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How to SEO Your Podcast (What Actually Works) with Kandas Rodarte · Let's Talk Podcasts from Feminist Podcasters Collective

• Becky Mollenkamp (00:00) Hello, hello. Welcome back to, I guess, what's now called Let's Talk Podcast from the Feminist Podcasters Collective. Because Stephanie so rightly said, are you gonna put these out on a podcast feed? And I was like, that would probably be smart since we're a podcast, so a podcasting collective. So yes, there's now the podcast feed as well as the YouTube and Substack. So wherever you're consuming this, hello. And today I am joined by Candice Rodarte. Did I say it correctly? Yes. Kandas Rodarte (00:26) You didn't. Becky Mollenkamp (00:28) And you have a couple podcasts. And you are a member of the podcast collective. And so we're going to talk about your shows in a minute. And I think maybe a little bit on SEO. Before we go farther, though, you wanted to acknowledge, because we all just learned as this is live about the passing of Dolly Parton, who is was an amazing inspiration for so many. And you wanted to make sure that you had a moment to say something about that. So go right ahead. Kandas Rodarte (00:51) I'm not okay. I don't think many of us are okay, but I would just like to acknowledge that because of Dolly Parton, there are so many opportunities for women that exist today because she broke glass ceilings. And we need to give Becky Mollenkamp (01:02) Absolutely. Kandas Rodarte (01:03) her all props for that. Becky Mollenkamp (01:04) For sure. And I've been saying everywhere today, too, that Dolly Parton is proof that if white people want to, they will. Because white she ca she was eighty. She was from a very rural, rural part of Tennessee, reddest of red states. And she got it. She understood. She cared about all people. She made that abundantly clear, even when it cost her, even in the country music world where it definitely cost her. And she has been that amazing evidence of what white ayal allyship. really looks like. So we offer Kandas Rodarte (01:34) I know we can't I I know we can't we don't have much time to talk about this right now, but as a feminist I would like to acknowledge that the country music scene in the sixties and seventies was very open minded and very progressive. It only changed in the last twenty years. Becky Mollenkamp (01:47) Yes, that is true. I don't know if I would say Tennessee per se was the most friendly of places for young black children. but we know her work around literacy and so many other things, just f funding to help with vaccine during COVID, just the just a litany of things that this woman had has had done. and yeah, I mean just a hero and it's really sad. may her memory be a blessing. So thank you for bringing her up because I was also I audibly gasped. When I saw the news, I was like, no. and I know. Okay, we will we Kandas Rodarte (02:17) I can't stop crying. I can't stop crying. I can't stop. We're good. Becky Mollenkamp (02:21) shall gather ourselves to have a conversation about podcasting, which I know seems a little lighthearted in the moment of this, but also this is how we continue to raise our voices as women, you know, especially marginalized voices. Podcasting is a space where we get to do that, where we get to be heard the same way Dolly made sure she was heard. And so, and I in that honor and in that vein, we will continue. So before we go into your shows, Candice, I thought maybe you could finish this sentence for me. The reason I podcast is, I would love to hear your reason. Kandas Rodarte (02:47) The reason I podcast is it's the only way that I can have interesting conversations with amazing people and not have to pay them for the platform. It's a dumb answer, right? It's a dumb answer. But I've had folks like Alan Dibb and Dr. Ivan Meisner and the director of the Vatican Observatory Observatory on my show. And without my podcast, I wouldn't have been able to do that. Becky Mollenkamp (03:10) Yeah, it's this is the only world in which somebody like us could reach out to the likes of a Dolly Parton and say, can we have a conversation? And then not be like, go away. And so I don't think that's a dumb Kandas Rodarte (03:19) Uh-huh. Becky Mollenkamp (03:19) answer. I think it's a great answer and something that people can consider about why you might want a podcast. So I love that. So first let's talk about what your two shows are, because you have two shows. One's more recent, one's been around for quite a while. So tell me what are the two shows and when did you start each? Kandas Rodarte (03:35) So I started Gratitude Geek in 2014 after about two years with a YouTube with a YouTube talk show. So I had a YouTube talk show in a coffee shop. People would come to the coffee shop, we'd have conversations, I'd put them up on video. And then I decided I wanted to meet more people, have more conversation with the people that weren't in the city that I lived in. So that's why I launched the Gratitude Geek podcast January 1st, 2014. That's when the first episode launched. And then my second show is called Sci Fi Book Pod and it's where my husband and I get to do something together because you know, after almost thirty years, you kind of run out of things to do together with your spouse. So we have this podcast where we and a guest we all read the same book and then we talk about the book. And it's a lot of fun. Becky Mollenkamp (04:16) I love that we live in a world where having a podcast is a thing to do. And now it's like an excuse to have conversations with your partner, right? But I totally get it because some of my podcasts are just with friends that I wouldn't probably have as many conversations with if I didn't have a podcast. Like it gives you that excuse and that reason to do something together and it's lovely. okay, so I think primarily we're gonna focus on Gratitude Geek, because I think that's the podcast. Obviously, it's been around a lot longer. You put up more, I think, more sort of energy and and focus strategy into it. So before we get into that though, just tell me why a second podcast. I know you said for a hobby, but as if you didn't have enough. Like what was the reason to say I'm gonna add more to my plate and do a second podcast? Kandas Rodarte (04:55) just really wanted to have a platform to talk about something other than business strategy. And the reason why I launched it is I met this dude and I and he was telling me about this book. And he was like, I would really love to to have a place to talk about this book. And I was like, I've been thinking about this. So I launched it because of him because he said he wanted to Becky Mollenkamp (05:13) Mm. Kandas Rodarte (05:13) talk about this book in a podcast. And there wasn't really a podcast out there to have a book chat. about these kinds of, you know, speculative fiction books. Yeah. Becky Mollenkamp (05:22) Fun. And after having done a podcast for at that point like eleven years, what did had you learned that spinning up a new show would be a lot of work, not a lot of work? Like you had been doing it long enough you would know if you were gett what you were getting yourself in for. Kandas Rodarte (05:37) It's easy. I mean, it's because I know how to do it. I I think I'm sure that if I didn't already have the network in place and the tools in place, it would have been really hard. But it was just a matter of hitting record. You know, scheduling the conversations, reading the books and hitting record. So definitely less learning curve on the second show. Becky Mollenkamp (05:55) Yeah, you already had all the tools and the platforms and all the things, right? So at that point, I I say this as somebody who also has multiple podcasts. And adding a second one can be not a ton of extra work, but it is extra work. So like I don't wanna steer people wrong. But your first podcast is quite old. I mean, in the world of podcasting, you're like a a long timer, right? Because you've been doing this since 14. That's a couple of years more than me. I started, I think, in 16 or 17, and I feel like I've been around for a long time, but you've been around even longer. So what has e what's your evolution of your show look like over the course of now twelve years? Kandas Rodarte (06:29) Well, like I said, I started on YouTube. So, you know, Becky Mollenkamp (06:32) Well yeah. Kandas Rodarte (06:32) the ladies would gather, we'd all drink coffee and we'd talk about relationship marketing around a table in a coffee shop. You know, we recorded with lavalier mics and and I recorded on a little recorder. You know, I didn't even use I didn't even use a computer. I used a recorder, right? They're little I I don't know if you can even buy them anymore. They were called Zooms. Now we have Zoom as our as an interface. And You know, since then there have been so many tools that have been that have been created. Riverside came out, Descript Tank came out. I mean, the all these tools came out after the fact. So I I literally have been have been podcasting since Zoom or Skype were the ways that you could do interviews. And they're I mean, it's just so it's evolved more around me than I than I have, right? I recently had a huge breakup with the platform that we're recording on right now. A very public breakup. You know, it it's great for some people, it just wasn't great for me. I went back to using Zoom to record my interviews. Becky Mollenkamp (07:29) No. Kandas Rodarte (07:30) I just I for for what I want and the the quality that I want to put out, I have a workflow that was working for me, that wasn't bloated. And you know, so I pretty much am going I'm old school. I'm using basically the same tools I had when I started. I have a little bit of a different mixer now, different microphone, but it's still the same tools. I got a you Becky Mollenkamp (07:50) Yeah. Kandas Rodarte (07:50) know, an audio interface, a microphone, headphones, and some way to record. Becky Mollenkamp (07:54) So the tools have there's been a plethora of new tools in those twelve years. You've tried some, you've switched things up, and in many ways have kind of gone back to what you know, what you like, what works for you. That's Kandas Rodarte (08:06) Mm-hmm. Becky Mollenkamp (08:06) a technology piece. What about your content of your show? How has that evolved over twelve years? Kandas Rodarte (08:11) I started as a relationship marketing podcast, and I was really super hyper-focused on you re- using greeting cards as a way to grow your business. And I still believe, with all of my heart, that sending a thank you card to every guest on your show is a great way to, you know, to grow momentum because guests who feel appreciated will talk about you. You know. but I also found that I wanted to have more evolved conversations over time. And so I sort of expanded beyond greeting cards. I expanded beyond relationship marketing. I'm I'm my show is part of the Marketing Podcast Network. So it's still considered a marketing podcast. But my conversations are more focused on helping Gen X women with their strategy and incorporating gratitude into that business strategy. And gratitude doesn't have to be a thank you card. It can just be every time your hand touches a doorknob, you say thank you for this opportunity. It's about to open for me. So Becky Mollenkamp (09:04) What what was it that made you start to zone in on that more narrow focus of like Gen X, gratitude, whatever, you know, kind of narrowing your niche as they say? Kandas Rodarte (09:17) I had a a heart to heart with my SEO when I realized that I was too across the board and I really needed to narrow down. And I am a full-on feral Gen X woman, born in 1970. I'm as about as Gen X as you can get. You know? I remember when I had to get up out of my chair to change the station on a TV. I remember when my friends down the street got their first video game console and we all played Pong. We all took turns playing Pong. You can't get any more gen X than me. And I figured, you know, if my message was for anybody, it was for women like me. I also, I was diagnosed with breast cancer like three months after I launched my podcast. And I managed to to to put out episodes for the rest of that year. And then I was like, I'm too tired. I was, I was told it was metastatic. the following year. So I was just too tired. I had to deal with going through metastatic breast cancer treatment, which is way harder than regular breast cancer treatment. And so I put the the podcast on the shelf and then COVID hit. And I was like, I really miss podcasting. So I logged into Libson, which is where it was hosted at the time. And I was still getting a hundred downloads a month. Do you know how huge that is for somebody who hasn't put out any content? A hundred downloads a month? So I was like, okay, I'm gonna do it. And I put out an episode that week. The week that we we the week that we said we had, you know, that they told us to stay home, the podcast was relaunched. Becky Mollenkamp (10:45) And the focus on this sort of who I know, who I am, who I know has continued to, I've seen it in the time that I've known you over these last few years of it, you getting clearer and clearer around that of like, this is where I want to speak. And I know you mentioned SEO, which is great because that's kind of what I want to talk mostly about. Because I think of everyone in the collective, you have just been the most laser focused on SEO. Have been trying things, experimenting, doing it all. And from what I can tell and what you've been saying, it seems like starting to see the effects of that. Cause SEO, I think people need to know, is not a short-term game game. It is a long play. It is not like a viral hit on Instagram or something. This is, we're playing for long term. And the rewards can be kind of what you were just saying, where you can take a break and things are continuing to happen. People are still the discovery is still happening, even if you're not creating new content. So tell me a little bit about your SEO journey. What have you been learning? What's been working? What maybe hasn't worked? And we can we'll see where we dive in more. Kandas Rodarte (11:48) It SEO is an experiment. But first I want to acknowledge that when my daughter was a baby, like before she could walk, my husband and I had a custom furniture business and we had a client who told me that he became an overnight ex success after 30 years. So I learned 30 years ago practically that it takes 30 years to become an overnight success, right? So I've always been patient. I know that everything is a long game. So that Becky Mollenkamp (12:11) Well listen, you're also Gen X and had to get up and turn the remote turn the T V by hand. I think we developed a little more patience maybe than some younger generations too if had things instant access. Like we had to go search the microfiche to get information. That's a different world. So Kandas Rodarte (12:26) We had four television stations, y'all. Four television stations. Becky Mollenkamp (12:28) Right. Right. We sat through dial up where it took thirty minutes just to get to the internet. So yes, I think patience is part of that. But yes, keep going. Kandas Rodarte (12:39) Okay, so with SEO, the again, I am still experimenting and still learning, but you know, there are people who are focused on getting their messes out to everybody. I mean, I just put out an episode today, as a matter of fact, where my guest is talking about how she teaches her clients to be everywhere, be everyone, everywhere all at once, something everywhere, every place all at once, whatever whatever it was. And I have a different, you know, I I am contrarian, I always have to disagree with people. I don't agree with that. I think you need to be where your listeners need to be or are, right? So I actually pulled back from posting the social media and I really have been focusing on the SEO. And I've had some hits and I've had some misses. But with SEO, you are titling your episodes based on what your listener is going to search for in the search engine. And you you make it super search friendly. You wanna put those keywords in the descriptions. You wanna make sure the title has the keywords in it. You wanna make sure if you're an interview show that your guest's name is in the title, anything that's gonna be searched for. Because if your guest is famous, like Alan Dib, right? I wanna make sure that if somebody puts Alan Dib in the search results for Apple, then my interview with him is in the top results. So I'm gonna put Alan Dibb's name in that interview, right? however, some people don't know who Alan Dibb is and they just want marketing advice and they want an easy way to market. So I'm gonna put marketing in, you know, or you know, one page marketing plan or whatever in Becky Mollenkamp (14:07) Yeah. Kandas Rodarte (14:08) in the in the description. So figuring out what those keywords are, not bloating it, maybe three or four per episode, figuring out what those words are and what is it that people are gonna search for. And remember, it's people aren't. finding your episodes. they're not finding your episodes by scrolling through the feed. They're finding your episodes by typing in what they want. So what are people going to type into the search? Becky Mollenkamp (14:34) Yeah, because when they scroll through the feed, what they're getting is Dak Shepherd, Joe Rogan, Amy Poehler, right? Like they get the same typical content over and over again in whatever Apple decides to feature, which sometimes they feature smaller shows. But let's be honest, a lot of what shows up for most people, just if they're just scrolling what's there, is the top lists. And those are the same shows again and again. They're the ones with budgets. They're the one that Apple knows and has relationships with either them or their production house. So, how else do you get found? And for people who want to go beyond that, they have to start searching because otherwise they just see the same stuff. So for real podcast listeners, at some point they're like, this, I don't want this, I want something else. So you're right. They have to start searching. And what do they search? Because and when you said SEO and what people search, I think people immediately might think Google and search engines. And you may be doing some of that. We maybe we'll talk about that. But they're, I think what you're talking about is on YouTube or on the podcast player where you listen, being found. Have you started to learn does that SEO work look any different than what traditional SEO work looks like for like Google? Kandas Rodarte (15:38) It's all different. It's all different. So Becky Mollenkamp (15:39) Course. Can't be easy. Kandas Rodarte (15:41) you have to pick your lane or you have to do it three times. So I have a different SEO package for my audio podcast. And you have to pick whether or not you want to be Spotify first or Apple first, because Apple and Spotify have different algorithms and they they read different things. And so if you want to be on Spotify, you want to be the top in Spotify, you're going to write a different SEO package than if you want to be at the top of Apple. It sucks. You can't have two feeds, it's one feed, right? and then YouTube has a whole different way of looking at it, which actually I'm moving away from. YouTube is I don't know what's going on with YouTube right now, but I'm not gonna focus there any mo as much anymore. Something's going on with YouTube. It's not there's something going on there. Maybe I'll come back to it later. Becky Mollenkamp (16:21) Well, and they've also just raised their the numbers yet again on the thresholds you have to reach in order to ever make any money on YouTube. It keeps getting farther and farther out of reach for most people. So yeah. But Kandas Rodarte (16:33) But the amount of money people are making isn't very much. So Becky Mollenkamp (16:36) Yeah. Kandas Rodarte (16:37) they have to keep lifting because you know, I'm finally monetized and look, I made 17 cents. You know, nobody wants to hear that. That's one of the reasons why YouTube is is is changing. Becky Mollenkamp (16:44) Yeah. Exactly. So the goalpost keeps moving. Kandas Rodarte (16:48) So anyway, I create you t I create c SEO packages for my every single episode gets a blog post. And that's I SEO the heck out of that. I SEO the heck out of the audio and I SEO The YouTube. Not as important as the other two. Honestly Becky Mollenkamp (17:03) And when you mean the audio and the YouTube, you mean the showno the description and the keywords and things like that, right? That you're putting yeah. Not the edit itself. Kandas Rodarte (17:09) Correct. Correct. Yeah. You don't just re you don't just you don't you don't just re well, the first fifteen seconds of your Becky Mollenkamp (17:16) Yeah. Kandas Rodarte (17:17) audio also need to be SEO'd. So that Becky Mollenkamp (17:20) Mm. Kandas Rodarte (17:20) first fifteen seconds needs to be very clear for the search engines what your episode is about. Very, very clear. Could because it picks up from the transcript. Becky Mollenkamp (17:27) How do you do that? So I'm curious how you do that because I think for most people they think of the first fifteen seconds as all intro music or their intro, whatever. What are you doing for those first fifteen seconds? Kandas Rodarte (17:37) I don't put any intro music there. I wait until 60 seconds in because you're wasting you're wasting valuable SEO there. I I've gone back to, I was at the beginning doing a readout of what I wanted the conversation to be, and I realized that I wasn't always right. And so to limit the amount of editing I do, I find 60 seconds from the episode that best reflects the conversation. And I pick the starting point of that 60 seconds. To be that that first 15 seconds of that 60 second clip is the magic 15 seconds, and I stick that at the beginning. And then I do my intro music, which lasts five, my intro music is five seconds. And then I introduce myself. I'm Canister Artie. This is Gratitude Geek. And today we're talking to Becky Mul Mullenkamp. That's my intro. And then Becky starts, then I start talking to Becky. So Becky Mollenkamp (18:24) Yeah. Kandas Rodarte (18:24) I don't, I don't waste any time at the beginning of that episode. Becky Mollenkamp (18:27) Yeah. And then obviously description, which most people call show notes, the description show notes area. You have keywords that you also can have some control over, show art, episode title. Those things are all things that you're then also thinking through around how you're optimizing for the keywords for which you think people will search and for which you have a chance to be found. Yeah. And Kandas Rodarte (18:46) Correct. Correct. Correct. Becky Mollenkamp (18:50) then I'm assuming you also are including transcripts, because I believe that's another potential tool for discovery, but I don't know how well that works. And it's obviously good for accessibility, Kandas Rodarte (18:57) The Becky Mollenkamp (18:58) but Kandas Rodarte (18:59) the the tool, the host that I have currently does the transcript for you. So I don't have to upload a c transcript. Becky Mollenkamp (19:03) There you go. Yeah. Kandas Rodarte (19:05) And Apple already Apple does their own transcript, so I no, I don't spend time on that because there's Becky Mollenkamp (19:09) Okay. Yeah. I mean, it's an accessibility. I don't know how much it actually helps with SEO. So, but I love the the sharing about that first 15 seconds. And I think that's an area for a real. I mean, there's some editing, so it's not without work, but it is a real opportunity for so many people that are that it goes overlooked. Are there other things that you have found that are that you notice you're doing and others aren't that seem to maybe move the needle? Like things that are often going overlooked that would be really helpful. Kandas Rodarte (19:38) Audio quality. I run Becky Mollenkamp (19:40) Mm. Kandas Rodarte (19:40) every episode through Ophonic. One of the reasons why I broke up with the big, you know, recording studio is because I didn't like the audio quality I was getting. I was running my episodes through Becky Mollenkamp (19:48) We can say it. It's Riverside is what I'm using. So but I think it's good because people can listen. I I you know, listen here or then listen to some of Gratitude Geek and see what you think. I mean, I think everybody has their own take on that, and that's fine, but I have no problem naming Riverside. That's what I'm using and I use and I'm fine with it. I have lower probably expectations than you, but also I'm not doing a whole lot around a SEO. So so audio quality. And what does Alphonic do? Does it just clean up the audio? Kandas Rodarte (20:13) It clean cleans up the audio, it levels it out so that both speakers are the same sound and it takes out some of the breath you know, some of the breath and it just gives you a cleaner experience. because a lot of times when you're recording on video, I can't I can't tell why I'm listening, but one of us might be a lot lower than the other in the final piece and Ofana just fixes that. And the other thing is, I've had episodes where my guests had some sort of fan in the background that I didn't quite hear when I was when I was recording with them, but then I definitely heard it when I was editing and Ophoniconic will take out the sometimes I run the the audio through Ophonic before I edit the the episode, just to get rid of background noise. Becky Mollenkamp (20:50) And I think I would think, so I'm I instead of me saying what I think other people think, I'll say what I think, which is just I wouldn't think of the audio quality as a piece of SEO. I think of it as, you know, obviously important to your show, but how does that like play into your sort of overall SEO strategy? Kandas Rodarte (21:08) Well, in the long run, the longer somebody sticks around, the the more likely they are to listen again and the more likely the search engine or the the podcast engines are likely to say, Hey, this isn't this is a show that people like to listen to in the long run. And if your audio quality isn't good, people aren't gonna stick around to listen. I have turned off episodes where I just couldn't I couldn't listen to right? They're just and the definition of I'm sorry, y'all. You might not like this, but the actual definition of a podcast is you can close your eyes and fully experience it with your eyes closed. It is podcasts are something that are are heard. Yes, we put a lot of them on YouTube, but they are something that is heard, not visual. So I Becky Mollenkamp (21:53) And I think even for YouTube, if again, some of this is what your goals are. And if you're YouTube first and throw it up on a podcast platform, that's a different scenario. You take that how you want and whatever you want to do with it. But I think even for YouTube, like often I'm watching YouTube while I'm making dinner or something and I'm not really watching. I'm still listening first. And I think some Kandas Rodarte (22:12) Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Becky Mollenkamp (22:14) YouTubers I think forget that. So I think it's good to point out. You've been Kandas Rodarte (22:16) Yeah. And that and honestly honestly I listen to YouTube more than I watch it. Becky Mollenkamp (22:22) I think a lot of people do. Yeah. Same. Because often I have it on in the background while I'm doing work or something. And if it becomes something that's too visual, then I'm like, well, you've lost me now. you have been focused on SEO for quite a while. I well a few years, right, at this point. Kandas Rodarte (22:35) yeah, maybe a few maybe two. Two years. Have Becky Mollenkamp (22:37) Couple years. Couple years. Kandas Rodarte (22:38) I I have I been in FPC that long? Okay. Becky Mollenkamp (22:41) Yeah. I think you've been in there. I think you've been two years, and I think, yeah. Let's say two years you've been focused on it. What Kandas Rodarte (22:46) Okay. Okay. Becky Mollenkamp (22:47) are you noticing, specifically with Gratitude Geek? Because sci-fi book pod is more, I feel like is kind of more of a fun thing. It's a little more of a side thing. I don't I'm sure you're probably doing some SEO, but you've really, I think, been putting that efforting in with Gratitude Geek. What are you noticing, both in the numbers? You don't have to give specific numbers if you want, but just like the general trends. And then also is it affect because that going back to that, I get to talk to who I want, is it affecting that on who who will say yes or no? Kandas Rodarte (23:14) Okay, so I track five keywords in Pod SEO. And of those five keywords that I'm tracking, I am in the top twenty for three of them. So I'm doing a good job. The you know, there they I and I picked competitive keyword. I don't know why I picked such competitive keywords, but but I did, right? Yes, right. Becky Mollenkamp (23:29) 'Cause you ha you were banking on yourself and that's good. Kandas Rodarte (23:34) I was banking on myself. In terms of on top lists, like, you know, they some of these directories they put out the top twenty episod top twenty podcasts about XYZ. On those top twenty episodes or podcasts about XYZ, there's three of them that list me in the top 10 for keywords that are really important to me. Becky Mollenkamp (23:52) And are those ones that you pitch to or they just they c pull like pull you automatically? Kandas Rodarte (23:58) Gen X women and Becky Mollenkamp (23:59) Nice. Kandas Rodarte (23:59) and business education, which are the t Becky Mollenkamp (24:02) Okay, good. Kandas Rodarte (24:02) which are two of the words I'm tracking, right? and people who I have respected for ye decades are pitching to pitching me to be a guest on my show. So Andrea Waltz is the co author of Go For No, which I have read three times. I love this book. I mean, I started reading I I I pick up this book every once in a while because it's a short reading and it's very inspirational. But she pitched me to be a guest on my show. Right. Wow. You know, and I and a a man, Randy Gage, his name is Randy Gage. Some people might know who he is. He pitched me to be a guest on my show, and I turned him down because I'm not really interviewing men right now. I was able to turn down a superstar in his niche because it didn't fit my. My agenda, right? So I think that that even if I never have, you know, a top one I have a top two and a half percent show, right? Even if I never have a top one percent show, I think I'm where I I think I'm where I'm meant to be. I'm interviewing the people I want to interview. I I get I you know, I'm repelling as many people as I'm I'm attracting, which is means you're doing the right job. If you are repelling people, you are doing a good job with your marketing, right? And I'm I get to meet really cool people like you and everybody else in FPC. I this morning I was in a networking meeting. I I literally told the group that one of the reasons why my show has catapulted in the last couple of years is because I joined FPC and Marketing Podcast Network. And it culminated with last month I won two marketing podcast network awards. So none of that, I mean overnight success. It took me since twenty four twenty twelve. I'm gonna say twenty twelve and since twenty Becky Mollenkamp (25:35) Twelve years. Okay. Kandas Rodarte (25:37) twelve. Becky Mollenkamp (25:37) Fourteen years. Kandas Rodarte (25:38) Fourteen years to win my first podcasting awards and I won two of So thank you. Thank you. Becky Mollenkamp (25:44) Which isn't congratulations, and that's amazing. And I do think, you know, without being too self-serving, because it does you obviously are also a member of MPN, but community can take us farther, right? Than trying Kandas Rodarte (25:55) Yes. Becky Mollenkamp (25:56) to go it alone. And I do think that's a mistake that many podcasters make in podcasting, because it's easy to do it solo. It's easy to sit in your room with your microphone and your computer and record and upload and never have to speak to another human, right? If you have guests, just have them and be done. But community, there are a lot of benefits to involving community in your podcasting efforts. And I'm just curious if you can kind of quickly outline some of the things that you think have been most helpful as of being part of these communities. Kandas Rodarte (26:20) When you're able to drop your episodes and then share them with each other and then other people listen to When you're you need a last minute guest, you need to fill a niche. Do you guys know anybody who can talk about this? That I've had that happen. I needed somebody I I saw a commercial for Legos and I and I wanted to talk about Lego with somebody. And I just asked an FBC, does anybody know someone who can talk to me about this Lego commercial? And I got an answer right away. And that guy was on my show the following week, right? 'Cause I wanted to have a conversation about Lego, right? So so yeah, and but it it also opens up for opportunities. 'Cause you people in in FPC I might not have ever met otherwise. And it's so important to collaborate and co create and network. You it you it takes you so much farther. So much farther. Becky Mollenkamp (27:05) Yeah. That taking the 30 years down to 14, because you're not doing it alone, right? I do I'm not to say Kandas Rodarte (27:10) Ha ha ha. Becky Mollenkamp (27:11) that that's the only reason, but it helps. I like to finish these talking about the advice that you've gotten. So over these 14 years, but maybe even more recently, like advice that you still hear or that's still out there. What is some of the worst advice you think podcasters are getting? Kandas Rodarte (27:24) Just start, you know, just start your podcast, just plug it in and re- and re No, not everybody is meant to have a podcast. Some if you can you be be a guest on 10 shows. And if after 10 episodes of being a guest on someone else's show, you still say, I want to start a podcast, then start a podcast. But not everybody should have a podcast. It it's it's a lot more work than you think it is. It isn't as easy as you think it is. And why why would you spend all that time creating something that you that Becky Mollenkamp (27:45) creating something that you, as an individual. Kandas Rodarte (27:50) doesn't give you joy? Right. bad bad advice. And then I am so sick of people being anti-microphone on your podcast work art. You do you. Be who you wanna be. Wear the pink wig. Put the microphone on your art. You know, d be whoever you want to be. Don't let anybody else tell you who you are. Becky Mollenkamp (28:10) I haven't heard the no microphone on show art. I just made show art for this new show that we're doing and it has a microphone, so so be it. okay, and then what about good advice? What's maybe the most helpful thing that someone told you or the the most helpful thing you would tell somebody else? Kandas Rodarte (28:24) Okay, so the most helpful advice I ever received was way before I started podcasting. And it came from Hans, my auto mechanic, when I was 19 years old. So this is a very long time ago. And Hans didn't tell me this, but he taught me this. He taught me to always go above and beyond. Anytime he worked on my car, I got it back in better condition than I gave it to him. And that that lesson has stuck with me ever since. But the most impact Hans ever made on me was a time that we were sitting by my car. I was 19 years old. He was in his 60s, and his whole body just sort of shrunk into itself. And he looked down at the ground and he told me about how he had been a Nazi soldier. And knowing Hans taught me to be compassionate. And if compassion is the only thing that you can take away from this conversation today, I hope that you can be compassionate to the person sitting next to you on the bus. The person sitting cr across from you on the microphone, have compassion 'cause you do not know what that person went through before you met them. Becky Mollenkamp (29:22) It's beautiful. That was that was big and heavy. Can I go back to the first part of that though? Only because I feel like it might be the and I love the compassion piece, obviously. What does going above and beyond look like for you as a podcaster? Kandas Rodarte (29:33) It's sending a thank you card. It's making sure that the guest has Becky Mollenkamp (29:35) Mm. Going back to gratitude. Kandas Rodarte (29:37) all the tools that they need to share it themselves. It's making sure that before the episode even happens that the the guest knows exactly what to expect. You know, I I send out multiple emails before the episode even happens with, you know, here's what's happening, here's what your date is, here's what you need, you know. And then afterwards I send even more emails with, you know, here's what's going to come out. Just just letting making sure that the guest has all the tools that they need. Becky Mollenkamp (30:02) Yeah, I love that. Thank you so much for doing this, Candice. And where do people go to learn about you and your shows? Kandas Rodarte (30:08) So you can see my name on the screen, it's Candice Ridy. So just add a dot com to that and that's where you can find me and all my shows. Becky Mollenkamp (30:14) Well, and I'll put it in the description show notes, all the places wherever you're watching this, where you can go to CandaceRogdarty.com so you know how to spell it. Thank you so much for doing this, Candace. Thanks for being one of the most active members of Feder the Feminist Podcasters Collective. We are collecting points now towards badges and whatnot. And you're up there in the leaderboard for being such an active member, and I really appreciate you. So thank you. Kandas Rodarte (30:35) Thank you.