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Chris Williamson is a modern-day polymath with a becoming podcast. It’s known as “Fashionable Knowledge.” Launched in 2018, it has skilled a whopping 30 million downloads throughout 400 episodes.
He informed me, “We speak about human nature, advertising, philosophy, life, life hacks, biohacking, health, well being, just about all the pieces.”
The podcast seems on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts, amongst different portals. He’s on main social channels, and he’s began an e mail e-newsletter.
“Fashionable Knowledge” is a media sensation, in different phrases. In our latest dialog, he and I mentioned the challenges of continuous content material manufacturing, development techniques, and extra.
Our whole audio dialogue is embedded under. The following transcript is edited for size and readability.
Eric Bandholz: It’s at all times enjoyable speaking with different podcasters. Inform us about your present.
Chris Williamson: I run “Modern Wisdom,” a podcast from the U.Okay. with roughly 400 episodes to this point. I’ve interviewed distinguished friends corresponding to authors Ryan Holliday, James Clear, and Seth Godin. We speak about human nature, advertising, philosophy, life, life hacks, biohacking, health, well being, just about all the pieces.
I’m additionally a membership promoter by commerce. I’ve spent a lot time filling nightclubs with younger guys and women within the U.Okay. who wish to exit and get drunk. And that’s given me an fascinating overview of how advertising works, particularly with model constructing. That’s actually what retailers are competing on.
It may appear unusual going from membership promotions to a podcast. There’s a connection, nevertheless.
Bandholz: Why podcasts?
Williamson: I loved guesting on podcasts. The easiest way to do extra is to have my very own present. It’s just like of us who convert avocations into occupations. Somebody as soon as gave me good recommendation for what to do in life. He stated, “Take into consideration what your mates ask you to do. In the event that they ask to your assist in relationships, perhaps you’re a superb relationship coach. If it’s enterprise wants, then maybe you’re a enterprise coach.”
I like having conversations. So I made a decision to start the podcast. It’s been three and a half years, 400 episodes, 30 million downloads — I’m not slowing down.
I’m doing three episodes per week now. I initially did one every week.
Bandholz: How do you line up three individuals every week?
Williamson: I e book my friends about two months prematurely. I can see the place I’ve bought gaps. The extra distinguished the visitor, the more durable to nail down.
The worst-case situation is when friends reschedule on the final minute or don’t present up.
One concern I had with rising the frequency is that it will unfold the identical variety of performs over extra episodes — extra work for a similar publicity. Thankfully, my viewers listens to every installment for probably the most half.
I’ve bought advertisers on the present. The extra episodes, the extra advert stock. And with extra listeners, I can get away with going from one advert per present to a few, max. I’m not a fan of mid-roll adverts.
By way of earnings, I can now rent an assistant. My video man can spend extra time on the mission as a result of he’s higher remunerated. We’ve bought a man taking care of social. So I’m slowly constructing the workforce.
Bandholz: How do you develop a podcast?
Williamson: YouTube is improbable for development. Any podcaster that isn’t using YouTube is lacking out. It’s tough to develop an audio platform alone as a result of there’s no “up subsequent” auto-play. There’s nothing trending. There aren’t any steered podcasts.
The easiest way I’ve discovered to develop the audio performs is by crushing YouTube. We deal with it. It’s the broad finish of our acquisition funnel.
That stated, hyperlink to the audio while you tag a visitor on-line. One play on audio is price about 100 on YouTube. The identical goes for subscribers. We’ve bought a couple of quarter of one million subscribers on YouTube. That many on audio can be unbelievable. So it’s a matter of discovering new listeners and filtering them right down to audio listeners.
If I uncover a brand new podcast on YouTube, I’ll subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. I’m not going to observe each one in all them, however I would hear.
Bandholz: Are you producing your episodes with YouTube in thoughts?
Williamson: They’re optimized for each — video and audio. We’ve stepped up the standard on YouTube over the previous 18 months. I’m filming on a beautiful DSLR camera. We’ve bought a compelling intro and outro. We’re making use of finish playing cards and tags. We rebranded and redesigned the thumbnails. We did that for YouTube, however we additionally get good audio episodes.
Our development on YouTube is solely natural, I ought to add.
Bandholz: So it’s full episodes on YouTube after which clip them for audio.
Williamson: Sure. Watching an hour and a half dialog is a big dedication. Listening to shorter clips is way simpler. If the clip is fascinating, they might watch the complete episode.
Plus, repurposing from the principle podcast video into clips with completely different codecs works effectively. It’s the identical viewers that’s following on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. In case your workforce understands the edit, your voice, and what you need, the entire thing turns into an infinite flywheel of content material. File your long-form piece and break up it up for YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, no matter.
It’s an infinite content material engine. A visitor as soon as used the right analogy. He stated, “It’s such as you write a e book and promote it by the sentence.” So no matter model you’re, produce long-form and even medium-form content material after which divvy it up.
Bandholz: Who decides clip the content material from the grasp model?
Williamson: The social media workforce can do no matter they need. We now have a full-time guide who understands my messaging. He listens to the present, which, by the way, is a aggressive benefit. In the event that they take heed to it as a result of they wish to, your workers is motivated and aligned. So the social workforce has full autonomy. Nonetheless, I determine the important YouTube stuff — tags, titles, thumbnails.
I’m all for outsourcing duties. However you’ll be able to take that too far. There’s a cause I’m saying sure issues and addressing particular subjects. My workforce wants to grasp the important factors and objective. In any other case, it’s on me to get it proper.
Each time I’ve seen content material producers totally outsource the important choices, their channel underperforms and turns into soulless. It’s apparent that it’s not coming from the creator.
Bandholz: Is your income solely promoting? Any ecommerce?
Williamson: No ecommerce. Promoting pays the payments. I a lot want rising income by means of extra performs. One of many greatest issues that we did during the last 18 months was launch a weekly e mail e-newsletter, which I like. We’re as much as about 25,000 subscribers with an open charge of about 40%.
The e-newsletter known as “3 Minute Monday.” It’s an perception into one thing I’ve been pondering. Plus, there’s a life hack in every challenge.
Bandholz: What do you visualize your life being? After you’ve reached a nirvana enterprise, what’s subsequent?
Williamson: I wish to deal with conversations with individuals. There’s not a lot in my life now that I might eliminate. I like what I do. I like doing the analysis, for example.
My two longtime enterprise companions — one for nightclubs and my video man for Fashionable Knowledge — are each mates. They have been mates that grew to become enterprise companions. I do know that that’s fraught with hazard, however I’ve managed to get fortunate.
Bandholz: The place can individuals study extra about you?
Williamson: Fashionable Knowledge is on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, wherever else you hear. We’ve mentioned my YouTube and Instagram channels. Plus, I’m on Twitter. I’ve printed on my web site a free listing of 100 books — fiction and nonfiction — which have influenced my pondering.
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