This series is all about showcasing Libsyn podcasters. Its sole purpose is to introduce these awesome podcasts to the world as well as share their podcasting insight to empower the community!
Q & A with Martine Ellis from the iMake Podcast
When did you start podcasting?
The first episode of the iMake podcast was released on 17 August 2010.
Why did you start podcasting?
I love handmade crafts and living a creative lifestyle.
My favourite craft is knitting but I also love cooking, sewing, music, photography and lots of other things.
There are loads of knitting podcasts but back in 2010, there did not seem to be many general craft podcasts. So I with very little thought or planning, thought I’d have a go at making my own! I already write a creative lifestyle blog so the idea was that it would be an extension of that.
What’s your show about?
It’s about living a creative lifestyle and sharing ideas and resources.
I cover a range of crafts. There’s always a knitting section in the show (as I am always knitting) but lots of other crafts have been included for the non-knitters for example cooking, gardening, scrapbooking, making bath and beauty products, crochet and sewing.
The show includes a generous helping of Guernsey culture. My unique selling point is that I live on the beautiful island of Guernsey. People are generally quite interested in Guernsey and like to know about our culture and history.
I occasionally interview local crafters and creative business owners, and I sometimes invite guest hosts to join me, which is always lots of fun. I am a big fan of taking my microphone out and about and capturing events and experiences.
What’s your podcasting set-up? Hardware, software, CMS, etc.
It’s quite simple, I think. I am not what I would refer to as “a techie”.
I use a Zoom H2N recorder plugged into my MacBook and I record the show in GarageBand. I host my files with the fabulous Libsyn and I use my blog for show notes, which is a free WordPress blog.
You can read more about the equipment I use here . This is a more detailed blog post about my podcast recording process.
How have you promoted your podcast?
There’s been lots of “word of mouth” in the social media sense.
The knitting/craft community is made up of lots of really lovely, generous people. So once a few people started listening to the show, they were kind enough to recommend that others listen.
I have a discussion forum on Ravelry.com which certainly helps promote the show and allows me to really reach out to my own community.
Not all of my blog readers listen to the podcast and not all of my podcast listeners read my blog. But as time has gone on the 2 have become more closely linked and someone new to the podcast will often check out the blog and vice versa.
I have recently started designing knitting patterns and several people who have purchased my patterns are now regular podcast listeners, which is great.
If you sell any form of handmade product or digital publication, people are always interested to know more about the person behind the product. That’s why social media can really work for small creative business owners.
I’ve been lucky enough to have had my podcast featured in a few knitting/craft magazines and I have also been reviewed by several bloggers.
Also, nothing beats a shout out by a fellow podcaster on their own show. I’ve found that promoting other podcasts within your niche ultimately brings in more listeners. I know this is not the case for every niche, but it definitely works in mine.
What do you know now that you wish you knew when you started?
Possibly how much work is involved in just releasing just one episode… But then if I’d known that, I might never have started!!
It’s true, it is a lot of work, but the rewards are enormous. I have connected with some incredible, inspiring people through podcasting.
If you have any interest in crafty things, iMake is the way to go, and you get the bonus of getting to know the beautiful island of Guernsey! You do need to subscribe.
You can connect with Martine via twitter or Facebook and if you want to listen to a promo for her show, check it out here below
Also, for those of you that love e-magazines, Martine launched the iMake Magazine! Very awesome.
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