Latest / LET'S MAKE WAVES with Rana AlBasri Mouawad / 6 Years of Let's Make Waves (and an Invitation for You)

Transcript

6 Years of Let's Make Waves (and an Invitation for You) · LET'S MAKE WAVES with Rana AlBasri Mouawad

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Hey everyone, and welcome to another episode of Let's Make Waves.
• 0:03
  SPEAKER_00: If you're new here, this podcast is your dose of information on personal brand, marketing, content, everything that is built to help you grow a reputation that actually builds trust so you can grow your business and your career.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_00: This month is a really special month for me because on the 25th of September it marks six years of Let's Make Waves podcast.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: It's a big deal for me, honestly.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: And yes, I've been podcasting for these six years, and what a ride that has been.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_00: But funny enough, I don't yet call myself a podcaster.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not sure why that is though.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: I guess because I don't see myself as a podcaster from the traditional sense, if you know what I mean.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_00: I kind of see it and see podcasting in general as a tool that I use to communicate with all of you.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: Share what I know, what I learned, what I've experienced, and people that I know that I get here as guests.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_00: So that I think that's why I don't really see it, see myself as a podcaster, but see this experience more as a communication tool, not a marketing tool.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: But anyway, when I first started in 2020, it was somehow because of the pandemic, so that kind of triggered it as well, but more because I loved podcasting way before that.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: Before moving to Canada, I was living in Dubai, and at the time podcasts in general were not as popular as they are right now, and definitely not as widely seen the way it is seen now.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: So I used to listen a lot to podcasts, and some of them that started so small are you know are now huge and extremely popular.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_00: So, anyway, back to when I started it, the pandemic was let's say the catalyst, but I also wanted to share my experience with everyone who needed that type of help.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: Because if you remember, at the time in the pandemic, there were a lot of disruption, if you want, especially in the working place.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: And at the time, I've been 10 years as an entrepreneur.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: I've created multiple businesses during the course of those 10 years.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_00: One of them was a product-based and also a service-based, and so I had just moved across the Atlantic from Dubai to Canada, and everything was new.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't know anyone, and then suddenly we were all quarantined, and I thought, what a great time to just sit down, slow down, and share things that I know for a fact, and out of experience, honestly, that having your own economy and building something on your own was really important, and it was at the hype of it at the time.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_00: So if you remember, there were a lot of layoffs, there was a lot of uncertainty, but at the same time, there was a lot of yearning to change, you know, and that included me.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_00: So while I was figuring something out in this new place that I was in, which was in Canada, why not use my experience as a way to share and to connect with people from all around the world?
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_00: I also chose podcasting because it was, at least for me, an easy choice to be consistent in.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't need to glam up and be on camera.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_00: I can be able to record multiple episodes in one sitting, and it was it was conversational because I felt like you know it's just easy to talk things through and then put put down some notes and then just talk about it.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_00: And I I love that a lot, and I still do.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_00: So when I first started, I didn't know what I was doing.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_00: My website was at the time hosted on WordPress, and I went through a lot of posts, did my own digging, and found a way to create a podcast that I can host on my site, and that's what I did.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_00: So the first few episodes were recorded, you're gonna laugh.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_00: They were recorded from my headset that was connected to my laptop, and it was just like months later that I then decided to buy a mic from Amazon.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_00: So it really started with a headset, and you can go all the way back and you can hear it for yourself.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and I I really think like just until maybe a couple of years, I was still recording on Garage Band on my laptop and editing it on that platform and then publishing it through my site.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_00: Now I use the amazing D script, so it's it's just been so different since the early days.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_00: Also, when I first started, I recorded from the bedroom.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_00: Remember, the whole family was at home, so that was the place where I can just lock the door and work for a few hours uninterrupted.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_00: Those episodes did surprisingly well, I must say, and I had loads of fun doing them.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_00: It was such an easy lift from the idea to the recording.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_00: It was just very short, uninterrupted time.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_00: And I just think of something I know, or someone asks me a question and it sparks an idea.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: I write my notes down and then I just hit record.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_00: But about a year ago, I have to admit, you know, I'm also human with the changes that has been happening on the podcasting scene everywhere.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_00: I was kind of feeling I hate to say it, FOMO, and I started to include a video format when recording the podcast.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_00: So although that was really a fun experience, I did that for a whole year.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: I honestly really didn't enjoy it the way I enjoy just the audio part of podcasting.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_00: Um, the making of, you know, from behind the scene when you're making it, the experience of just the audio and just that easy lift was a totally different experience from having it also visually and sharing it on YouTube.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_00: And that was one of the reasons that there was also something to admit, not enough consistency the way the earlier years had.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_00: Because in the earlier years, it was not an interrupted flow.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_00: But when I decided to include the video format of the of the podcast, my kids are still young, so if they're at home or there's like a mid-year break or something, or Christmas, or any holiday, anything of that sort, it was really difficult for me to record.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_00: And this particular move also made me lose this casual flair that I have here talking with you.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_00: I loved that, I really loved that, and my listeners also loved that, and I mean, this is how much they loved it.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_00: I had a whole episode where I was listing something, I was talking about a topic, and I was listing, I was you know, going through a listicle, and then I completely forgot which number I was on.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_00: Like, where am I, you know, point 10 or 11?
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like sharing it, but and and I just said, Oh my god, I don't remember which point, but let's move on.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_00: The next point is, and I just kept when when we when we came to the editing, I just kept that part, and it I didn't edit it out because it was honest, it was raw, it was real, and I've always been real with you all when it comes to that.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_00: So when I went on the video format, that changed.
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_00: Now that we're six years in, I'd like to tell you what I like and what I don't like about podcasting.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're thinking about doing your own podcast, maybe some of this will kind of help you basically don't do the same mistakes that I did.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, so what I love about podcasting is that it is something that makes me be me, and that's very personal to me, I know, but I know from other friends who are also podcasters that they feel the same way as well.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_00: For me, I get to have this privilege to be with you every week when wherever you are, whether you're in the car listening to this or in the gym or taking a walk or whatever.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_00: And there's this saying that we have it's it's something like the eyes are the windows to the soul.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I think that the voice is the window to the personality, and that's what I love about podcasting.
• 9:01
  SPEAKER_00: Also, another thing is that I gained a lot of friends and peers thanks to podcasting, and let's be honest, it is a great conversation opener, especially if you're trying to network.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_00: It's like when you say yeah, and I have a podcast, it kind of makes the conversation a bit a little bit easier, it's interesting to a lot of people.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_00: I also had great fun connecting with people from different places around the world, and the best part is to interview some of them, some of the most amazing humans and professionals I know.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_00: I learned so much from those conversations, and I hope you did too.
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_00: And I think you did because a lot of you, your letters, your emails, the feedback that I got, you know, it was it was the same.
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_00: I had guests from different parts of the world, different expertise, different backgrounds, and what we did is that we just focused on how do they invest in themselves, their opinion about their industry, and also about building a reputation and some of the lessons that come in in their journeys when it comes to reputation building and having a personal brand.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_00: Now, what podcasting taught me is to be more myself in my delivery.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_00: I remember the first couple of episodes, it was such a stiff delivery, but then the more you do something, the more you get better at it.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_00: Well, with podcasting, the more I did it, the more I learned to be more of myself in my delivery.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_00: Because sometimes it's easier for you to be yourself when you're talking to another human, but when you're like recording in a in a room all by yourself, it's a little bit different.
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_00: This this was something that I very much treasure in terms of lessons because it gave me the chance to focus on what I have to say more than do I need to look good while I'm saying it?
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_00: Am I standing straight?
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_00: Am I using my hands too much?
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, everything that goes through your head when you're when you're communicating, you know, let's say in front of a camera, if you're if you're recording, for example, versus just recording your voice.
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_00: It also taught me to look at the right analytics to know whether what I'm doing is working or whether it's not.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_00: The the number of downloads were very important, and I found that more important than subscriber number because a lot of people would listen to a show and not necessarily subscribe to it.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_00: So that was a lesson that it taught me to look at the right analytics.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_00: When I started receiving feedback and when I started getting a lot of emails, that also shows that you know it's do it's going in the right direction.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_00: So now that we are here six years in, if someone asks me, you know, they want to start a new podcast and they were asking for my opinion or any advice, this is what I would tell them before they start, you know, their first day in podcasting.
• 12:15
  SPEAKER_00: First, I would say it's to be very, very clear on who you're wanting to speak to and what is the specific topic you want to talk about.
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_00: I made this mistake in the beginning.
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_00: I was talking in general about business and about marketing and starting over and building a reputation and everything about personal brand, it was a lot of things.
• 12:41
  SPEAKER_00: So that was one of the reasons why the numbers in the beginning were very slow to grow.
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_00: But the minute that I focused on reputation management and communication and marketing, in specific to reputation and building a personal brand, that became you know, the growth started to appear better.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_00: And when I focused again on who is this for, so I was specific talking to entrepreneurs and founders and business owners and experts who are building their businesses, and therefore their personal brand or their reputation is one of the tools that they will need to connect with the right audience and build the trust so that it can impact their businesses positively.
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_00: That even helped the podcast to grow even more.
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_00: So that is the first point is to be extremely clear on who you're speaking to and what specific topic you want to talk about.
• 13:48
  SPEAKER_00: My second tip would be to record the first three episodes before you launch.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_00: This is the thing, you want to create a bingeable body of work for people to subscribe to your podcast.
• 14:01
  SPEAKER_00: And usually, from my experience, people don't follow your podcast or subscribe to it from the first episodes.
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_00: They usually need to hear a couple of episodes before doing so.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_00: So make sure you have you know at least three episodes in advance so this way they can hear active back three different episodes, and it becomes an easier conversion if you want.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_00: Also, by having this, these three episodes done, you bought yourself, like if it's a weekly podcast, you bought yourself three weeks, so you're much more comfortable at planning and at scheduling the the podcast episodes and not you know not missing out on any dates that you need to publish.
• 14:49
  SPEAKER_00: The third thing that I would also give them as a tip is that if you're not sure about your schedule, so if you're not sure if you will be able to post a podcast or to publish a podcast every week of the year, for example, so you're not sure about the cadence, then make your podcast seasonal, not an ongoing thing.
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_00: When you choose to do it as seasonal, then you know that your season is, for example, 20 episodes.
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_00: So you have 20 episodes to create, produce, and publish, and then you can take a break, and that would be a season, and then you can come back a couple of months or a month later or whatever, and then start another season.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_00: But when you're an ongoing podcast, this is where it would be a challenge if you have a consistency problem, because then you would be missing some weeks if you're not able to stick to that schedule.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_00: So really know your your limitations when it comes to your commitment to the podcast in terms of cadence, and then decide on doing it a seasonal versus ongoing.
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_00: Now, the good news is that it's very easy to change that.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_00: So if you started with seasonal, but then things are going great, and you know you have a team on board and you're able to keep up with having an episode every single week, then it's it's nothing.
• 16:19
  SPEAKER_00: You just change the description on your podcast and you're good to go.
• 16:23
  SPEAKER_00: So it's a very flexible decision if you want.
• 16:27
  SPEAKER_00: The fourth thing, the fourth tip that I would give is to have 10 episode topics at any one time in terms of notes.
• 16:36
  SPEAKER_00: So have topics in advance, put on your notes 10 different topics in advance, and always, even if you use some of those topics and you record those episodes, always make sure that your list is full.
• 16:48
  SPEAKER_00: It's a really good thing for many reasons.
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_00: One of that is that it gives you a very clear plan on how the season is, you know, really about and how the flow of the topics are happening, and it's also going to give you peace of mind in terms of if you have any crazy week at work or things are like chaotic and you feel like kind of drained creatively to think of a topic, you have 10 topics on that on that notes app.
• 17:19
  SPEAKER_00: So just make sure that you always have some ideas set aside, and preferably those ideas are evergreen ideas, so you can even record them and put them on on the side, and whenever you have you know a week that you weren't able to do something at the time, you always have a library of evergreen topics that you can just plug in and and publish for that week.
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_00: The fifth tip I would say is don't fuss over the tech part in the beginning.
• 17:51
  SPEAKER_00: You don't need to have the best mic, you don't need to book a studio, you don't need to, you know, unless it's a visual, you know, or if you have a beautiful home office, then you can you can record your podcast there.
• 18:07
  SPEAKER_00: But in in general, like don't put things like the tech part as a distraction or as a reason for you not not to start, because it doesn't really matter in the beginning.
• 18:21
  SPEAKER_00: What really matters is the topic and the content and the value in it.
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_00: I follow a lot of podcasts by like amazing experts.
• 18:30
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, we're talking uh multiple six-figure, multiple seven-figure experts who sometimes record episodes like from these totally odd places.
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_00: I remember listening to an episode one time by the amazing Jerisha Hawk, and she was recording it sitting on the couch with her laptop, but the value that she gave in that episode, it's was it's it's amazing.
• 18:57
  SPEAKER_00: So don't fret and don't fuss on the tech part in the beginning.
• 19:02
  SPEAKER_00: Like, for example, my best performing episode for the past season, my best performing episode was with my guest Mo Saman.
• 19:13
  SPEAKER_00: He joined from his iPad in his car because he was late.
• 19:19
  SPEAKER_00: You know, he had a meeting that that took a little bit longer than expected, but we agreed we're gonna do this and we've been planning it for months.
• 19:28
  SPEAKER_00: So we just hit record, and it's the most performing, the best performing episodes of that season.
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_00: So just don't fuss about the tech.
• 19:39
  SPEAKER_00: If you don't want to pay for platforms like D Script or any other podcasting platforms to do the editing, then use the apps that I mean.
• 19:50
  SPEAKER_00: I have a Mac, I told you I used Garage Band that would work as well.
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_00: Just make sure you don't have anything that would stop you from just starting.
• 19:59
  SPEAKER_00: And the final tip that I could think about at this moment, but the final tip is I would say is to set your expectations on what you're doing or like why are you launching a podcast for?
• 20:15
  SPEAKER_00: Because building and growing a podcast is so so much slower than, for example, building visibility.
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_00: Let's say if you compare it to just social media, or if you compare it to Substack, basically the trajectory of growth is very different.
• 20:36
  SPEAKER_00: So you need to be extremely clear on why you want to launch a podcast, what is the main goal of that podcast, and what are your KPIs so you know what kind of analytics to follow and what data to read so that you make sure that you stay on track and you follow through.
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_00: But at the same time, just set your expectations that the growth on podcasts is very different from growth on Substack versus growth on YouTube, you know, and so on and so forth.
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_00: It's just a different medium, and there are places around the world where podcasts are not as big as let's say North America, for example.
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_00: So you need to you need to be aware of that and you set your expectations accordingly because it's a beautiful medium, it's a great marketing tool, it's a great communication tool, it is also a great tool to help you build your reputation.
• 21:42
  SPEAKER_00: People get to know you at a much deeper level than you know a 30 second reel, but you need to be aware of how that platform is designed to grow.
• 21:55
  SPEAKER_00: So I want to share with you on what is next.
• 21:59
  SPEAKER_00: So This is the most important thing is that when you choose certain tools as part of your overall communication plan for you as a business owner, just realize what you're giving up and what are you adding on.
• 22:15
  SPEAKER_00: And in the end, the whole purpose of all of that is it this is like your marketing engine for your personal brand and for your business brand so that you can grow your business.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_00: So that's the most important thing.
• 22:29
  SPEAKER_00: The second part, which is the exciting part, is that I have a surprise for you guys.
• 22:34
  SPEAKER_00: As you know, I had the pleasure of interviewing and chatting with amazing experts from different industries and different places around the world.
• 22:45
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I had guests who came from Spain, from Egypt, from Dubai, from the US, just different places, and it was fantastic.
• 22:57
  SPEAKER_00: And I will continue to interview great people on the podcast so that we can all learn from each other.
• 23:02
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, that's the whole point of the of the Let's Make Waves community.
• 23:07
  SPEAKER_00: But the surprise is that because this is the sixth anniversary of the podcast, I'm opening six slots to you, my listeners.
• 23:19
  SPEAKER_00: And I'd love to invite you to be on my podcast as my next guest and have a conversation with me on this platform.
• 23:29
  SPEAKER_00: I would be really honored and so so happy to have six of you on the show.
• 23:36
  SPEAKER_00: Each one their own episode, of course.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_00: And what we're gonna do is just talk about your expertise, what are you building, everything to do with reputation and personal brand, maybe challenges, maybe lessons, anything in between.
• 23:52
  SPEAKER_00: I'm open to the idea.
• 23:54
  SPEAKER_00: So as long as we kind of cross-pollinate ideas and talk, and so that everybody who's listening to the podcast also gets you know, gets something new, maybe learn something new, maybe understand something new.
• 24:10
  SPEAKER_00: I would love that.
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_00: So six slots are open for you, my amazing listeners, whom I'm so grateful to.
• 24:19
  SPEAKER_00: So I would love to hear from you.
• 24:21
  SPEAKER_00: I will leave in the show notes the form to connect with me and to basically fill up a form so that you can become a guest on the show.
• 24:30
  SPEAKER_00: The interview will be recorded online, so wherever you are in the world at any time zone, we will make it happen.
• 24:38
  SPEAKER_00: That is not gonna stop us.
• 24:40
  SPEAKER_00: And the interview will be video and audio.
• 24:43
  SPEAKER_00: So this is what we are keeping in terms of video and audio.
• 24:46
  SPEAKER_00: So please keep that in mind.
• 24:48
  SPEAKER_00: I cannot wait to hear from you all.
• 24:52
  SPEAKER_00: Six seats are available.
• 24:54
  SPEAKER_00: Please check the show notes and sign up to be a guest on the show.
• 24:59
  SPEAKER_00: I would love to have a chat with you.
• 25:01
  SPEAKER_00: I would love to interview you.
• 25:03
  SPEAKER_00: If this is not something for you, but you have someone else in mind and you think that I should interview them, please share this episode with them and tell them to connect through the form.
• 25:15
  SPEAKER_00: I can't wait.
• 25:16
  SPEAKER_00: This is so exciting, and I cannot wait to meet you online.
• 25:22
  SPEAKER_00: And all I can say is that for all those six years, I wouldn't be here without you all.
• 25:26
  SPEAKER_00: So thank you so much for trusting me with your time and for following the journey all these years.
• 25:34
  SPEAKER_00: If you've enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and tell me your thoughts and what do you think about it by leaving a review.
• 25:41
  SPEAKER_00: This helps me a lot and it helps the podcast to reach more people.
• 25:45
  SPEAKER_00: And if you already did that, thank you so much in advance.
• 25:49
  SPEAKER_00: I will see you next week.
• 25:50
  SPEAKER_00: Till then, keep making waves.
• 25:53
  SPEAKER_00: Bye for now.