Jodi Krangle

905 836 5444

Jodi@VoiceoversAndVocals.com

podcasts

Listening On The Go

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How are you listening to this podcast right now? Maybe you’re sitting at your computer or hearing it on a smart speaker, which probably means that you’re listening with one app while keeping busy with a few other things. You might also be using a tablet or an MP3 player, which lets you stay on the move while you’re hearing the show. But what’s really become popular over the past few years is listening on your phone. Just this past month, almost 24 million podcast listeners used their smartphones, compared to 17 million for everything else put together. One thing all these choices have in common is that they let you keep busy while you’re listening. And in today’s fast-paced world, digital audio, particularly podcasts and audiobooks, is becoming a cornerstone of our daily lives.

Multitasking isn’t always a good thing. We might feel like we’re being more productive when we multitask, but over the years studies have shown that we really do better when we’re focusing on just one task at a time. If you’re curious to find out just how well you multitask, here’s a link to a short test:

At the same time, audio does have some advantages of its own. Our brains are finely tuned to listening to each other, to hearing a speaker’s tone and pace, their inflections and the mood they’re expressing beneath their words. Reading is still a pretty new trick when it comes to our brains, which means written words might not connect as quickly or deeply as hearing them spoken aloud. And while reading lets us consider the words more carefully and go back over them more easily, digital audio leaves us free to keep working, to go running or driving, to live our lives while we’re listening.

Just recently I had Summurai founder Tal Florentin on the show, and his company is at the forefront of this digital audio revolution. Summurai is a content management service that takes written articles and condenses them into short audio snippets for people on the go. Here’s a link to a video with more information:

Even so, digital audio doesn’t leave much room for distraction. If you’re listening to a podcast on your way to work, that means you’re probably not listening to anything else right at that moment. This can make audio branding and advertising much more effective than other forms of online marketing; nearly 70% of podcast listeners report that podcast ads made them aware of new products and services. And that audience is quickly growing in the US: more than a hundred million Americans now listen to at least one podcast a month.

Audiobooks are also becoming more popular, with one in five Americans having listened to one within the past year. While the first vinyl book recordings were made in 1932, and the first books on tape released in 1975, the industry’s grown in ways that could hardly have been imagined back then. George Saunders’ 2017 novel Lincoln in the Bardo, for instance, has been adapted into an audiobook with a cast of 166 Hollywood actors, and last year an Audible adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s Sandman featured its own all-star cast. Audio dramas have also experienced a revival over the past few years, with authors penning exclusive works meant to be heard instead of read.

While the freedom to listen and multitask all at once might be a selling point for audio content, sound can create a more powerful connection than just one of convenience. The act of learning something new triggers the reward center in our brains, much the same way as eating our favorite food or winning a game. And storytelling isn’t just part of our history, it’s how most of us learned to read: we grew up listening to our parents and teachers read to us. Audio content can combine both these things together, teaching us new things in a way that connects with our deepest experiences.

Printed books and traditional radio certainly aren’t going away anytime soon, but digital audio has become the fastest growing sector in the publishing industry. Twenty million people started to listen to podcasts for the first time last year, and that number’s only going to keep growing. And as more and more people find themselves listening on the go, the opportunities to reach out to and engage with that emerging audience will keep growing with it.

Would you consider giving this podcast an honest review? You can do that here: https://lovethepodcast.com/audiobranding.  And if you like what you hear (and read!) – please do share it with anyone you think might be interested. Thanks so much!

And if you’re interested in crafting an audio brand for your business, why not check out my FREE download – 5 Tips For Implementing An Intentional Audio Strategy at https://voiceoversandvocals.com/audio-branding-strategy/

Interview With Marketing Upheaval Expert, Rudy Fernandez – Part 1

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Rudy Fernandez is the founder of Creative Outhouse, a creative marketing agency that specializes in launching brands, and is the host of the Marketing Upheaval podcast. His knowledge of and experience in the science of behavior change helps his clients communicate their deeper purpose, win more fans, and strengthen their brands. Though some clients have put projects on pause, Rudy has still stayed busy with client work during the COVID-19 shutdowns. (We recorded this episode in the midst of the social distancing mandates.) Rudy is currently working on two brand launches for clients in the utilities industry and is tackling a few projects that have been on the back burner.

In the first part of our conversation, Rudy and I discussed his background in journalism and how he got into the advertising industry. We also spoke about:

  • How Rudy started Radio Outhouse in 2001
  • Why Rudy chose not to phase out of radio writing and what that has allowed him to do throughout his career
  • What exactly behavior change marketing is and how companies utilize it
  • The work that Rudy’s company does in addition to radio campaigns
  • The company’s name change from Radio Outhouse to Creative Outhouse
  • Rudy’s work producing mini podcasts for physicians to utilize with their patients
  • Why Rudy started his podcast and what it has morphed into
  • How Creative Outhouse helps clients take their consumers from learning about their product/service to becoming raving fans
  • How copy is written for the ear as opposed to just being written in general
  • How a junior copywriter at Podfest went from being incredibly shy to a highly skilled performer, podcaster, and writer
  • The importance of having only one thought in a line in radio as well as reading out loud when writing audio

You can find more information on Rudy on his company’s website https://creativeouthouse.com and can listen to his podcast at https://creativeouthouse.com/podcast.

You can also find Rudy and Creative Outhouse on the following social platforms:

This episode was very skillfully made to sound beautiful by the talented Humberto Franco (http://www.humbertofranco.com/).

Would you consider reviewing the Audio Branding Podcast?  If so, here’s the Apple Podcast link: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/audio-branding/id1489042453  And if you like what you hear (and read!) – please do share it with anyone you think might be interested. Thanks so much!

And if you’re interested in crafting an audio brand for your business, why not check out my FREE Audio Branding Worksheet?

Interview With Multimedia Storyteller, Brandee Sanders – Part 2

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Here’s the second part of my wild ride of an interview with Multimedia Storyteller, Brandee Sanders. We talked about her journey as a woman in tech and what other women in tech must consider when advancing in the field.

We also discussed:

  • How Brandee recognizes the challenges of being a woman in tech but doesn’t get consumed by them
  • The importance of women supporting other women
  • Keeping the door held open for the person behind you
  • How rising to the top can sometimes hurt individuals and those around them
  • How women have to work twice as hard to prove themselves
  • How important mentorship is and how undervalued it is
  • More about why Brandee decided to step behind the cameras and what it has allowed her to do
  • Mansplaining, bro business, and nepotism (don’t worry, that part stays pretty tame)
  • The importance of literacy in choosing the right person for any given job
  • Microcosms and echo chambers
  • How Brandee maintains the mentality of a lifelong learner, especially in a position of leadership
  • Brandee’s journey as a mom and her compassion for other moms
  • The two podcasts she’s working on
  • Brandee’s journey going from “white trash to white collar” (her words, not mine 😉)

Find out more about Brandee on social media:

This episode was very skillfully made to sound beautiful by the talented Humberto Franco (http://www.humbertofranco.com/).

Would you consider reviewing the Audio Branding Podcast?  If so, here’s the Apple Podcast link: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/audio-branding/id1489042453  And if you like what you hear (and read!) – please do share it with anyone you think might be interested. Thanks so much!

And if you’re interested in crafting an audio brand for your business, why not check out my FREE Audio Branding Worksheet?

Interview with Musician, Author, & Teacher, Bob Baker – Part 1

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Bob Baker likes to call himself an “inspirationalist.” His mission in life is to inspire and empower people, especially creatives. Over the years, his work has included books, podcasts, music, coaching, and improv comedy. He co-authored the book The Improv Comedy Musician with Laura Hall, who you may be familiar with from the TV show Whose Line Is It Anyway? Bob’s YouTube channel currently has over 117K subscribers and includes guided meditations, audio affirmations, and more. 

In the first part of my discussion with Bob, we covered a variety of topics, including:

  • His book Guerilla Music Marketing and other written works
  • A mental block people often experience when writing a book and how to get past it 
  • How the interests that drive people (including Bob himself) to certain career paths often can be traced back to their childhood
  • How Bob was a bit awkward as a child and how he used humor to break through that awkwardness
  • Bob’s history playing music
  • How he’s always had a knack for keeping audiences engaged
  • Bob’s involvement in theater, acting, and improv comedy
  • How Bob formed his first improv troupe and the two types of comedy they utilized
  • How musicians and improv actors can perform well together, even if they’ve never met before
  • Bob’s 15 years doing standup comedy
  • The differences between improv comedy and stand-up comedy
  • Bob’s biggest tip for public speaking (it may surprise you!)
  • The three Es of communication
  • The importance of focusing on the message (the topic) instead of the messenger (you) when doing public speaking
  • The importance of getting out of your head when doing improv

You can find Bob in a handful of places online, including:

This episode was very skillfully made to sound beautiful by the talented Humberto Franco (http://www.humbertofranco.com/).

Would you consider reviewing the Audio Branding Podcast?  If so, here’s the Apple Podcast link: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/audio-branding/id1489042453  And if you like what you hear (and read!) – please do share it with anyone you think might be interested. Thanks so much!

And if you’re interested in crafting an audio brand for your business, why not check out my FREE Audio Branding Worksheet?

Interview with Brand & Marketing Motivator, Corey Dissin – Part 2

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In the second part of my interview with Corey Dissin, we discussed the three elements to every spot and how to build a successful audio brand for audio talent.

Corey and I also talked about:

  • How a voice talent is not a voice talent (yes, that caught me off guard, too!)
  • The difference between the types of voices that would be used in, for example, a horror movie trailer versus those that would be used in a Disney movie trailer
  • The demand for audio content and how podcasting has risen in popularity
  • What Rudy Gaskins meant when he said, “Branding is both a noun and a verb.”
  • How, for most voice talent, there’s more to the brand than just their voice
  • The only difference between social media, broadcast television, a movie theater, the radio, and a streaming service
  • How reading copy is a skill for voice talent—not their profession
  • Why some people need to fire themselves
  • Some of the topics Corey covers in his Go Get It podcast and One More Round podcast
  • How social media is like being Pete Rose and George Foreman
  • The importance of making 99 enemies in sales
  • The long shelf life of podcasts and other aspects that make podcasting so powerful 
  • What Corey has been up to lately and the feedback he’s gotten so far

You can find more on Corey Dissin at http://www.coreydissin.com . You can also find his Go Get It podcast at https://coreydissin.com/podcast and his One More Round podcast at https://coreydissin.com/one-more-round .

This episode was very skillfully made to sound beautiful by the talented Humberto Franco (http://www.humbertofranco.com/).

Would you consider reviewing the Audio Branding Podcast?  If so, here’s the Apple Podcast link: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/audio-branding/id1489042453  And if you like what you hear (and read!) – please do share it with anyone you think might be interested. Thanks so much!

And if you’re interested in crafting an audio brand for your business, why not check out my FREE Audio Branding Worksheet?

Interview with Brand & Marketing Motivator, Corey Dissin – Part 1

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Corey Dissin was only 19 when he first got into the world of audio and sound. He started answering phones as a volunteer with Paul Turner Productions (now Propulsion Media Labs). His volunteering later morphed into an internship, at which point he met Paul. The two formed a friendship, and later Paul began allowing Corey to sit in and watch him record voiceover sessions and produce commercials. At the end of the day, Paul would let Corey stay around in the studio and “play,” and that was how Corey began to learn how to produce audio. Paul later hired Corey, and through that work, Corey not only sharpened his production skills, but he also learned marketing. Today, Corey is a marketing coach, hosts two podcasts, and is the Vice President of Propulsion Media Labs. He is also “the undisputed heavyweight champion of content.”

In the first part of our interview, we discussed a bit more about his beginnings with Paul Turner Productions. We also talked about: 

  • How Propulsion Media Labs offers turnkey video and audio production services for a large variety of businesses, serving as a secret weapon for many of its customers
  • Corey’s role in the sales process of recruiting talent while working with Paul Turner
  • How Corey got involved in the voiceover end of things with Paul Turner Productions
  • How Propulsion Media Labs sets itself apart from the competition
  • Why Corey fired himself ten years ago
  • How to choose the right voice for a project
  • How Corey’s knowledge about the key marketing aspects of growing a voiceover business morphed into the coaching he does today
  • Corey’s signature phrase, “Go get it!”
  • Corey’s belief that “It’s not what you do it with. It’s what you do with it.”
  • The one skill that most voiceover talent, producers, graphic designers, freelancers, and solopreneurs overlook 
  • How businesses are missing out by not utilizing social media to its maximum potential

To learn more about Corey Dissin, you can visit http://www.coreydissin.com . You can also check out his Go Get It podcast at https://coreydissin.com/podcast and his One More Round podcast at https://coreydissin.com/one-more-round .

You can also find out more about Propulsion Media Labs at http://www.promedialabs.com . 

This episode was very skillfully made to sound beautiful by the talented Humberto Franco (http://www.humbertofranco.com/).

Would you consider reviewing the Audio Branding Podcast?  If so, here’s the Apple Podcast link: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/audio-branding/id1489042453  And if you like what you hear (and read!) – please do share it with anyone you think might be interested. Thanks so much!

And if you’re interested in crafting an audio brand for your business, why not check out my FREE Audio Branding Worksheet?