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Your Podcast Needs a Vegas Moment · Your Mic

• 0:00
  In 1973, FedEx almost died.
• 0:03
  The payroll was due, planes were grounded,
• 0:06
  $5,000 left in the bank.
• 0:09
  That was not even enough to buy one fuel tank.
• 0:13
  One fuel tank to keep the company alive for another week,
• 0:16
  so the founder took the last five grand to Las Vegas.
• 0:21
  And if that sounds insane, good,
• 0:24
  because the way you are treating your podcast
• 0:26
  isn't nearly insane enough.
• 0:30
  Welcome back to your mic.
• 0:33
  My name is Freddie Cruz.
• 0:34
  This is a podcast for new and aspiring podcast hosts.
• 0:40
  Back to FedEx.
• 0:41
  They launched in the early 1970s with a crazy idea,
• 0:44
  overnight delivery to a bunch of American cities
• 0:47
  using its own fleet of small planes.
• 0:50
  And it actually worked.
• 0:52
  The planes flew, packages arrived,
• 0:55
  the problem was not the idea.
• 0:57
  It was the economics.
• 0:59
  It's always about economics, always about the money.
• 1:02
  Fuel prices spiked after the oil crisis.
• 1:04
  If you think prices are bad today,
• 1:07
  ask your grandparents about the 70s.
• 1:09
  Now FedEx was losing more than a million dollars
• 1:13
  every single month.
• 1:15
  Investors were tapped out.
• 1:16
  The company was down to its last five grand in cash.
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  That wouldn't even cover one fuel bill.
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  Founder Fred Smith flew to meet a defense contractor,
• 1:26
  General Dynamics, to beg for more funding.
• 1:29
  They said no, and that should have been the end.
• 1:33
  Instead of flying home to Memphis and defeat,
• 1:35
  however, Fred took that last five Gs to Vegas,
• 1:39
  sat down at a blackjack table and walked away
• 1:43
  with about 27 at $32,000,
• 1:45
  depending on whose version of the story you read.
• 1:48
  But regardless, it wasn't enough to pay the immediate fuel bill
• 1:52
  and keep the planes in the air for one more week.
• 1:55
  Yeah, one week.
• 1:59
  But that lifeline gave him enough time
• 2:01
  to raise millions more and build the FedEx you and I know today.
• 2:05
  And here's the thing, back to podcasting.
• 2:08
  Most podcast hosts would never do this with their show.
• 2:13
  They'll grind out episodes, they'll be consistent,
• 2:16
  but they will not place an uncomfortable,
• 2:18
  very public bet on themselves.
• 2:22
  They stay safe.
• 2:23
  Fluffy topics that never make anybody angry,
• 2:26
  10-minute intros about nothing,
• 2:28
  episodes released when inspiration hits.
• 2:31
  Then they wonder why the graph is flat.
• 2:34
  Your version of Vegas is not gambling your mortgage,
• 2:36
  it's not betting everything on the blackjack table.
• 2:40
  No, it's about making decisions that feel a little more
• 2:42
  dangerous to your ego and your comfort
• 2:45
  and saying to hell with everybody else's opinion.
• 2:48
  Example, out loud on the air.
• 2:52
  Bet on a schedule.
• 2:54
  Your mic, that's my podcast.
• 2:56
  It drops twice a week through the holidays.
• 2:59
  No skips, no ghosting.
• 3:02
  Yes, I know there's a listenership drop off
• 3:04
  in the holiday months and into January.
• 3:07
  But if I miss, you can call me out on LinkedIn,
• 3:09
  Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, on email.
• 3:12
  Freddie, where the why it's peakpodcasting.com if you must.
• 3:16
  That's a bet.
• 3:17
  You're putting your reputation on the table, on the line.
• 3:20
  That's what I'm doing.
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  I'm the founder of a podcast production company
• 3:25
  and it behooves me to have a show,
• 3:28
  but not just once a week, twice a week.
• 3:31
  Also, you got a bet on a spine.
• 3:33
  This show punches lies about podcasting and creator life.
• 3:37
  Every topic has to hit a specific lie.
• 3:42
  A cliche, a trope.
• 3:44
  You need big numbers to make money.
• 3:46
  You need to make money, period.
• 3:48
  Use your quit if your friends don't listen.
• 3:50
  No more random musings.
• 3:51
  You pick a lie and you go for the jugular.
• 3:54
  Then what you do is you bet on distribution,
• 3:56
  bet on the platforms you're already on.
• 3:59
  No more doom scrolling.
• 4:01
  For each episode, you got to promise yourself
• 4:03
  one LinkedIn post or Instagram.
• 4:05
  Better yet, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube
• 4:08
  because, hey, why not be omnipresent?
• 4:10
  One post per platform and I'm not talking
• 4:13
  about just posting a link.
• 4:15
  It's got to be a story or a hot take that stands on its own.
• 4:19
  One email to your list, even if there are 100 people on it.
• 4:23
  I've got 120 something on my list.
• 4:26
  Yes, it's a small list.
• 4:29
  And if you've got a small list, use it.
• 4:32
  Back to FedEx.
• 4:33
  Fred Smith was asked, why did he risk
• 4:36
  the last company money at the blackjack table?
• 4:39
  His answer was basically this.
• 4:41
  What difference did it make?
• 4:43
  Without fuel, the planes were not flying anyway.
• 4:46
  And that's your podcast.
• 4:47
  If you're not willing to bet on sharper content,
• 4:50
  clearer positioning and bolder distribution,
• 4:54
  the show's already dead.
• 4:55
  And if it's not already dead, it's already dying.
• 4:59
  You're just doing it slowly and politely.
• 5:02
  So what's your $5,000 move?
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  What's the thing that feels a little reckless
• 5:08
  but if it pays off, gives you show another six months of life.
• 5:11
  Make that bet this week and if not this week, next week,
• 5:15
  preferably today.
• 5:17
  And if you don't know where to place that bet,
• 5:20
  grab the Speak Podcasting Robemap.
• 5:22
  It's the exact process used with clients
• 5:25
  to turn a podcast from nice to have content
• 5:28
  into an actual asset.
• 5:30
  Go to SpeakPodcasting.com slash roadmap,
• 5:33
  download it free and use it to choose
• 5:36
  your next risky move on purpose.
• 5:38
  Not at a blackjack table.
• 5:41
  If you enjoyed this rant, please consider subscribing
• 5:44
  to the show and sharing with a fellow podcaster in your life.
• 5:48
  Thanks for listening.