Hey honeys and hustlers,

I spent 3 days with hundreds of podcasters and audio creators in Richmond, Virginia. This is one of those events that just leaves me feeling full, inspired, and connected to indie creators who truly love audio and storytelling. This was my third year attending the event, and I wish I could’ve taken all of you with me. But since I couldn’t, I decided to pull all my notes together and write this. Here are my takeaways on:

P.S. You can check out my reflection from last year's Resonate here. I don't have one from my first year because, well, it’s what inspired me to start this newsletter community in the first place.

After 3 years of attending this event, I found myself spending less time trying to learn something. I spent drastically more time trying to meet new folks, hear new ideas, and listen for the gaps in conversations and presentations. Surprisingly, audio creators have a soft spot for purity and pride for their medium. A beautiful thing when taking an idea from 0-1, a disastrous thing when trying to get that idea in front of an audience. So let’s start there…

There seemed to be a lack of imagination on both sides. From the top, brands see podcasts as a one-stop shop opportunity for marketing. You seemingly record one “great” interview, repurpose the video into audio, edit clips until you’re blue in the face, and call it a day once you put 5 ads about your product in it. This sentiment is what’s getting a lot of resentment from audiences and audio creators.

From the bottom, we (including me) have struggled to be imaginative about how to monetize our shows outside of ads. Ads can feel like the easiest and fastest way to monetize an audience, but they can also be just another set of golden handcuffs in disguise. And by golden handcuffs, I mean a source of income that pays well, but limits your ability to replace said income the longer you do it. This event was a reminder for both you and me not to rely on ads or brand deals, even if you’ve already started incorporating them into your revenue streams.

I didn’t hear anyone talking about creating original products, whether physical or digital, outside of merch. There’s a huge gap in imagination there, which I believe we creative folks can solve. I’ve tried both merch and a digital product, and there’s probably more to come on both fronts. I think we owe it to ourselves to at least attempt to build sustainable pathways to profit from our own creativity. Which brings me to my next point…

There was a whole talk on live events, and one quote stood out to me about their purpose: all events, whether free or paid, aim to convert casual listeners into loyal fans, and loyal fans into genuine friends. That embodies what we aim to do with our weekly Substack livestreams (and you're invited to join us tonight!). That embodies what we aimed to do at our Friday night meetup (thanks to all who came)! That embodies what many live podcast tours are trying to achieve. The cities that podcasters visit are largely due to population and audience density (i.e., no one is likely to visit small-town USA anytime soon); however, this also means they have the capacity to be destination events, where people plan entire trips around them. Let somebody plan an entire trip around your show! Let somebody make dinner plans with your virtual event in mind! It’s okay, I’m giving you permission. Create something so exceptional that people want it to be a meaningful part of their lives. But just because you create something exceptional doesn’t mean that it will result in you making significantly more money. Let me explain…

That one hurt, I know. Let’s unpack it. This sentiment can best be seen in social media posts urging you to monetize your work sooner. At first, I thought it was because they equated content creation with content monetization. And many of them do! But, the other side of the coin is that they also know something from experience that many others don’t – waiting longer to monetize something you put a lot of time, effort, and care into doesn’t affect the quality of the product, but it does affect the quality of your life while making the product. I believe my writing has improved significantly since I started this newsletter in November 2023, but the time I invest in crafting a great newsletter article hasn’t changed drastically. The journey from an okay writer to a much better writer was simply a matter of consistency and effort. And for said consistency and effort, I would like to be compensated, which is a large part of my reason for moving to beehiiv. Create something you're proud to have your name on, yes, but also know how and when to ask for money.

What Resonate Podcast Festival never lacks is an abundance of ideas. Fully formed ideas, half-baked ideas, ideas that didn’t pan out the way the creator originally planned, ideas from cups running over, and ideas that spark new ideas. As an idea person, I love this! I love the feeling of walking away from an event inspired to do something new or different, or expand upon an idea I had ages ago that wasn’t quite ripe yet. I feel affirmed in my voice notes, my messy note scribbles on pretentious paper and randomly assorted notebooks, and my chaotically organized notes app. Storytelling is the place to be imperfect. The place to be unsure. The place to be you, on your best and worst days. Someone shared their horror story about crowdfunding for a short film with me. Someone else made me cry during their session. Someone else made me laugh uncontrollably over a pack of gum. Resonate is the place for this.

Sometimes, creators become too caught up in the medium and lose sight of their mission. I’m guilty of this as a filmmaker. And that’s why it’s easy for me to recognize the medium-purity mindset (I’ll coin this term later) when I see podcasters turning their noses up at video creation. Podcasters, of any storytelling format, aren’t doing themselves any favors by not researching ways to leverage video or writing for their show. Audio newsletters, which I should do more of, sharing your process through video, newsletters in general, and podcast guesting are all abundant ways to get in front of your ideal audience. We’re also spoiled with choice in terms of software that can help us make anything and connect with anyone, with or without AI. The question is no longer how to do something, but what to make, and how passionate we feel about creating it. Because if you truly care about what it is you’re making, and believe that it should be out in the world thriving by its own merit, then you’ll do what it takes to reach your target audience (ethically, of course).

I met too many incredible people to name, many of whom are reading this email at this very moment. So thank you for blessing me with your presence and joy. In dark times, let there always be joy.

Happy Thursday! I’ll see you tonight on Substack at 8PM with Michelle and Corey!