t judged for their viewpoints. The listeners can tune in a sit back and enjoy the conversations with their Friendz!
What was the biggest problem you encountered launching your podcast and how did you overcome it?
Honestly, we haven’t had any challenges with launching our podcast. We started planning back in October, and we started the podcast in January. We are very lucky to be in a studio. All we have to do is bring in our material and talk.
What are some mistakes you made as a podcaster?
One big mistake that is challenging us is going over our allotted time to record. We only have an hour to record in the studio, and sometimes Nosha can say something off the wall. That requires a more in-depth conversation lol. One week our podcast can be 49 minutes. Then the next week it can be 70 minutes. You just never know what to expect with our conversations. We need to work on our time management skills, but that’s what makes our podcast unique.
Do you have any other projects or businesses you working on?
Right now our number one priority is to have over 10k downloads by May. We currently have over 2k downloads.
Do you monetize your Podcast, or plan on monetizing, tell us how or how you plan to do it?
We are very happy to say that we are monetizing our podcast. Our hosting platform, Anchor, helps connect us with sponsors. We are also apart of a podcast group, Top Black Podcast on Instagram, that helps us connect with sponsors as well.
What are three books or courses you recommend for podcaster entrepreneurs?
Since we all have a background in media and entrepreneurship we just combined our experience. We are currently apart of a group on Facebook called Podcast Movement Community- For Podcasters. We recommend every podcaster to join a podcast group on Facebook. That way you can ask any questions that pertain to your podcast. If you are a shy person. I recommend you watch a lot of YouTube videos around starting a podcast.
How do you stay driven and motivated to keep going in your business and podcast?
It really motivates us when our listeners e-mail us. We love getting feedback on a topic that we discussed on our podcast. Sometimes our listeners agree with what we said and sometimes they don’t. The point is that they care enough to e-mail us. We post a question every day on all our social media platforms called “ConVo of the Day”. That is another way our listeners can engage with us daily. It really warms our hearts when our listeners leave us a 5-star review. Our listeners really love the “Wack ass of the Day” segment. That is a segment where we call a person or country out for doing something stupid. The e-mails we received around that segment are hilarious!
What has been your most effective marketing strategy to grow your audience?
The best marketing strategy is to know your niche. You must know who you are speaking to. A podcast is very personal. It not as easy as liking a picture or double-tapping to follow a person. A listener must search your name on a podcast hosting app then press play to listen to you speak. So before you record, you need to know what your listeners like and what they don’t like. I suggest researching a lot of articles around your listeners.
Also, you need to have segments within your podcast where your audience can feel like they can contribute to your podcast. That’s why we Created “Wack ass of the Day” and “The Letter” segments. That is a way where our Friendz can feel like they are a part of the show.
We also use a website, veed.io, that transforms our mp3 into an mp4. We grab snippets of our podcast and use that to promote our latest episode (attention grabbers).
Lastly, we network within the media industry. We can’t emphasize enough how important networking is for your podcast to thrive.
What is your definition of success?
Our definition of success is when our Friendz reaches out to us and tells us how much they love our podcast. We also measure our success by our Friendz telling us that a podcast hosting platform recommended our podcast to them. We appreciate the fact that our Friendz tells us that our podcast is a one-stop shop because we are so diverse in the topics that we discuss.
If you had to start a brand-new podcast today, what are the steps you would take?
- I will research the niche I am going to be talking to.
- I will make sure that the title of my podcast is catchy.
- Make sure that my logo coincides with my podcast’s title.
- Make sure that we’re well versed in what you are talking about.
- Research people or companies who specialize in podcast editing.
- Make sure that my equipment is A1!
- Make sure that your episodes’ titles stand out (This is how you will attract new listeners).
Press record and see how it goes.
What’s your best piece of advice for aspiring and new podcasters?
My advice to aspiring and new podcasters is to not get caught up in the numbers game. Just focus on the content that you are bringing to your listeners. Have a quarterly goal for your podcast so that you can measure your progress. Also, Do your research on a similar podcast that’s in your niche before you start.
Lastly, make sure that you have A1 equipment before you start recording if you are not in a studio. The one thing you don’t want to do is lose a valued listener because your audio is too choppy. Once you have done all of that create a ‘Pilot” episode. Use this pilot episode to message the listeners of a podcast that is similar to yours, and tell them about your podcast. You can also use that episode as a feedback tool from your potential audience that you are trying to reach.
What is your favorite quote?
You are your own worst enemy.
How can readers get in touch with you?
You can reach us on our website: convowithfriendzpodcast.com. On our website, you can follow us on our social media accounts and listen to our podcast.
Podcast Entrepreneur Interview: John Lee Dumas Host & Founder of EOFire
