How to avoid Pod Fade with PodPros Founder Alex Sanfilippo

"The most important thing you can do in podcasting if you want to succeed long term is to know your why and have it written out." -Alex Sanfilippo

Alex Sanfilippo is the founder of Podpros.com, a company focused on helping podcast guests and podcast hosts get the most out of podcasting. He is also a podcaster himself, and has been in the industry for over 5 years.

This is Alex Sanfilippo 's story...

Alex Sanfilippo started out in the aerospace industry but realized that it wasn't for him. 

He then started a podcast with the intention of talking to entrepreneurs who had successfully left their 9-5 jobs. This led him to fall in love with podcasting and eventually leave his corporate job to become an entrepreneur in the industry. 

Alex then identified a problem that many podcasters were facing: finding guests for their show. He decided to create a solution for this and launched PodMatch.

In this episode, you will learn the following:

1. Why most people who start podcasts end up quitting within the first year 
2. The importance of having a well-defined and focused "why" for your podcast
3. How to find and secure the right guests for your podcast

Resources:

Podpros.com

Chapter Summaries:

[00:00:20] - Alex San Filipo is the founder of Podpros.com, a company that helps podcast guests and podcast hosts get the most out of podcasting. Alex's job is to help everybody make podcasting as simple as possible. Alex loves and cares about the podcasting industry.

[00:01:01] - Before he was in the aerospace industry, he worked in a company that went public. He wanted to leave corporate life and start a podcast. He needed to talk to people who have successfully left a nine to five job to become entrepreneurs. Full-time he was able to do that.

[00:02:43] - After 15 years of working in the corporate world, he decided to quit his job and start a podcast. It was a calculated risk to leave a corporate job after 15 years, but it was good for the sake of potential greatness. He enjoyed being behind the mic and he enjoyed the community of podcasters.

[00:05:17] - He started a podcast 12 years ago, but he quit after 12 episodes. Now he wants to change the way he runs his podcast. He wants to focus on talking to entrepreneurs instead of corporate people. He had problems finding guests for his show. He thinks 90% of people who start a podcast fail after the first year.

[00:08:14] - Some people start podcasting for the wrong reasons. Most of the people who are famous in podcasting were already famous in their avenue. They already had something going for them that caused them to get millions of downloads. Even the most gifted people, like Hollywood Alist, quit podcasting because it was too much work.

[00:10:13] - The first step of how to beat podfade is to know your, why. The second step is to find an area of passion and serve that community alone. For example, in his free time he would like to start a soccer podcast, but he doesn't have any plans to do that.

[00:12:19] - The first step of a podcast is to create an ideal listener. The second step is to filter guests. The third step is a completely different topic. The fourth is to focus on what you are going to share with the audience. The fifth is to protect the audience. And the 6th is to introduce the topic.

[00:15:30] - The system of producing a podcast is the most important part of the process. It's important to organize everything in one place and keep it out of your head. If you want to start a podcast, talk to someone who's good and ask them what their system is.

[00:18:45] - He explains the steps of the podcast production process in detail. He does the research, interview the guest, record the intros and outros, edits and schedule on social media.

[00:22:24] - Podpros.com is a project management software for helping podcasters with their show production. It's a glorified checklist that you create and you can add notes, upload files and add dates. Podcasting is a lot of work. Podcast SOP helps it become less of a labor and more of something that you can just love.

[00:25:16] - Podlottery.com is a new app that allows podcasters to leave reviews for each other's shows. It was developed by Mr. Podcast, who is grateful for the reviews he gets from other podcasters. It's an early beta with 100 people and he's psyched about it.

Other episodes you'll enjoy:

The Secret to Avoiding Obscurity with your Podcast

How to make the most of Podcast Movement (as an introvert) with Jared Easley

How to Growth Hack live events for your podcast

Resources mentioned in this episode 

Try Capsho for free here!

Download the 3 secrets to avoiding Pod Fade here

Loved this episode? Leave us a review and rating here! 

Here's a breakdown of what is covered:

[00:00:20] - Introducing Alex Sanfilippo.

[00:01:01] - How did you get into this industry.

[00:02:43] - When did he decide to quit his corporate job.

[00:05:17] - How he learned pod fade was a problem.

[00:10:13] - Know your why.

[00:12:19] - Create an avatar to support your why.

[00:18:20] - Develop a system.

[00:22:24] - The SOP project.