The Journey from Radio to Podcasting: A Conversation with Arielle Nissenblatt – Part 1
“Yeah, for me personally, I love anything that tells me… I find myself drawn to shows that are like, ‘We’re gonna make something interesting that’s not interesting at all.’ And then they’re like, ‘Let’s talk about broccoli.’ And then they’re like, ‘Let’s talk about cement.’ And then the next episode is, ‘Let’s talk about neon.’ And I just love that. Maybe they do the history of it. Maybe they weave in the person who discovered neon. Can you discover neon? I think you can, because it’s on the periodic table of elements. Might need to be manipulated. Either way. These are the kind of things, these are shows that I find myself going back to time and time again.” – Arielle Nissenblatt
This episode’s guest in “The Journey from Radio to Podcasting” is a Big Fan of Podcasts™ and the podcast industry. She’s the founder of EarBuds Podcast Collective, a podcast recommendation newsletter, the host of several podcasts about the podcast industry, including a show about podcast recommendations and a show about podcast trailers, and regularly appears on podcasts about podcasts to talk about – you guessed it – podcasts. She’s on the Board of Governors of The Podcast Academy and speaks at conferences around the world on podcast marketing and community building. When it comes to podcasts, she knows her stuff.
Her name is Arielle Nissenblatt, and you’ll want to hear her perspective as a long-time advocate for the podcasting industry – both on what’s happening now, and where we’re heading in the future. If you’ve ever thought about starting a podcast of your own, or you want to find out how to get the most from your current podcast, then keep listening. This is one conversation you don’t want to miss!
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(0:00:01) – Exploring the Power of Podcasting
We start things off with Arielle’s early experiences with sound, and particularly the impression that radio made on her compared to streaming platforms like Spotify. “I think the excitement for me about radio is the serendipity,” she explains. “A song that I would skip if it came up on my Spotify, I would not skip. I would be more excited about it, even if it were, like, a mainstream song.” She recalls how she first discovered podcasting in 2014, and how she quickly learned that the key to a compelling podcast is a hook, whether it’s an engaging topic or an engrossing story. “He eulogizes Neanderthals,” she says about a favorite episode of Mo Rocca’s podcast Mobituaries, “When did we learn about them? How did we first discover them? How do they contribute to how we view humans today? So what I like about this is, yes, there’s storytelling involved. He brings us in with a story.”
(0:09:44) – The Impact of Podcasting Evolution
Our discussion turns to the topic of podcasting during the pandemic, and the mark COVID-19 left on the industry. “A lot of great shows came out of that and still exist to this day,” she says, “and a lot of shows came out of that and are done and they’re pandemic-era shows.” We talk about the challenges of building an audience today compared to those early days of podcasting, and how much a good podcast can contribute to your brand even if it isn’t making a lot of money on its own. “I do so many projects that make me little to no money,” she explains, “but there are other reasons for me to be doing them. They feed your soul, and they eventually work as a funnel to the things I do for a living.”
(0:18:19) – Enhancing Podcast Editing With AI
The first half of our conversation concludes with a look at the differences between audio and video editing styles, and how social media has helped normalize the jump cut. “We’re lucky because we live in a day and age where jump cuts are cool on YouTube and on TikTok and things like that,” she tells us. “So whenever people ask me about that, I’m like, ‘Hey, no, actually don’t worry about it, because the kids are liking it.’” She explains how AI has helped transform her workflow and its limitations when it comes to creating content versus sorting through it. “I don’t plan on using it for aiding the creative side of things,” Arielle explains, “but to script out my workflow, to script out, um, how to outline something, that is something that I would like to, that I would like to get more into.”
Episode Summary
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Arielle’s journey into podcasting and what helps a podcast stand out from the crowd.
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The pandemic’s impact on podcasting, and Arielle’s work with Squadcast and Descript.
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What sets generative and traditional AI apart, and the hidden value of show notes.
Tune in for next week’s episode as Arielle shares her tips for creating a perfect podcast trailer without extra video footage, choosing the right time to make the jump to a subscription podcast, and avoiding the pitfalls that can come from having a mismatched podcast and fan community.
Connect with the Guest
Website: https://www.ariellenissenblatt.com/
Follow Arielle Nissenblatt on X: https://x.com/arithisandthat
Connect with Arielle Nissenblatt on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arielle-nissenblatt-90348356/
Follow Arielle Nissenblatt on Instagram: https://instagram.com/ariellethisandthat
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This interview episode was very skillfully made to sound beautiful by the talented Humberto Franco.
** Transcript available upon request
