Latest / Abbey the Podcast Lady / How to Turn Your Podcast Into Public Speaking Opportunities with Marianne Hickman

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How to Turn Your Podcast Into Public Speaking Opportunities with Marianne Hickman · Abbey the Podcast Lady

0:00
you Hello and welcome to another episode of Abby
0:07
the podcast lady I am so excited to have another
0:10
guest on I did a solo episode before this so
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it's I'm just kind of ping -ponging in between
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solo episodes and guest episodes It's always
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more fun to have someone to chit chat with and
0:19
share their experience So I am super excited
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to welcome on my new friend Marianne. Hello.
0:24
Welcome. Hello. Thank you Abby for having me
0:27
like new friend is perfect Thanks to take out
0:28
on I was like, she's my vibe. We're gonna be
0:31
hanging out digitally. Hopefully physically one
0:33
day. So this is awesome The second I saw that
0:35
you're using the same microphone that I'm using
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if you're watching the video version You can
0:39
see our matching road pod mic USBs Which is my
0:42
go -to recommended microphone for everyone like
0:44
when I saw that pop up I'm like, oh, yes the
0:47
girls that get it get it. Amen to that So give
0:49
everyone a little background on just kind of
0:52
10 ,000 foot view who you are what you do I like
0:54
to say that I have no idea what I'm doing, but
0:56
I've been doing it for a long time So that's
0:57
what we're up to. I love it. We're all learning.
0:59
You know, I'm a student of public speaking I'm
1:01
a student of body language. I'm a student of
1:03
the world white space of communication. And that's
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what I've been up to and doing for the last,
1:07
since I was three years old, so that's what,
1:09
37 years now, I just turned 40. So that's what
1:12
I'm all about. I'm also in love with horses.
1:14
I love what I learn about communication and nonverbal
1:17
communication from the equine therapies. We're
1:19
building a ranch where we can teach public speaking
1:21
and confidence through the power of equine therapy.
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That's what we're all about in addition to raising
1:26
five kids and trying to be a pretty good wife.
1:28
So just a few things going on really. One or
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two. Where's your ranch at? Well I haven't bought
1:33
the land yet but I do have my eye. on 600 acres
1:36
that's for sale right now up in Wallsburg, Utah.
1:38
We're looking at getting some investors and getting
1:40
a place up there. We're hopefully going to be
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working with the Cuvvies of the Franklin Covey
1:45
organization and getting some therapies going
1:47
up there. I'm so excited to build it. It's all
1:49
in my head. I've been there a thousand times.
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It just hasn't caught up with me in material
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form yet. I have such a respect for horses. My
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favorite thing I like to say is I like dressing.
1:58
Like I know how to ride a horse. So I love the
2:00
Western fashion, but actually like I will feed
2:03
a horse and I will give little treats and I will
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pet its big old nose but I'm not a horseback
2:07
rider I think it's just cuz I wasn't given any
2:09
proper instruction on that kind of thing I feel
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like I'd get really into it but for now I'm just
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like I'll put on some fringy pants a cute pair
2:15
of boots and I will feed this horse as many sugar
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cubes as the owner will let me and that's the
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same thing with speaking people do the same thing
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like dress like you're about to go on stage because
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most people are just more scared of public speaking
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than they are of a 2 ,000 pound animal dress
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like it act like it do what you can just like
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you were saying go and do the little sugar cubes
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do the drop so social media, make an Instagram
2:35
post, even if you're not ready for the stage
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yet because that feeling is the same. Yeah, that
2:38
is a fantastic transition because that's what
2:40
we are here to talk about today. I have had so
2:43
many people reach out to me in recent weeks asking
2:46
for advice on how to take their podcast to public
2:49
speaking or how it integrates and works together.
2:52
And I cannot wait to hear your wonderful insights
2:55
on all of that because I was poking around your
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website and this is we'll probably cover it in
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depth in a little bit. But you have so many wonderful
3:02
flow charts. and graphs on your website. And
3:05
as someone who grew up with Tiger Beat Magazine
3:07
and like J -14 and all the like the charts and
3:10
the quizzes to find where you land on these things,
3:12
obsessed, absolutely obsessed. So give me a little
3:15
bit of your background on public speaking and
3:17
how that kind of came into your life. You know,
3:19
I keep this little plaque up here in the back
3:21
just to help remind where am I? It's not even
3:23
my name on there. It's my identity crisis name.
3:25
It says Marie. That's what I was doing in seventh
3:27
grade. My English teacher, Mrs. Wilson over at
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Everett Junior High School. She has such a gift
3:32
for seeing potential in human beings. And that's
3:35
why I think she was such a fabulous middle school
3:37
teacher. She brought me to Europe, my first taste
3:39
of travel, which I love to do. And she put me
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in a speaking competition, which I love to do.
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When I first started speaking was because my
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church put me on stage at three. and put a microphone
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in front of me. And I love, love, love that they
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do that because we have a responsibility to use
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our words and communicate. And then Miss Wilson
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takes me by the hand when I'm 12 and puts me
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on stage and I write a little talk and I do all
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the things. And then on my 20s, Tony Robbins
4:02
was Anthony Robbins back at the time. Wasn't
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really a big thing yet. Gosh, it's been a long
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time. I'm 40 now. I forgot that, oh, and I never
4:08
forgot. I never even knew that public speaking
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could be, first of all, a career. Influencer
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wasn't a job description back then. So really
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in my 20s, I wish I had stuck with it, but I
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didn't even have a mentor. I didn't have any
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guidance I didn't know what I would have been
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sticking to in the first place and social media
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didn't even exist yet Right instagram wasn't
4:25
a thing. I think myspace was a couple of years
4:27
down the road even from that time So I forgot
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about it until in my mid 20s late 20s My sister
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-in -law she's like you should come with me to
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this seminar now I say the word seminar and everyone
4:37
has this feeling this reaction to the word, right?
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We all have some reaction to it But I became
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this seminar junkie and i'll never forget I was
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sitting in this seminar and was at the salt palace
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in downtown salt lake city There's about 700
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big room. I can hide in the back row super easy
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I watched the speaker do their call to action
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and I watched the entire room get up Half of
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them land at the back table to buy a $300 DVD
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CD set and I was like, okay quick and dirty math
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here That's six figures. I can't afford this
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CD set. It's $300 Let me break this down and
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I couldn't afford to buy it But I could afford
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to get a next ticket to the next event and so
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I went to that event I went to other speakers
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events and I start to detect these patterns of
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business building through stages these patterns
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of speaking these patterns of where the table
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is and where the water is and I'm like what I
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think I could start to do some of this I maybe
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have learned a couple things and when I started
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I was so bad. I bless my heart for starting and
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keeping with it, right? But I started my own
5:27
speech. I invited people to my home. Nobody came.
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Not even my husband at the time. He didn't even
5:31
show up. It was just me. But I still delivered
5:32
my speech anyway because I thought, okay, if
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I'm going to be a speaker, I can't be the reason
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I don't speak. I'm going to speak when no one's
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in the room. And you know what? When I mess up,
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nobody will know. And that's okay. It's a very
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good point. So I did it. And then I had my next
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one and three people came and they all fell asleep.
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It was great. And then I had my next one and
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I had probably about 20 people there. And I told
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somebody else's stories and I got done and I
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was like nobody really cares about somebody else's
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stories that I heard from stage 20 to fix that
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and so I just started doing events and putting
5:58
on events and we were talking a little bit in
6:00
the green room about what it takes to go from
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podcasting to public speaking and that's what
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I was just telling Alex who called me yesterday
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and we talked about it start throwing your own
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events quit waiting for people to find you as
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a speaker quit waiting for the TED stage to come
6:14
knocking at your door but quit waiting put applications
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yes I'm not gonna tell you not to do that but
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just put out your own make the stage that you're
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aspiring to be on. That's what Tony Robbins did.
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That's what Mel Robbins is doing. Anyone that
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you've ever looked up to as far as public speaking,
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I guarantee that they have thrown their own events.
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And that's what I would say to start doing. If
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you're looking to go from podcasting, yes, you
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should be here, do that, but hold an in -person
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event. Hold a meet and greet. And if you're a
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host, start organizing your own event and bringing
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people together. That is such wonderful advice.
6:43
I have been in the podcasting industry for four
6:46
years now and my client base is... Mostly public
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speakers. All of them are public speakers in
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some capacity, but the bulk of them are actually
6:53
out on the road doing events. And they all got
6:56
started because they started hosting their own
6:58
event. They're like, I want to do this. And I'm
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like, OK, how can I help you? What does it take
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to make you a public speaker? I'm your podcast
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producer. I'll figure this out alongside you.
7:06
And literally tomorrow, I'm going to help one
7:09
of my clients who wanted to be a public speaker.
7:12
We are now hosting an entire forum of flower
7:15
farmers all coming together for a two day event
7:18
at a venue she built. She's like, I need a place
7:21
to speak. So she built a full blown venue and
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it wouldn't have happened if we wouldn't have
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initially said, well, we don't have a place for
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you to speak at. So let's create the space for
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you to be the speaker. Right. Right. If you build
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it and then you'll show up like the whole build
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it and they will come no building yourself, build
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whatever. is that you're wanting to build quit
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waiting for someone else to build it and did
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that for so long I waited for somebody else to
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build it I'm not gonna say the experience wasn't
7:44
valuable but there were some pros and cons I
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spoke on somebody else's stage consistently for
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about five years straight we would have events
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sometimes as often as every other week it was
7:53
very event heavy and I worked for them for five
7:55
years and then suddenly that five years was over
7:59
and I found myself with a pink slip and I was
8:00
like oh my gosh I poured my blood sweat and tears
8:03
they literally gave me a blood sweat and tears
8:05
award earlier that same to express gratitude
8:09
and then I was done. And I was like, oh my gosh,
8:12
any job is insecure. What really is secure is
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our own skillset, our own talents. I can't believe
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it's taken me this long to figure that out and
8:21
to start betting on myself instead of betting
8:24
on a nine to five. Maybe you're listening to
8:26
this and you can feel the fire in your bones
8:28
and you've got that kick in the chest probably
8:30
like Abby did and I know I did. Listen to that.
8:34
Listen to that because that's what's going to
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propel you. Yes, that is so true. And I have
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been seeing it on TikTok a lot lately. I don't
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know. There's something in my algorithm that
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it's like your nine to five job isn't as secure
8:45
as you think it is. Everyone's like, get a nine
8:47
to five, get a secure job. It's like, no, the
8:49
best thing you can do is work for yourself because
8:51
then you generate all of your leads. And yes,
8:53
it's more work. Instead of working 40 hours a
8:55
week, you work 24 seven, which it's right. But
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truly like I'm full time self -employed producing
9:00
podcasts for people. And then I also DJ. weddings
9:03
on the weekends. And my husband's like, if you
9:06
lose a podcast client or we have like kind of
9:09
a dry spell where you don't have any new ones,
9:10
you can just DJ more weddings and you just find
9:12
more things to do. And it's so true. You just
9:15
find other ways to make income and feed your
9:18
soul, essentially, while also feeding your family.
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Amen to that. And I won't poo poo on nine to
9:22
fives. I don't want to completely poo poo on
9:24
them because sometimes it's a zigzag to get where
9:26
you want to go. You can treat it like an internship
9:28
and you learn about, OK, they're running the
9:30
business this way. How would I do it? or how
9:33
would I do it better? So suck everything you
9:35
can out of it. I call it the backstage pass.
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Whenever I go to an event or whatever I'm working
9:39
nine to five or being the observer in a situation,
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I'm gonna absorb all of the instruction and absorb
9:44
all the material that I can. But I'm also asking,
9:46
why are they doing it this way? Would I do it
9:48
differently if I were in their shoes? Why are
9:49
they hosting the event this way? Why was the
9:51
check -in system this way? Why was the table
9:53
over there? What water are they drinking? And
9:54
why would I, why, why, why? And would I do it
9:57
differently? How can I improve on it so that
9:59
when it is up to me, I can do it the way that
10:02
I want to and the way that is best. And I love
10:04
it when those overlap. That's amazing. We think
10:06
very similarly. I just got back from PodFest
10:09
in Orlando. Oh, my friend was down there. Yeah.
10:12
Amazing conference. I will sing their praises
10:14
as loud and as long as I'm allowed to. And but
10:18
same thing, I'm there and I'm like, what would
10:19
I change if I was in charge of this? What little
10:22
tweaks would I make to make this better? Because
10:23
I was a speaker down there as well. Like for
10:25
next year, like I'm going to add this to the
10:26
feedback form, because I think this would be
10:28
helpful from just like the conversations I was
10:30
having with other speakers and all that stuff.
10:32
And not that it was bad in any way. It's just
10:33
like, OK, what can we do to just even level it
10:35
up next year, make it even better. Right. OK,
10:38
so what are the things I want to know? I'm curious.
10:39
So I was part of the Pecha Kucha. So it is like
10:43
five minute rapid Ted talk almost. OK, so it's
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just like this revolving door of. people coming
10:50
in and speaking for five minutes and it's all
10:52
on a timer and you all have to be like very prepared
10:54
for it and there was just a couple of things
10:56
where i'm like okay well i feel like the moderator
10:58
could have done a better job of like letting
11:00
the room know to stop talking when someone's
11:02
on stage giving their presentations there's just
11:04
a lot of chit chat going on which is fine it
11:06
was like the first hour of the conference happening.
11:09
Everyone's excited. I understand why there was
11:11
a lot of chitchat and people like seeing old
11:13
friends and running into each other, but just
11:15
like little things like that. Like next time,
11:17
make sure the moderator is mentioning to the
11:19
crowd. Okay, everyone. Well, someone's on stage
11:22
presenting, because it's kind of distracting.
11:24
Oh, that's so hard. I've been the emcee for years.
11:27
I totally get that. What was another one? I would
11:29
say that there was a little lapse in communication
11:32
on exactly where things were happening, so just
11:34
clearer directions. Yeah. OK. Everyone was there
11:37
when they needed to, but there was a lot of people
11:39
poking their heads and going, is this where I'm
11:41
supposed to be? Good feedback. As an event host,
11:45
I don't want to know that. So it's like, it's
11:46
not anything that was like earth shattering,
11:48
like, oh my God, I'll never come back here and
11:50
do this again. It was just really little things
11:52
that next year they implement those and it's
11:54
going to be so much better. I can't wait to go
11:56
to that event. My friend Jenny was down there
11:57
and I was like, how did I miss this? Next time
11:59
I'll be there. Do it. It is life changing, especially
12:02
you're a podcaster. You want to be in a room
12:03
with 2000 other podcasters. Absolutely. Yeah.
12:06
I got to figure out how I'm screwing up my podcast.
12:08
Fix it. And honestly, speaker applications just
12:11
opened up for it as well, so you should apply
12:13
to be a speaker. Everyone in the audience, did
12:15
you hear what Abby just said? Not just me. I'm
12:16
gonna do it. I'm gonna pull up a tab on my computer
12:18
and do it, but yeah. Go apply. Yep, everyone
12:20
should. I think they said last year they had
12:22
a record number of people applying to be speakers.
12:25
I think they said over 700 people submitted.
12:27
But they need a bunch of speakers to make this
12:30
three -day event happen because there's so many
12:32
breakout sessions and so many different things.
12:34
Like they need a bunch of people. So throw your
12:37
hat in the ring. You never know what's going
12:38
to happen. Get in there. OK, I got my tab open.
12:40
We'll be doing it next year. Perfect. So you
12:42
help people. in the process of trying to figure
12:45
out, like, let's say, well, I just heard that
12:46
speaker applications are open. I've never done
12:48
anything like public speaking before. What do
12:51
I do? So walk people through how you help them
12:53
with that process. So my specialty is in the
12:56
framework of your keynote. And I don't want you
12:58
to hear script of your keynote because it's the
13:00
antithesis of that. I was just talking to the
13:03
lethal venom podcast about an hour ago and I
13:04
was just saying the actors that we love and admire.
13:08
Think of your favorite actor. Who's your favorite
13:09
actor? Ooh, favorite actor. That's tough. Catherine
13:12
O 'Hara comes to mind, even though she just passed
13:14
away today, unfortunately. God rest her soul.
13:16
I've talked about her. She was so brilliant,
13:18
but she wasn't brilliant because she knew how
13:19
to memorize a script. She was brilliant because
13:22
of who she was and what she brought to the table.
13:25
I love that her life legacy was that she be remembered
13:28
first as a mother. And she was like our first
13:30
TV mom. She was a mom in Beetlejuice. She was
13:32
a mom in Home Alone. She was a mom in Schitt's
13:34
Creek. That's why we loved her so much is because
13:37
of who she was not because she knew how to memorize
13:38
a script. And the same thing is for speaking.
13:41
We have a framework, we have a direction that
13:43
we want to go, and we need to be able to fall
13:45
back on something when we all do that thing on
13:47
stage or we get in our head and we forget where
13:49
we are, we got to have something to fall back
13:50
on. But it's not a memorized script. And I'm
13:54
going to be producing a podcast with one of my
13:55
friends who was on the TED stage. And we're going
13:57
to be pulling back the curtain on the TEDx stage
14:00
and seeing the pros and cons, the light, the
14:01
dark, the left, the right. But one of the things
14:03
that TED requires of you, for example, is that
14:05
you have a practiced, rehearsed script. That
14:09
is what it is But the other thing about that
14:11
is based on what I hear now Ted owns that script
14:14
and you can never give that Keynote exactly as
14:17
it was ever again because it's not yours anymore
14:19
Seriously, I'm dead serious like oh my gosh.
14:22
I had you no idea That's one of the things you
14:24
can't get that is like Ted's keynote now, right?
14:26
And there's there's so many other things I'll
14:28
put off the episode later on I've got to talk
14:29
to my friend Kim Perry let her spill the beans
14:31
on it And I don't want to poo poo on the Ted
14:33
stage because it's a highly respected stage and
14:35
for many reasons But the point of this is you
14:38
don't want to sound scripted because that's not
14:41
why people showed up. As a speaker, you have
14:43
to remember we do best when we remember that
14:46
the audience is there because they're praying
14:48
for answers, really. They're there because there's
14:51
a level of almost desperation, sometimes extreme.
14:56
Desperation. I've spoken at events where the
14:59
audience comes up to me and one person will say,
15:01
hey, I really wanted to come to this event. I
15:02
registered and then my boss said I couldn't keep
15:04
my job and I'm here without my job. Oh my gosh.
15:06
Another guest came up. I spent my last dollar
15:08
on a plane ticket to get here. I'm sitting there
15:10
during the lunch hour and they're not eating.
15:12
They're just sitting in the lobby because they
15:14
literally spent their last time on a plane ticket
15:15
and to get to the venue. They're there because
15:18
they need something and they're counting on this
15:20
event to be that. And I have to more than admire
15:23
that level of dedication and sacrifice because
15:26
they will get something out of that event because
15:28
they universally and through all sorts of karma,
15:31
the universe owes them that debt to be fulfilled.
15:33
So as speakers, when we walk into the room, it's
15:35
not about the script. It's about asking your
15:38
audience why they're there, understanding what
15:40
brought them to the room. And it's more than
15:42
just, although you should do this, you should
15:43
look at the marketing that brought them into
15:45
the room. You should look at the landing. So,
15:46
you know, especially if it's not your event why
15:48
the audience is there but also don't be afraid
15:50
to ask Every time I get up on stage and open
15:52
up an event I pull the audience I ask them to
15:55
raise their hand and I ask them to tell me why
15:57
they're there What do you hear for? And usually
15:58
it's some beautiful general potpourri language.
16:01
I call it potpourri because it smells nice, but
16:02
nobody really knows what it means. For example,
16:04
like, oh, I'm here to learn to become a better
16:05
speaker. And so I say, OK, what does that mean?
16:07
And we get we spend the first 15 minutes of any
16:10
conference I'm in charge of anyway, writing down
16:12
in your little journals that you brought with
16:14
a checklist box saying, I want you to know when
16:18
you got what you came for, which means it can't
16:20
be obtuse. It can't be touchy feely necessarily
16:24
exclusively. It has to be measured. If you're
16:27
there to create connections, how will you know
16:29
you got it? Oh, you got five people's phone numbers.
16:31
Now, you know, oh, you're here to create financial
16:33
freedom. How do you know when you got there?
16:34
I don't even know if I probably lost track of
16:36
the question by now, but the whole idea is as
16:38
a speaker, we have to just forget the limelight
16:41
for you've already earned the accolades. It's
16:43
not about you anymore. It's about the people
16:44
in the room. It really comes down to serving
16:47
the audience because they're there to get something.
16:49
So give it to them and do it in the best way
16:51
that you possibly can. You just said that and
16:53
took me like five minutes to say that. Yes. I
16:56
was a radio DJ. I was on a timer for a very long
16:59
portion of my life. I'm really good at telling
17:03
when 30 seconds is up. Yes. Yes. Yes. You've
17:05
got that internal clock. I do. I really do. But
17:08
no, I love that. And I think that's kind of the
17:10
approach I took with my speech that I gave at
17:12
PodFest. It was all about how you can take your
17:14
show and remix it into all of your different
17:16
marketing. And when I was working with my own
17:18
business coach, when I told her I got selected
17:20
and this was kind of the topic I wanted to cover
17:22
and she's like, OK, what are people actually
17:24
going to be able to take away from your speech?
17:27
And I'm like, well, they'll be able to take away
17:29
three clear ways that they can turn their podcast.
17:31
cast into something else. And she's like, great,
17:34
perfect. Really focus on that. Everything else
17:36
is fluff. Yes. Actionable takeaways, not just,
17:39
I call them my gold nuggets. So I have a little
17:40
brick back there. It's the one thing I know I
17:42
will do before I go to bed to take that next
17:45
step to my goal. I love that. Gold nuggets. As
17:47
someone who really likes gold mining shows on
17:49
the history channel, all about that. Oh, you
17:51
are my people. You probably watch a ton of documentaries
17:56
too, huh? Yeah, I do. I find them very calming.
18:01
This is so great. Okay, so back to these charts
18:04
that I was nerding out over on your website because
18:06
I love this one It's like four quadrants and
18:09
it's all about the different types of stages
18:12
that you can be on Can you please break that
18:14
down for us? And so everyone listening this is
18:18
on Mary Ann's website and for the video version
18:20
I will make sure it's in the video as well so
18:21
you can see it Okay, and if you're listening
18:23
I'll try to verbally draw the picture for you
18:25
so you can see it while you're sitting in the
18:27
sauna Sweating it out and using this podcast
18:28
to get through your sauna time not that I ever
18:30
do that And so these four quadrants and the reason
18:32
I put this out there is because I learned it
18:34
from Pete Vargas So hats off to Pete, but this
18:36
was something that gave speakers more the credit
18:40
that they deserved because when we think about
18:42
getting on stage it's usually a big stage that
18:45
somebody else owns with all the spotlights and
18:48
the hundreds or thousands of people in the audience
18:50
and if we think that is the only stage we should
18:52
be aspiring to we are missing out big time. Okay,
18:55
so I want you to think of this in two ways so
18:57
the chart that you're referring to has four quadrants
18:59
and On half of the chart, you're gonna see other
19:02
people stages. The other half of the chart is
19:04
going to be your stages that you own, right?
19:07
So that's dividing the chart half. The stages
19:09
that you own also are split in half and the stages
19:12
that other people own is split in half horizontally,
19:14
okay? So on the top half, remind me, is it other,
19:16
or a digital or physical? Physical on top, digital
19:18
on bottom. We've got this quadrant. Left and
19:21
right is yours and other people's. The top and
19:23
bottom is your digital and physical. So you have
19:26
stages that you own that are digital and stages
19:28
that you own that are physical. Stages that other
19:30
people own that are physical and stages that
19:32
other people own that are digital. Right now
19:34
I'm on Abby's digital stage. I'm on stage right
19:38
now. We're having a conversation. I'm not delivering
19:39
my keynote. That's not what the stage is, but
19:41
make no mistake. It is a stage complete with
19:44
microphones and an audience, right? You know
19:46
what that means is your Instagram. That's a stage.
19:48
That's a digital stage. And yes, Meta owns the
19:51
stage, but it's your platform. You can do whatever
19:52
you want. It's rented space. I won't go into
19:54
that. but essentially you're in charge of that
19:56
stage. Your podcast that you're thinking about
19:58
starting, that you're working with Abby, that
19:59
is your digital stage, and you can make it even
20:02
a physical stage if you wanted to. Do a double
20:03
dip, two for one. Go in person and do it live.
20:05
If you're doing digital stages, get on podcasts.
20:08
That is one of my favorite ways to get messages
20:11
out there as speakers, and there's some reasons
20:13
that I love it even more than physical stages,
20:15
and I'll give you one of them. Podcasts are keyword
20:17
searchable. They're evergreen. So when people
20:19
are Googling desperate for the answer, you have
20:21
a podcast that might show up as a result, and
20:23
you might be the guest on that. featured results,
20:25
which is amazing. ChatGPT is scraping the internet
20:27
for results and what happens when they link you
20:29
as a reference? That's because you put the message
20:32
out there, right? Even a blog could be considered
20:35
a form of a digital stage because your message
20:37
is getting out there and it's being consumed
20:40
by an audience. So you might have been on more
20:42
stages than you're giving yourself credit for
20:44
because you're only thinking about, oh, the big
20:46
stage that... Grant Cardone owns is the only
20:48
big stage that there is and I haven't been on
20:50
any stages. Well guess what? You've probably
20:51
been on 12 podcasts this year. That's 12 stages.
20:54
You went on Instagram and delivered your message.
20:57
That is a form of a stage. This quadrant is to
21:00
help us really understand what qualifies as a
21:02
stage and what's so important. How can we leverage
21:05
that to serve and grow our business simultaneously?
21:09
I love it. I am such a big believer in owning
21:12
your own stage. When TikTok had its little freak
21:15
out moment this week and I subsequently freaked
21:17
out because I'm like, TikTok, my love, where
21:20
are you going? But that's a stage that I've been
21:23
very active on for the past five years. And I
21:26
had just hit the 10 ,000 follower threshold.
21:28
And I was like, I was putting a lot of time and
21:30
energy and effort into this stage. And then it
21:32
was all of a sudden gone. And I'm like, well,
21:34
that was fun, I guess I'm going to try not to
21:37
cry about it. But what do we do? We pivot and
21:39
we find another stage to go pour our energy into.
21:42
And I'm like, I'll just pour more time into the
21:44
podcast. Maybe I'll get on threads. Maybe I'll
21:46
look back on my Pinterest account and try to
21:48
revamp that a little bit. There's so many options.
21:50
for stages where you can be and it, like you
21:53
said, it doesn't have anything to do with the
21:55
big bright lights and actually being in an auditorium
21:57
full of people. Threads is a hidden gem by the
21:59
way. I have found so many leads through Threads
22:02
through just giving stuff away. I had a post
22:04
that had like 800 comments on it when I gave
22:06
stuff away and I was like, what is this? This
22:08
is new. Threads is like almost what Twitter used
22:11
to be. It's very like reminiscent of like Twitter
22:13
when Twitter was fun. I'm like, ooh, hello. I
22:16
loved Threads and they've changed a little bit
22:18
and it kind of makes me sad, but I understand
22:20
it. but threads used to be that you couldn't
22:22
pre -schedule any content. It was just live.
22:24
And I met one of my heroes on threads because
22:26
you also couldn't sublet your account. There
22:28
was no sponsor to anything. And I was reading
22:30
this book and the author was on threads and I
22:33
commented on their post and they responded. And
22:34
I was like. I was nerding out, I was fangirling
22:37
so hard and it turns out I had them on my podcast
22:39
because of our connection there. But to your
22:41
point, we have to remember that these social
22:43
platforms, if anything is free, you are the product.
22:46
I'm gonna say that again. If anything is free,
22:48
you are the product. So ads that Meta is putting
22:51
out, there's so much revenue that is being poured
22:53
into Meta because of ads and we as consumers
22:56
are the ones that are essentially buying it even
22:58
if we don't buy anything on the ad, right? We
23:00
are the product that is being sold to the people
23:02
that are buying ad space. When TikTok goes down,
23:05
when Meta goes down, when Facebook goes down,
23:07
when YouTube goes down, when everything gets
23:09
canceled and pulled, we have to remember that
23:11
is rented space. And if you're thinking about,
23:14
okay, I just lost my rented space. I have a friend
23:16
who has, she crossed the million, she might be
23:18
in the two or three million followers on TikTok
23:20
now. She's kind of a big deal. And we were having
23:22
a conversation and I don't want to throw you
23:24
under the bus, sweeties. It's not meant for that,
23:25
but it's illustrative. And this is why we fixed
23:27
it, of rented space versus an audience that you
23:30
have a semblance of ownership over. The fact
23:32
that you have a CR, now you have an audience.
23:36
Those are your people. Previously, that's TikTok's
23:38
people. But if you don't have a CRM, then you
23:40
don't have an audience. And if, or when, not
23:43
if, one of those platforms goes down, poof, it's
23:45
gone now. But if you have a CRM with your email
23:47
list, you're gonna be okay. So if you don't have
23:49
one, get one. Yeah. Like I said, I've had a lot
23:51
of discovery calls lately of people wanting to
23:53
start podcasts, be speakers. And one of the first
23:55
questions I ask them is, how do you feel about
23:57
blogging? And then the second question is, what's
23:59
your email list look like lately? And they're
24:01
like, I don't have one. I'm like, okay, let's
24:03
start. there. Let's start there. Because now
24:04
you can, I don't like the word own. You have
24:06
your people. Yes, it's dedicated people who are
24:09
willingly giving you their email in exchange
24:11
for whatever you have to offer them. So OK, public
24:14
speaking, you started at a very young age. When
24:17
did podcasting kind of come into play for you?
24:19
When was your first like dip into the podcast
24:22
pool? It's actually kind of a hybrid show that
24:25
should have been a podcast. I was working at
24:28
a W2 for someone and they had a Monday mentoring
24:31
call and it was intended originally for their
24:34
students of their membership, right? And we had
24:37
the coolest guests coming on that Monday mentoring
24:40
call. And I don't know why they never turned
24:42
it into a podcast. It really should have been.
24:45
And so I sat there and I was interviewing Ryan
24:47
Pineda. I think Ed Milet came on and we had all
24:50
these big names that lots of people recognize.
24:52
And when I left that job, when I got my little
24:53
pink slip from them, I went on my own two feet
24:56
and I started doing my own thing. And probably
24:58
two months into that. I think it's time to start
25:01
a podcast. I've wanted to start a podcast. I
25:03
couldn't while I was working for somebody else,
25:04
but now that it's mine, I can. And my very, very
25:07
first podcast was I pulled out my phone and I
25:10
pulled out my husband's phone and we set them
25:12
up in our bedroom, not facing the bed. It wasn't
25:15
that kind of show, but we just put this blank
25:17
wall behind us and we recorded an episode with
25:20
us. And then I invited my friend, Heather, in
25:22
to come talk on the podcast. And then I just...
25:24
made my wish list of people that I would love
25:26
to interview. And then I made a separate list
25:28
of people I could probably actually get a hold
25:29
of. And I started just making phone calls and
25:31
saying, will you come on my show, come on my
25:32
show. And when we did that, I didn't really understand
25:36
the direct correlation to revenue that was possible
25:41
with that. We were just producing and I was curious
25:43
and I loved it as a networking tool to get to
25:47
know people, but we had no idea what we were
25:49
doing. That year, The year that we produced our
25:52
podcast, it was about February when we produced
25:54
our podcast, without a W -2, without any other
25:56
job, and literally starting from zero, we brought
25:59
our business through its six figure year in the
26:02
first year of business. And I have to, with my
26:04
charts that I tracked, give credit to the podcast
26:07
because that's when our revenue jumped. And I
26:09
can attribute multiple reasons to that. When
26:11
we start a podcast, as you know, your credibility,
26:13
goes through the roof because you are the one
26:16
that comes up in the Google search results. You
26:18
are the one that is literally talking about it.
26:20
Your SEO also goes through the roof because now
26:23
there's episodes and again, you're the thing
26:25
that comes up. And if you want a sidebar hint,
26:28
I don't know, I'm sure that you do this. Make
26:30
the name of your episode the same question that
26:32
people type in to Google so that your video comes
26:35
up. Because Google and YouTube, they are besties
26:37
and they will push your episode for you, right?
26:39
So the reasons for starting a podcast weren't
26:42
even all apparent to me when I started. I just
26:45
felt like I should. And now I'm with you. I will
26:47
preach to the ends of the earth. If you want
26:49
to establish your credibility, build your audience,
26:52
help people in a really genuine way that also
26:54
sustains your business. Don't just guess, start
26:57
your own. Yes, yes. Yes. Yes. That is the clip
27:00
that is being pulled and shared everywhere because
27:03
it's just so true Podcasting is street cred for
27:06
lack of a better name for it Like you are building
27:08
your street cred and it's like you mentioned
27:10
a great networking tool I have met so many cool
27:13
people through podcasting and that's coming from
27:17
someone who was a radio DJ I was bringing people
27:19
on all the time and honestly, I've met cooler
27:21
people podcasting I don't think I would have
27:24
gotten the attention of the people that I admired
27:26
if I hadn't said I'd love to have you on my podcast.
27:29
I just had so many, some of them were big names
27:31
in the industry and some are book authors that
27:33
have been doing their craft work. I followed
27:35
a photographer back in the days of DVDs. I'd
27:38
like subscribe to this photo vision thing and
27:40
they would mail me a DVD once a month and I would
27:42
watch all of them and all this nostalgia. It
27:45
was like Netflix, it was really cool. And there
27:46
was this lady on there named Angie Monson and
27:49
I loved her work so much. I loved her photography
27:52
style. She was cute. She had cute stuff. And
27:54
I just like fangirled sitting there. or watching
27:57
her. Fast forward 15 years later, I've just barely
28:00
started my podcast. I reach out to her on Facebook
28:02
after like stalking her for forever, because
28:04
I loved her stuff so much. I was like, Angie,
28:06
I don't know if you're actually checking these
28:07
messages or not, but I've been watching you from
28:10
afar and admiring your work for the past 15 years.
28:12
Would you be interested in coming in to be a
28:14
guest on my podcast? And she responded. Like
28:16
after 15 years of admiring and looking up to
28:20
us, I now have... For lack of a better word,
28:22
I now have their attention because I can give
28:24
them as business owners something that they want,
28:26
which is more exposure. I get to let them talk
28:28
about their business for 30 minutes or an hour
28:30
or whatever it might be. And now Angie and I
28:32
were friends and we talk about things and I hope
28:35
to do a retreat with her someday. And if there's
28:37
anyone that you admire that you want to get in
28:39
a room with, starting your podcast is a fabulous
28:42
piece of value. that you can give to them without
28:45
asking anything in return that will get you in
28:48
the same room. And it just builds those relationships.
28:50
I have a similar story. My favorite band is the
28:53
Somerset. They're a pop punk band out of Phoenix,
28:56
Arizona. And I've been a fan of them since I
28:58
was 12 years old. Like love these guys. I interviewed
29:00
them as a radio DJ. And then when I quit being
29:02
a radio DJ, I'm like, well, I'm probably never
29:04
going to get to interview them ever again. So
29:05
that was fun while it lasted. And then I'm like,
29:07
I have a podcast dedicated to just being a tourist
29:10
in small towns. And they were playing in Milwaukee.
29:12
which isn't a small town, but they were playing
29:14
in one of the smaller venues there. And I'm like,
29:16
you know, I'm just going to send a message. I'm
29:18
going to see if they'll talk to me again because
29:20
I have this podcast and they did. And I got to
29:22
hang out with them again. So it's like, you just
29:24
reach out, be ballsy about it because you never
29:26
know what will happen. I have to echo that. And
29:28
I have to use that as a reminder for myself because
29:31
I have so many. dreams and aspirations. My big,
29:35
hairy, audacious goal is this ranch that we're
29:36
building. And there's people that I want to build
29:39
it with. You know, Rachel Covey had a foundation
29:41
named after her. I'm sure you're familiar with
29:43
Franklin Covey. And I work very closely with
29:46
Rebecca, Rachel's mother, who's married to Sean
29:48
Covey, the Seven Habits book author, right? I
29:50
do step aerobics with Rebecca every Monday and
29:53
Friday morning. And I was just chatting with
29:55
her this morning and I was like, Rebecca, I need
29:57
to have you on my podcast. And we need to talk
29:59
about this bridle of hope thing that you're doing
30:01
that I've been through. graduated from and all
30:03
sorts of things like that and I often wonder
30:05
to myself this thing I'm building can I make
30:07
it cool enough to enroll people like Rebecca
30:10
can I make it cool enough to enroll the 12 million
30:13
dollar investor that I'm gonna need to build
30:15
this thing can I make it cool enough I've seen
30:17
it happen if I just get ballsy enough to send
30:19
the email or make the ask it's so funny how often
30:22
I'm reminded of my own advice thanks to people
30:25
like you like just send the email you want to
30:27
get on that big stage send the email you won't
30:30
have Mel Robbins on your podcast send the email,
30:32
see what happens. Literally the worst thing they
30:34
can say is no or they don't reply and that doesn't
30:37
hurt you in any way. If your ego is fragile it
30:40
might but physically you'll be fine. Your ego
30:42
will recover I promise if anything I'll teach
30:44
you to write better emails I don't know. We're
30:48
kind of coming to the end of our time here together,
30:50
but this conversation has just been so enlightening.
30:54
I love hearing stories of people doing cool stuff,
30:56
taking their podcasts to the next level and building
30:59
lives with it. That's what this is all about
31:01
is showing people new to podcasting, how they
31:04
can go about doing it. So I guess to wrap it
31:06
up here, I have a few solid wrap up questions.
31:09
But one that I really want to ask is What advice
31:11
would you have for people who go to your website
31:14
and they see this beautiful looking professional
31:16
website and they're going, ah, Mary Ann's, she
31:19
looks like she's almost too good for me. Like,
31:22
because let's be real, my podcast is starting
31:25
from square one. Like people are very new to
31:28
this. And so they might hear you and say, I want
31:31
to work with her, but I'm scared. What should
31:32
I do? text me i'll probably be changing i'm not
31:35
changing diapers we're probably training you
31:37
now but just reach out to me we've all have people
31:39
that we look up to right but it's ridiculous
31:42
for us to think that the people that we look
31:44
up to don't go through the same trials, tribulations,
31:49
traumas that we do. I remember when I signed
31:51
on one of my first coaching clients, I was struggling
31:54
with this limiting idea of people that can afford
31:56
what I have don't need it because they make more
31:59
money than me or whatever. That's a big fat lie.
32:01
And whenever you listen, hear that lie come into
32:03
your brain, just tell it to go back to hell where
32:04
it came from, because it's a big fat lie. One
32:06
of my very first clients, her husband sold their
32:09
company for, I think it was 2 .8. billion dollars
32:12
and she said I need a personal coach let's just
32:14
do this and when I met with her and she's a mom
32:16
and she was going through the same stuff in motherhood
32:18
that I had been through so forget the pedestal
32:22
don't do the pedestal syndrome thing to yourself
32:24
or to anybody else just reach out to another
32:27
human because that's all we are I love that that's
32:30
a solid advice we are just all human and trying
32:32
to help each other as much as we can okay I ask
32:35
all of my guests this question what is a podcast
32:37
you've been listening to lately that isn't your
32:40
own? you've really been vibing with. Mel Robbins,
32:42
every morning. Actually, there's two. Can I talk
32:44
about two? You can talk about as many as you
32:46
want. I love talking about podcasts. OK, so Mel
32:48
Robbins is one of my favorite ones because I
32:50
love the way she opens. Hi, it's your friend
32:51
Mel. And I was like, oh, we are friends. You
32:53
just don't know me yet. She's very real. She
32:54
has incredible guests. She's very unbiased in
32:57
her interviews. And she brings on such a variety
32:58
of people with different viewpoints that you
33:00
can agree with or see differently. It always
33:02
leaves me feeling better and that's the one I
33:04
sweat through in the sauna. It gets me through
33:05
it So that's one and then there's another one
33:07
that all the ladies out there and a few brave
33:09
men I just finish it. It's a podcast called 28
33:12
ish days later and as you can imagine it's about
33:15
the menstrual cycle for women and this was so
33:18
eye -opening to me as a woman who goes through
33:21
this cycle every 28 days ish and what it's doing
33:25
to our hormones and how to build Businesses around
33:28
it how to scheduled meetings around when you're
33:30
optimized how to work out and build when your
33:32
progesterone is highest and you want to build
33:34
muscle and what to do when you're in the winter
33:36
section and you're cramping and bleeding. And
33:38
it was just like, Oh my gosh, it gave me so much
33:40
more respect for my body. So much more insight
33:43
on my business, how to help my daughters when
33:45
they're going through it and how we can sync
33:47
up and Bluetooth device art periods together.
33:50
Right. Those are my two favorite right now. That
33:52
sounds so interesting. I never thought about
33:54
what's the best day to build your business and
33:56
new ideas and like all that kind of stuff. Like
33:58
my mind just like, I feel like a light bulb just
34:00
shot out of my head. Hey, don't schedule meetings
34:02
at the end of my luteal. It's just, nope, that
34:04
is not the time. I love that. I'm going to have
34:06
to change my calendar up. It took me some time
34:09
to learn this. It's serving me. That's awesome.
34:12
Okay. And last question, just plug whatever you
34:14
got. How can people reach out to you? What do
34:15
you got going on that you want people to know
34:17
about? Okay. So I love to give this resource
34:19
away. Here's the thing. There's some passion
34:21
behind this project of mine. I'm raising six
34:22
kids in this world, right? One of my daughters,
34:24
she works at Chick -fil -A. She encounters tons
34:27
of different people every day. And you would
34:28
be shocked at the level of unconscious incompetence
34:32
and easily triggered anger that people have at
34:35
a drive -through or road rage. Take that for
34:36
example. Right, I can't protect my kids all the
34:40
time I can't and there are people that just will
34:42
make stupid mistakes out there And my kids will
34:45
be in harm's way and I used to think there was
34:47
nothing I could do about it until I realized
34:49
that there is Here's the thing I can do about
34:51
it. I can put a microphone up to your mouth If
34:55
you're listening to this and you have a message
34:57
that's going to bless someone, that someone might
34:58
be driving next to my daughter in the drive -through
35:00
and treat her better because they heard you speak.
35:03
This is why I want to do this. I give out a resource.
35:05
It's a podcast database. It's a free database.
35:07
It's maryannhickman .com forward slash gift.
35:09
It's just a spreadsheet and in that spreadsheet,
35:11
there's a thousand podcasts more. They all have
35:15
links where you can apply to be on the show and
35:17
they're all free. If I find out that any of them
35:19
aren't free to join, I just kick them off the
35:20
list because I want this to be a free resource
35:22
because I want your voice to get out there. Go
35:24
apply to be on those shows. Talk on those shows.
35:27
Help people who are listening to those shows
35:29
be better people so the people driving next to
35:31
my kids on the freeway are that much nicer. I
35:33
need you to do that. I love that. Also, anyone
35:35
who's mad at someone in a Chick -fil -A drive
35:38
-thru, go be mad at Burger King. Like, the Chick
35:40
-fil -A workers are always so nice and their
35:42
waffles are - Take your anger somewhere else.
35:44
Yeah, take your anger somewhere else. Get your
35:46
waffle fries and be happy. Right? That's why
35:48
we're here. Yes. The meaning of life is Chick
35:52
-fil -A sauce and waffle fries. Right? That is
35:55
it. That is it. Marianne, this has been so much
35:59
fun. Thank you so much for spending time with
36:01
me, for everyone listening. We're actually recording
36:04
this on a Friday evening, so I hope you have
36:05
a great weekend. And I'm excited to follow along
36:08
and see how this horse ranch situation pans out.
36:11
I'm going to be keeping a close eye on that.
36:13
Abby, it's going to be so amazing. One day I'm
36:17
going to just... Introduce you to it and you'll
36:18
walk up the gravel path and you'll breathe in
36:20
the fresh air and you'll be like, oh my gosh
36:22
This place is piece of heaven. I'm gonna show
36:24
up in fringe pants and boots I'll be like point
36:26
me in the direction of a horse and show me what
36:28
to do do it. We'll introduce you to one of our
36:30
miniatures Okay, I'm probably better with a mini
36:32
one That's a good place to start. Yes. Awesome.
36:36
Thank you so much Marianne. Thank you so much.
36:38
It's been an honor