2,000 monthly downloads

Launched in January 2017

1 episode a week

Hello! What’s your background, and what’s your podcast about?

Hi! My name is Cat Rose I’m the host of the Creative Introvert show. Unsurprisingly, my show is specifically for folk who consider themselves to be creative introverts. Currently, two shows get published every week. One show is a longer format interview OR a sol episode (I alternate most weeks.) The other show is shorter and is part of my Year of Fun experiment – where I take on a new fun challenge each week and relay my experience to the audience.

What was the motivation behind starting the podcast?

I started the podcast in a similar way to how I start most things: I become a fan of something (some would say obsessed…) and then I get the craving to do it myself. This is also how I started blogging! I realised that I was reading blogs less often, and listening to podcasts a LOT – so I figured others were doing the same. My early shows are basically rehashes of blog posts I’d written. As suspected, while my blog was getting little traction, I very quickly received wonderful feedback from my podcast. People really do seem to connect more with the spoken word.

My goals spread beyond just wanting to get my thoughts heard and help people who also struggle with being an introvert and have a successful creative career. I realised that I now had an opportunity to connect with other like minds, and roaring successes who, without the excuse of interviewing them on the podcast, I could never have spoken to. I love the interviews in particular for this reason.

What went into launching the initial podcast?

I was a little intimidated about starting the podcast, as I had zero experience in audio production. i’m a visual kind of creative! But I remembered Pat Flynn from Smart Passive Income Podcast had a free video series on starting a podcast. I went to Youtube, watched the whole thing, and decided I actually might be able to do it!

I also spoke to Martin Stellar, a coach who told me how to record interviews via Skype (i’d need eCamm) and that was really helpful.

After I purchased a basic headset (costing less than £20), the only other piece of software I needed was Audacity to record and edit, and I was good to go.

The early days were very time consuming – I’d spend a whole day on one 15 minute podcast episode. But having existing content (plus lots of ideas) ready to go made things a bit easier.

I’d say it now takes me more like half a day per episode, but considering the reach and business my podcast has brought me, it’s well worth it.

How have you attracted listeners and grown podcast?

I’d seen different people launch podcasts in dramatic ways, but nothing really appealed to my nature. One thing I did do was follow the advice of many, and release 3 episodes at once, so when I launched people would see I had some content lined up and they might be more likely to subscribe.

Going forward, I just made sure to share a nice image and a bit about each show on social media. I email guests with the link to their show, and let them know I’d be really appreciative of a share.

The only other promotion I do for the show is asking listeners to rate and review and share the podcast if they feel inclined. I’ve also offered free coaching sessions to people who leave a review on iTunes.

What’s your business model, and how have you grown your revenue with having the podcast?

My revenue mostly comes indirectly from the podcast: I see it as a form of marketing, as I occasionally mention my own services and online community (the League of Creative Introverts.)

I also give listeners the option to donate using Patreon, which I’ve packed full of rewards.

I’m open to sponsorship, but I haven’t yet found a brand who I feel 100% comfortable about supporting.

What are the biggest challenges you’ve faced and obstacles you’ve overcome when it comes to running the podcast? If you had to start over, what would you do differently?

The only real challenges (after some technical glitches) have really come from time management. The Year of Fun series is very time-bound: requiring me to not only DO a ‘fun’ thing each week, but also to report back on it. But I’ve enjoyed the challenge: it’s definitely made me more cognizant of where my fun time is going!

Have you found anything particularly helpful or advantageous?

Certainly that series from at Flynn – I’ll forever be indebted to him! I also feel podcasting has given me a significant boost in confidence in my speaking. Public speaking is something that I had only really started to consider a few months before starting the show, but I still lacked any real confidence to make a start with it.

Whilst I’m nowhere near where I want to be with my speaking, I feel like podcasting has helped a lot – and I can totally hear the difference between now and some of my early shows!

What’s your advice for podcasters who are just starting out?

Just make sure whatever you want to podcast about is something you are 100% into. Something that you literally feel like you could talk about for hundreds of hours. If you aren’t sure you can monologue effectively now, consider an interview show, or even easier: a co-host. Most of us have friends we can gab on with for hours (introvert or not) and people for the most part like to listen to that.

Where can we go to learn more?

You can listen to the Creative Introvert Podcast as well as find many more free resources over at my website. You can also find me on Instagram and on Twitter. Don’t hesitate to reach out! 🙂