This series is all about 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 Julie from Mother’s Quest: Live Your E.P.I.C. Life
When did you start podcasting?
I launched the Mother’s Quest Podcast as a 45th birthday present to myself on December 1, 2016.
That means, this past December, Mother’s Quest celebrated its 5th birthday and I’ve turned the big 5–0!
Why did you start podcasting?
After a decade of motherhood, navigating my first child’s developmental delays, and five-plus years of infertility before conceiving my second child, I felt like I had lost parts of myself.
The podcast, and the Mother’s Quest community that I grew alongside it. And became a way to reconnect to my own curiosity, interests, and perspectives to make an impact beyond my family.
The podcast also grew up alongside a tumultuous time in American politics, a period when many of us realized we needed to use our voices to advocate for social justice and to step into activism.
I was able to use the podcast to shine a light on important issues and to galvanize money and other resources from listeners so that the impact of the episodes could live far beyond the downloads.
What’s the name of your show and what is it about?
Mother’s Quest Podcast invites listeners to come along with me as I interview and learn from a diverse group of mothers living what I call an E.P.I.C. life: engaging mindfully with our children (E), passionately and purposefully making a difference beyond our family (P), investing in ourselves (I), and connecting to a strong support network (C).
At the end of every conversation, each guest offers me and anyone listening a “challenge” to more fully live our E.P.I.C. lives, creating ripples beyond the episode itself.
What’s your podcasting set-up?
I record my interviews via Zoom from a detached bonus room at my home in San Mateo, CA with my MacBook Air, an Audio-Technica ATR2100x-USB Cardioid Dynamic Microphone, and a Pop Filter.
After getting my edited episodes back from my podcast editing team at Bear Beat Productions, I write and record a personal introduction for each episode using Zencastr, which automatically uploads to Dropbox and goes back to my team again to create a final draft.
How have you promoted your podcast?
I’ve primarily promoted my podcast organically, building relationships with like-minded mothers on a quest, many of whom join the free Mother’s Quest Facebook group, where I share each new episode.
When an episode comes out, I have a release day ritual, where I listen with fresh ears to the episode myself, then sit down to share posts on social media from the heart. Inspired by my podcasting mentor, Libsyn’s own Elsie Escobar, I look for ways to bring the podcast out into the world.
For example, I partnered with Happy Women Dinners to host a live event with podcast guest and best-selling author Peggy Orenstein.
Guests were invited to tune into the podcast interview ahead of the event, then join us at a private home for dinner, an opportunity to have their book signed by Peggy, and then listen to a follow-up live interview and Q and A from the attendees.
This January, I’m hosting a private outdoor brunch at my home in partnership with Happy Women Dinners again, featuring recent podcast guest, Stanford dean and best-selling author Julie Lythcott-Haims.
I love finding ways like these to weave podcasting into our authentic lives.
What do you know now that you wish you knew when you started?
If I could go back and tell my past self some words of wisdom, I would say trust yourself, trust the process and allow yourself to shift from feeling like you need to reach a specific destination.
Instead, enjoy the journey itself, don’t worry so much about the downloads but identify your own more meaningful measures of success, and make the podcast experience your own.
You can do things YOUR way so that this podcasting experience is one that fulfills you and that you can sustain over time.
Oh, and don’t worry! If at first, you cannot stand the sound of your voice, just wait a little while. You’ll actually grow to like it!
Navigating through life is challenging on the best of days, and Julie Neale is a phenomenal steward of powerful and often challenging conversations that bring us hope, humanity, connection and action. Mother’s Quest is a must have show on your rotation, find it in Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
For some of us creating community is not a priority, for Julie it was essential. After years of just getting through, she turned to podcasting to tell her story and created a strong community of women that could understand each other and also tell their stories.
We all have a story to tell. How you tell it and to whom is your part to discover. We can help you get started with our Start Your Podcast blog series. If you are ready, we have the best podcast hosting plans around!
