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 Carlos from Salvis Unidos Podcast
When did you start podcasting?
I published my first episode in July 2019, but my podcasting journey started much earlier.
I did a lot of research including taking online courses, watching videos online, reading articles, perusing forums and finally, taking notes on my favorite podcasts.
I recorded a series of short test podcasts with no intention of releasing them. They were just practice for the real thing. I wanted to get comfortable with the hardware, the software, and the editing process.
So even though listeners didn’t hear a single second of audio until July, I can say I really started to podcast in January 2019.
Why did you start podcasting?
Podcasting captured my imagination when I first learned of it back in 2007.
I was amazed that anyone could produce content, without expensive equipment, and that there was a community waiting to embrace it.
I wanted to produce a podcast for a long time, but I felt I didn’t have any ideas that were worthwhile. Then in 2018 I started a community networking group for Salvadorans in New York City.
I met a lot of incredible people with awesome projects that were hungry to connect with others in their community but with no real way of doing it. I had finally found something to podcast about.
Traditional media commonly portrays negative stereotypes about Salvadorans, and I saw a lot of negativity and in-fighting from Salvadorans themselves on social media.
I didn’t want either image to be the general public’s vision of Salvadorans. When I couldn’t find content promoting unity and positivity, I decided to create it myself. I had my podcast idea, and now I had my mission.
Having a bigger goal than just podcasting really pushed me to get my first episode out there. Without that, I may not have been able to overcome the fear of putting yourself and your work out there. It helps keep me motivated and gets me through the difficult times.
What’s the name of your show and what is it about?
My podcast is called Salvis Unidos Podcast. “Salvis” is a US-originated slang term to refer to Salvadorans. “Unidos” is the Spanish word for united.
The show is a long form interview where I talk to Salvadorans and people with a connection to El Salvador about their work, projects, and experience with Salvadoran culture.
All this to show the world that there are great things coming out of El Salvador and that there is no single “correct” way to be Salvadoran or to love El Salvador.
I try to do as much research as I can about each guest I have on. I put effort into formulating meaningful questions that might provide insight into their work and life.
I try to keep myself out of the podcast as much as I can and approach each guest with an open mind. The goal is to create a safe stage where guests feel comfortable sharing themselves.
On the other side of the wire, the goal is to make the audience feel connected to the guest.
What’s your podcasting set-up?
I thought long and hard about my podcasting set up. I wanted to keep it low budget, but I also wanted to strive for good quality.
In the end I decided to spend money on good value hardware and use free or mostly free software and services.
For hardware I use Samson Q2U microphones, a Behringer Xenyx 1204USB mixer, SONY MDR–7506 headphones, and a Zoom H4N digital recorder with Audio-Technica ATR–3350 lavalier microphones when I’m on the road.
I use Audacity to edit my podcasts, Canva and MS Paint for graphic design, ShotCut on Windows and InShot or InStories on mobile to edit short videos.
There are also several services I use like Calendly to schedule interviews, Zoom for remote interviews, and Google Docs to write out notes or scripts.
Last but not least, I use WordPress with Divi, hosted on Bluehost, for the Salvis Unidos website and Libsyn to host, publish, and manage my content.
How have you promoted your podcast?
The main way I promote Salvis Unidos is through Instagram.
The website serves as a great place to put show notes and links to videos and other resources, but I see it more as information storage.
The Salvis Unidos community has built up within Instagram so I spend time and resources on creating posts and stories to promote the podcast there.
Each episode gets a post and a story, and I tag accounts that are part of the Salvadoran community and ask them to share my episodes.
I send each guest the social media assets I create for their episode so they can share with their friends and followers too.
What do you know now that you wish you knew when you started?
I wish I knew how much work it was going to be!
But seriously, I wish I knew more about the podcast production process.
I wasted time and faced frustration because of lack of technical expertise.
Reading Jessica Abel’s “Out on the Wire” and Jonathan Kern’s “Sound Reporting” helped a lot but there’s still a lot I feel I need to improve on and I’m still learning.
Outside of that, I wish I could go back in time and hand myself the organizational structure I have now because it makes things much easier.
I’d also hand myself some later episodes and tell myself “Listen to this, it’s going to be worth the effort.”
Carlos Guadrón is creating a community and informing Salvadorans that they are not alone. Salvadorans living in the US and the public at large can find people like themselves on this charming and informative podcast called Salvis Unidos Podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify link provided.
The United States is a Melting Pot. There are people living here from all over the world. Carlos from Salvis Unidos Podcast wanted to showcase Salvadorans living is New York through his podcast. Essentially creating a community of people that are or are interested in the culture. Are you seeing a need to create a community about your culture but don’t know where to start? We can help!
Check out our Start Your Podcast blog series. If you are ready, we have the best podcast hosting plans around!