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Transcript

How Podcasting Can Change Your Life · Abbey the Podcast Lady

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  If you've ever tossed around the idea of starting
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  a podcast and wondered if it could actually change
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  your life. I'm here to tell you it's totally
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  possible. Hey, it's Abby, the podcast lady, back
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  for another episode. I'm really excited to explore
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  the topic today of how podcasting can change
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  your life because it has completely changed mine
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  for the better. Typically, the first Thursday
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  of the month on Abby, the podcast lady, we do
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  a case study episode. We break down a different
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  podcast, talk about what they're doing well and
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  what you can apply to your own show to make it
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  better, that sort of thing. I'm going to be honest
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  with you. This is a little real life peek behind.
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  behind the curtain. My house got rocked by whatever
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  crud is going around, and I did not have time
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  to put together a case study episode. But this
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  week, when I was down and out with whatever illness
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  is going around, I came across the fact that
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  it was National Podcast Day on September 30th.
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  And I'm like, gosh, that's so cool. I didn't
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  realize there was a national podcast day. And
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  it got me really reflecting on how podcasting
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  has changed my life. And I wanted to share the
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  story of how that happened. Because I think a
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  lot of people start a podcast wanting it to change
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  their life. And they don't exactly see the roadmap
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  laid out in front of them. And I don't think
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  there necessarily is one clear cut way for a
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  podcast to change your life. But Looking back
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  on my own story, I know there's a lot of little
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  things that led up to a lot of really big things
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  that happened to make my life. completely different
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  from what it was even a few years ago before
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  I started podcasting. So I just kind of wanted
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  to share my story and you might find some similarities
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  with your own story or might see something in
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  there that you could apply to your own story.
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  So let's start at the very beginning. How did
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  I get started in podcasting? I was a radio DJ.
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  I actually went to college to be a radio DJ.
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  Yes, that is a real thing. I am a graduate of
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  Brown College of Radio Broadcasting in Mendota
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  Heights, Minnesota. Associates of Applied Science
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  in Radio Broadcasting. It sounds like a crazy
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  degree, kind of because it was a crazy degree.
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  The school doesn't even exist anymore. But I
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  was a radio DJ. My passion has always been talking
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  into a microphone and running a soundboard. That's
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  all I ever wanted to do. I had no other career
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  goals in life. This was it. And so I was a radio
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  DJ. I worked in Minneapolis. I worked in the
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  St. Cloud market. And I really fell in love with
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  the St. Cloud area. This is where I've been the
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  longest amount of time. And I didn't really want
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  to move. And to move up in my career would have
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  required totally uprooting my life and moving
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  somewhere else. And so when the time came to
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  take the next step for my career, I actually
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  ended up leaving the radio industry. But that
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  gave me an opportunity to start my own podcast.
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  I had a passion project at the time called this.
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  Small Town Tourist. And it initially started
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  as a blog showcasing some unique things happening
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  in small towns around central Minnesota and the
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  state as a whole and even some places kind of
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  across the country. And so I turned that blog
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  into a podcast and I loved making the Small Town
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  Tourist. It was so much fun. And I met some really
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  great people. I had some awesome guests on and
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  it really taught me the ropes of how to make
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  a podcast because it was something that I had
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  no experience. I had plenty of experience creating
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  audio content and online content from my radio
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  industry knowledge and experience, but I didn't
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  know how to make a podcast. So I kind of really
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  taught myself by making The Small Town Tourist.
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  And then it just kind of snowballed from there.
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  So from the Small Town Tourist, I actually got
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  my very first podcast client. I had Liz Fidler
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  -Murgan, at the time just Liz Fidler, from Sunny
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  Mary Meadow Flower Farm on my podcast to tell
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  her farm story because she had this really unique
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  business model that was happening in St. Joseph,
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  Minnesota. So I had her on to share her farm
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  story and we killed the microphones at the end
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  of the recording and we just kind of sat there
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  for a beat and we looked at each other and she
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  said, so I should start a podcast. And I said,
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  yes, you should start a podcast and I will help
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  you start a podcast. Because by that time, I
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  had figured out how to get my podcast on places
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  like Spotify and onto YouTube and all the other
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  places. And I'm like, I know how to do this so
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  I can help you create your podcast so you can
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  reach your target audience. And so we sat down
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  and We would record at her kitchen table while
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  her kids were running around. And we really were
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  scrappy with it in the beginning. I had very
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  rudimentary podcast equipment. I had my Zoom
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  PodTrack P4 and a couple of microphones. It was
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  very scrappy in the beginning, but we made it
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  work. And I got to help her launch her podcast
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  because of what I had taught myself in the process
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  of making my own podcast. And it was so cool.
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  And we really... amassed some major downloads
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  unexpectedly in the first few months of her show
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  and it was really fun and from there it kind
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  of snowballed into a friend of Liz's ended up
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  saying, well, how are you making your podcast?
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  And she would say, well, Abby is helping me make
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  my podcast because I don't have any desire to
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  learn how to edit the audio, how to make the
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  video, how to make the social media. I don't
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  want to know how to do any of that. So I just
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  put it in Abby's hands and she takes care of
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  it because she knows how to do it. And so that
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  referral then led to another client and then
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  it led to another client. And it just this word
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  of mouth of, hey, Abby, the podcast lady, she
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  can help me make my show. why don't you ask her
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  to help her? And it just totally turned into
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  this full blown business that I was running from
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  the common term now is your five to nine after
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  your nine to five. So I was working a full blown
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  8am to 4 .30pm job and then going home and producing
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  podcasts until late at night. And it just kind
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  of evolved into this. full -blown podcast production
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  business that I did not see coming. And it happened
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  within a year of me even launching my own show.
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  It was absolutely insane. It totally changed
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  my life. I ended up going on vacation with some
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  friends to Galveston, Texas. Me and my best friends
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  from high school were like, you know this is
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  kind of the time if we want to do one big friend
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  trip before life gets really serious for all
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  of us this is time to do it we found an airbnb
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  in galveston and i remember us being at this
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  airbnb having a wonderful time but i was still
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  trying to crank out podcasts because i was still
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  working my full -time job i was about a year
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  and a few months into my podcast production business
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  and i'm like I think it's time to take the leap.
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  I think I need to go full time in the podcasting
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  industry. And I remember sitting there. editing
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  early in the morning before we had our full day
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  of fun in Galveston. And I'm like, you know what,
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  I'm going to do it. And so I sat down and I made
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  a plan when we got home from Galveston. And I
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  put in my notice at the entity I was working
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  for. And I said, Hey, I'll give you guys a month.
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  But at the end of this month, I'm going full
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  time on my own business, I got to see what this
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  could possibly turn into. Because I just had
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  such a fire in my heart for making audio content
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  and video content and helping people share their
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  stories. I just needed to see what could happen
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  if I took that leap. And if you're actually watching
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  the video version of this podcast, I have Glen
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  Campbell's Galveston vinyl in my studio because
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  of that trip to Galveston and the decision that
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  I made when I was there. It was just such a pivotal
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  moment for me that I knew. This is what I wanted
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  to do with my life. I have to take the leap.
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  I have to see what podcasting can do for me and
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  my life and my family. So I took that leap. June
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  1st of 2024, I went full time in podcasting.
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  I have been running a podcast production business
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  now for a few years, and it's just been... absolutely
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  insane what has come from it. I have worked with
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  clients all across Minnesota. I have a client
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  that I've worked with in South Dakota since almost
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  day one. Shout out Amanda Radke in the heart
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  of rural America. I have a wonderful client in
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  Knoxville, Tennessee. I've worked with people
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  in Texas. I have worked with cattle ranchers
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  in Melbourne, Australia, even just because of
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  the word of mouth of, hey, this is Abby. She's
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  the podcast lady. She can help me make my show.
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  and make it sound really professional and make
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  some really great promotional content for it.
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  And it just takes that burden off their shoulders.
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  And I am so grateful for all the amazing connections
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  that have come from making a podcast. It all
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  started with me just starting my own show and
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  trying to figure this out as I went. And it's
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  just snowballed into this beautiful, wonderful
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  thing where now I'm sitting in a podcast studio
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  in downtown St. Cloud that I rent every single
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  month and I help make some. really great content
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  for local people here in this space. I'm speechless
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  because I wake up every morning knowing that
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  I get to do something that I absolutely love.
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  I am paying my bills by helping people do what
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  I love. And it's just incredible. I absolutely
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  love being a podcaster. I love making podcasts.
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  This is what lights a fire inside of me. every
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  single day. And I had another really pivotal
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  moment happen this week. It was actually, was
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  it International Podcast Day? Maybe it was the
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  day before. But I got selected to be a speaker
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  at Podfest. 2026 and i am beyond excited for
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  this i went to podfest last year or no this year
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  2025 it's still 2025 i went to podfest in orlando
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  florida for the first time in january of 2025
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  and it was a life -changing experience did you
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  know that there's an entire conference dedicated
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  to podcasters there was like thousands of podcasters
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  And we all gathered for a long weekend of learning
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  from each other and speakers and motivational
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  content and just getting to be so inside this
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  industry that we all love. And it was absolutely
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  incredible. One of my clients, Liz, who I mentioned
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  before, she actually got a book deal from going
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  to Podfest. How insane is that? By the time we
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  go to Podfest this coming year, she's going to
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  have her book ready for pre -order, which...
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  how incredible like podcasting can change your
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  life in such big ways and i am i sound like i'm
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  choked up i am a little choked up but i'm also
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  still a little sick but it's just insane how
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  taking a leap of faith starting a podcast not
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  necessarily knowing what will come of it having
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  no expectations it can totally change everything
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  about how you operate day to day i wake up every
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  day and get to make some really amazing content
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  hear amazing stories meet new people I am so
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  beyond blessed with what this industry has provided
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  for me. And it's not from like, oh my gosh, I
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  got a meat undies deal and I am hawking fresh
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  pet for someone and making millions of dollars
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  in ad revenue. But instead, it's changed my life
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  in a way where. i get to add real value to people's
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  lives which in turn adds real value to my life
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  and it's just an incredible industry and i think
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  everyone should have a podcast and not necessarily
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  set super high expectations but just kind of
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  start it and see where it can take you because
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  i think it can take people down so many different
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  roads and you can meet so many new people i just
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  am such a believer in the podcasting industry
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  being a life changer and i can only hope that
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  it will change your life just as much as it's
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  changed mine just by hitting record so kind of
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  a sappy episode today but i thought it was important
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  to share this story and sorry there's no case
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  study today if you're hoping for a case study
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  Maybe I'll throw in a bonus episode this month.
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  But I just really wanted to share how podcasting
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  has changed my life and celebrate International
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  Podcasting Day. Or is it National Podcasting
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  Day? It's one of the two. Happy Podcasting Day.
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  Thanks for listening to Abby the Podcast Lady.