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Clips Are the Content | The Mindset Shift Every Podcaster Needs · Imperfect Marketing

• 0:27
  SPEAKER_00: Hi, I'm Kendra Corman.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: If you're a coach, consultant, or marketer, you know marketing is far from a perfect science.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_00: And that's why this show is called Imperfect Marketing.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_00: Join me and my guests as we explore how to grow your business with marketing tips and, of course, lessons learned along the way.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: Hey there, welcome back to another episode of Imperfect Marketing.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Kendra Corman, and today I want to talk about something that completely shifted how I'm thinking about the show.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm hoping that it'll help shift how you're thinking about your content too.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: So I was sitting on my couch, scrolling through TikTok and watching a video.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_00: The podcast host was being interviewed on another podcast, and he told this story that I haven't really been able to stop thinking about.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: He said he was at a store one day, just doing his thing, right?
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_00: And someone walked up to him and said, Oh my gosh, I watch your show.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_00: He was excited about that, right?
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: And he said, Oh, you mean you listen to my podcast?
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: And the person said, No, I watch the clips.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: That hit him like a ton of bricks because the clips, they used to be the marketing.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_00: They used to be how we promoted the actual podcast.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: And now the clips are the show.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: The clips are the content.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: And that's even how I'm digesting a lot of my podcasts, is through the clips.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm telling you, when I heard that, I did sit with it for a few days because I did realize that I'm doing it that way.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: And I realized that I'm not planning for this and not even close.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_00: If you're a content creator, a podcaster, a business owner using video at all, I think you might be in the same boat as me.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_00: And so I definitely wanted to talk about it.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: So let's start with the mindset shift because I think that this is the part most of us are missing.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_00: For years, and I mean years, the conversation around podcast clips has been pretty simple, right?
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_00: You record your episode, you pull out a few sound bites.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes back in the day, it wasn't even a few sound bites, right?
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: But you record your episode, you pull out these sound bites, you post them on LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_00: And the goal was to get someone to click through to find the full episode and hit play.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_00: The clip was the appetizer and the episode was the meal.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_00: But that's not how people are consuming content anymore, right?
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: Not even me.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: Most people who encounter your show are never going to listen to a full episode.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_00: They're going to see a 15, 30, 45-second, 60-second clip when they're waiting in line at Target or sitting on the couch just doing some mindless scrolling.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_00: And that's their entire experience of you.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_00: So we have to stop treating that like it's a failure, because it's not.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: That is our audience now in a lot of places.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: That person at Target who watched your clip, that person sitting on their couch that watched your clip, they're not less of a fan because they didn't subscribe.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: They're an audience member, a real one.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_00: So if the clip is going to be the only experience most people have with your show, why are we treating it like an afterthought?
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_00: Why are we recording 15, 30, 45 minute episodes and hoping a good clip or two falls out of it, like the prize at the bottom of a Cracker Jack box?
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_00: And that's the question I've been sitting with.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm not sure I like my own answer.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_00: I'm always honest with you because that's the whole kind of thing on the show.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_00: I'm moving forward imperfectly too.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: I haven't been planning my clips well.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I'm planning my clips at all.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_00: I record episodes, I do my best to make them valuable.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_00: I have my talking points and my outline and a list of questions from my guests.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_00: And then sometimes in editing, it's like, oh, that part was good.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_00: Let's clip it.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_00: And usually that person in editing that's doing that is AI.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_00: But we post it, we move on.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_00: That's not a strategy.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_00: That's a coincidence.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_00: One time where I definitely didn't plan all the things I should have was when I was able to get two clips out of an episode.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_00: Just two out of a 15-minute episode.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't plan for sound bites.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_00: And I think a lot of us are doing the same thing.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_00: We tell ourselves we'll find the clips in editing, but by then the moment's gone.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_00: We can't go back and reshape how we said something unless we rerecord, right?
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_00: We can't add that punchy opening line that would have made stop their scrolling.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_00: We're working with whatever we have to say in the moment.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_00: Don't get me wrong, right?
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes you get lucky.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes magic happens.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes a clip is just going to land.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_00: But you can't build a content strategy on luck, even though I think I've tried.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_00: The other thing is that this is genuinely harder than it sounds.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_00: No one wants to sound rehearsed.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: I know I don't, right?
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_00: I don't want to sound stiff or scripted or like a TED talk that someone's overprepared.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_00: The whole appeal of podcasts is this conversation I'm having with you.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_00: It's the realness, the imperfection.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_00: Hello, that's like literally the name of the show, right?
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_00: So, how do you plan clipworthy moments without losing that?
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_00: And that's what I want to get into next, because I think getting tactical is really where it's at.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_00: So here's what I'm starting to do, if I can do it consistently, and what I think you should consider too.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_00: So let's start off with first, and this is the biggest one.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_00: I want you to identify your anchor moment before you record.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_00: Before you hit record, ask yourself what is the one idea from this episode I want someone to walk away with?
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_00: What's the sound bite I want pulled out and shared?
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_00: Write it down.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_00: Not a script, just the idea.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_00: And then make sure you actually say it in a way that works on its own.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_00: Next, you need to build for the hook.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_00: So the first three seconds of any clip, you have to earn the, you need to have it earn the next 30.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_00: So if your clip starts with, and I don't even want to know how many clips I have that start with this.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_00: And so what was I saying?
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_00: And so what I was saying about that thing earlier, nobody is watching.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_00: You need an opening line that's going to grab attention, something like, here's what nobody tells you about email marketing that works on its own, that stops a scroll.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_00: And this one's like a little small mindset trick that's actually helping me, I hope.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_00: And that's using clip cues when you're recording.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_00: When you're about to say something that you think might be your moment, I want you to signal it out loud.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_00: Things like, here's the part most people get wrong.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_00: Or if you only remember one thing from this episode, remember this.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_00: Those phrases do two things.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_00: They tell your editor, this is the clip, and they tell your listener, pay attention.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_00: This matters.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_00: Which, in my opinion, is a win-win.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_00: And then think about talking in self-contained ideas.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_00: This is so important when you're building for clips.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_00: You can't say things like, as I mentioned earlier, because in a clip, there is no earlier.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_00: Every big idea has to make sense pulled out on its own.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_00: Treat each of your main points like a standalone thought that could live on its own little island.
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're recording video, and if you're not, you really should be.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_00: I want you to record visually with clipping in mind.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_00: Look at the camera during your strongest takes.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_00: You know, eyes straightforward and repeat key phrases more than once.
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_00: Give yourself some options.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_00: Your future self editing this thing will thank you, or your editor will thank you, or your assistant, my assistant Carol may thank me.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_00: None of these has to make your show feel scripted.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_00: Right?
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_00: You're not memorizing lines.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_00: You're just being intentional about a few moments per episode instead of crossing your fingers and hoping.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_00: Where do people find new podcasts right now?
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_00: It's not Apple Podcasts, it's not Spotify's Discovery page, it's TikTok, it's Instagram Reels, it's YouTube Shorts, it's LinkedIn video.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_00: Depending on your audience, it could be all of the above or one of them, but they're meeting your show through 30, 60, 90 second clips.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_00: That's the new front door.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_00: And if your clips are mediocre, which I think mine are, if they're just kind of okay, you're losing people before they even know what your show is really about.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_00: And a great clip is the new SEO, right?
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_00: It's how people are going to find you.
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_00: And it doesn't mean you abandon long form because I'm not abandoning long form.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_00: It's where the relationship happens.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_00: Long form is where someone goes from, huh, that was interesting, to I'm subscribing, I'm telling my friends, and I'm going to be listening to this every week.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_00: The clip's the introduction.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_00: It's still the handshake, it's still the first impression, but it needs to stand on its own.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_00: If someone only ever sees one clip of your show, just one, would it represent the best of what you do?
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_00: Would it represent who you are as a host, as a brand, as a business?
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_00: If your answer is like mine and it's, I don't know, um, you're not alone.
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_00: But that's the thing we have to fix.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_00: The host in the store, the guy who got told I watch your clips, he wasn't getting a warning.
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_00: It wasn't anything bad.
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_00: He was getting a roadmap.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm going to listen.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_00: Clips aren't extra work anymore.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_00: They aren't the marketing.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_00: They are the work.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_00: They are the content.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_00: So here's what I want you to do this week.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_00: One, before your next recording, whether it's a podcast, podcast episode, a video for LinkedIn, really anything.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_00: I want you to write down one clip moment you want to make sure you capture.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_00: Just one.
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_00: What's the idea?
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_00: What's the sound bite?
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_00: Get it on paper before you turn the camera on.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_00: Then I want you to practice it as a standalone thought.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_00: No setup, no, as I was saying earlier, just that idea out loud in a way that makes sense to someone who's never heard of you.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_00: And when you're done, watch it back and ask yourself one question.
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_00: Would I stop scrolling for this?
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_00: The answer is yes.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_00: Congratulations, you have a clip.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_00: If the answer is no, that's data, that's information.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_00: And you can do better next time.
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm doing this on imperfect marketing too.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not pretending I have this all figured out.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_00: If you're gonna watch me figure this out, hopefully in real time.
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_00: And that's the whole point of this show.
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_00: If you take one thing away from this episode, I'm practicing what I preach right now.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_00: I want you to take away that the clips are important.
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_00: The clips are the content and you need to build for them.
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_00: Now, before you go, I want to hear from you.
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_00: What makes you stop scrolling on a podcast clip?
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_00: What's the thing that pulls you in?
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_00: Send me a DM, tag me on LinkedIn, drop me a note.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_00: I read everything, and I'd love to know what's working from the listener side.
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_00: If this episode gave you something to think about it, share it with another podcaster or content creator who needs to hear it.
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_00: And as always, keep showing up imperfectly.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_00: Until next time, have a great rest of your day.