This series is all about libsyn’s 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 Chelsea from In My Non-Expert Opinion
When did you start podcasting?
2017
Why did you start podcasting?
I ALWAYS wanted to storytell (I received my Bachelor’s in Broadcast Journalism, then went to grad school for a Master’s in Digital Media + Storytelling)! My friends would always describe me as animated and expressive – and they liked the way I told stories. At first, I tried to tell stories via so many outlets (blogs, videos, etc) – podcasting was the one that FINALLY clicked for me!
The pod started with a heavy focus on health/wellness, interviewing experts in the space. Eventually, it moved to 4 main topics: lifestyle, travel, manifestation, and entrepreneurship.
Within those 4 topics, I either personally share an experience, or interview someone to have a discussion. The shift was to show people I go through similar things like they do, I’ve been in their shoes, and so have guests – by telling our stories, you know you’re not alone. My hope now is to inspire, educate, or entertain!
What’s the name of your show and what is it about?
In My Non-Expert Opinion – a play on words of when people say “in my expert opinion”. Since it’s been a lot of personal stories and sharing of life experiences, the “non-expert” seemed fitting.
It’s focused on lifestyle, travel, manifesting, and entrepreneurship. It’s almost an audio diary of the phases of my life, featuring tons of industry experts as guests, which gave me the name. I actually renamed it last summer – it used to be something else!
This new name fit perfectly for the shift my podcast had. It was a mix of opinions from myself, and experts, with a hint of cheeky self-deprecation – I have a lot of thoughts and opinions, and they aren’t always expert! But I balance it with the expert guests.
What’s your podcasting set-up? Hardware, software, CMS, etc.
Like many podcasters, starting out I thought I needed the absolute best of EVERYTHING – so I had an H4N Zoom Recorder that I barely knew how to use. Apparently, it’s what a lot of people working on movie sets use!
I started moving around a lot, and it became really heavy. I went through about 3 different setups, and now, funny enough, my setup is the MOST basic! I’ve been backpacking around Australia for the last year, so I had to make sure whatever I had didn’t cause me overweight baggage fees…. so, I have no real mic!
- I use Zencastr or Zoom for remote recordings (which is 90% of my podcast) and my Apple headphones when doing those recordings.
- I edit in Audacity for solo episodes, or send to my editor to edit for interviews (he uses Adobe Audition)
- I just did an upgrade where Audacity is no longer working on my laptop, so I’ll have to learn GarageBand.
- If I’m recording in person, I open up my laptop, and record in GarageBand (again, no mics!) or… use my secret weapon… Voice Memo on my iPhone!
- Most intros, outros, and solo episodes are done on Voice Memo. I have people COMPLIMENT me on my sound and setup… little do they know, I’m using a free app on my phone!
- With all this said, I absolutely make sure my sound quality is great, which is why I record in quiet, enclosed, padded rooms, book rooms at studios if needed, tell my guests to wear headphones and follow instructions when recording, and send to my editor who is a professional audio engineer, that I trust to put the best sound out there.
- To book guest without all the back and forth of figuring out times, I use Calendly
- Gmail to communicate with guests
- Slack to communicate with my editor
- Waave to make audiograms and promote
- Canva for social graphics
How have you promoted your podcast?
Mainly via my IG (@nonexpertopinionpod) and posting on my personal FB page, as well as linking it in promo threads in FB groups that are podcast specific. I use a mix of Audiograms and static graphics.
Lately, I’ve been a guest on others’ podcasts, which has been amazing at bringing new listeners to my show. I plan to make this a high priority moving forward. I also plan to start a Facebook group – I LOVE the FB communities I’m in, and would love that for my own pod.
What do you know now that you wish you knew when you started?
That you do NOT need to have the best equipment to start. LAUNCH, THEN ADJUST. You just need a clear message, something interesting to say, speak well around that message, and people will listen.
I stalled for over a year on starting my podcast – waiting to interview editors, buy the best microphones, learning softwares, figuring out every little detail, Googling every subject around podcasting possible. And when I launched, a lot of what I “learned” all year didn’t even apply.
You will not know what to tweak if you don’t start! So start, tweak, and keep going. Consistency is KEY. Just NOW, 3 years later, am I starting to reap the rewards of being consistent (being a guest, helping clients, part of a network, etc).
If you’re looking for some fascinating conversations from non-experts ranging from everything lifestyle to entrepreneurship you must subscribe to In My Non-Expert Opinion!
Chelsea also has a lot of ways to support podcasters from shownotes to editing to interview prep. Contact her here.
If you’re feeling that it’s time to finally get your podcast going, we would love to host your show! We have the perfect podcast hosting plans for you!
And if you’re looking for the first step to take, check out our Start Podcasting blog series.
