Why You Should Try To Partner With Others

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(By Troy Price) What are you doing from 6:30 – 8:30 a.m.? What is going on in your podcasting studio from 6:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. on the weekdays?

If you are a podcaster with a 9-5 job or an entrepreneur that keeps regular business hours you will probably say very little goes on at your studio at that time of day with any regularity. Your studio is sitting there unused during the morning primetime of radio. What a waste!!! I previously wrote in the Podcast Business Journal about how you could own your own tiny radio station which outlines how you could broadcast your recordings over a small radius. Since that writing I have entered into an adventitious partnership with a regional radio station that elevates the profile of our podcasting studio in ways I could not have managed.

First some history, I had been podcasting for a while before investing in quality podcast equipment. But I continued to record the way I had for years. It was a headache to unpack the mixer, limiter-gate, recorder, computer, and Heil PR-40s every week. And my wife weekly worried about me scuffing our dining room table every time I set up. We needed a better solution. We found a non-profit who loved our mission and was open to having us as a tenant. We moved into a perfect place for our podcasting studio. The spot was perfect and it even had a large window that looked out on the busy sidewalk, just like you would imagine in a vibrant radio station.

After establishing ourselves in the space we were approached by a station manager for a regional radio station who wanted to focus more on our little town. They wanted to broadcast from a visable place during the morning drive. We had the right location and we had most of the equipment they needed to broadcast already in place. The station manager asked if they could broadcast from our studio. After a few meetings an agreement was in place and all parties involved were happy! The radio station broadcasts to thousands of people each morning with the frequent announcement “This is 106.7, the Pinnacle, broadcasting live from Front Porch Studios in the Kentucky Guild of Artist and Craftsmen building in the heart of Old Town Berea.” #winning!

Here are three tips from this experience that you can put into practice to elevate awareness of your studio / podcasting efforts.

1. Always seek to partner with others. Continually seek professional relationships with those you are already know and interact with. This may just be you sharing what you do with your podcast to your book club, or it could be ordering t-shirts from the local print shop rather than an online retailer. This is probably the easiest way to elevate awareness of your podcast efforts among the people most likely to support you.
2. Approach your future partners with confidence and professionalism. I think that our first meeting with either of our current partners would have gone very differently if we were perceived as amateurs or not serious about what we wanted to do. Remember, when you have meetings like this, YOU are the podcast expert in the room!
3. Be flexible. You often hear about podcasters partnering with Audible, Godaddy, and other podcasters. But your partnerships are only limited by your imagination. You may not have a Guild or a Pinnacle that you can work with (I got lucky), but there are partnerships you can make that will elevate your standing in your community. Think about it, there had to be a first little league team that asked the first insurance agency to sponsor their team’s tee-shirts. There are loads of seemingly strange and awkward partnerships that actually make perfect sense. Try to add yourself as ½ of that select group.

Regardless if your community is your small town or if your community is online and spans the globe, partnering will elevate your standing. Seek a new partnership or strengthen your professionalism or flexibility today, it will prepare you for what is to come. Let me know about new partnerships you are seeking as a result of this article in the comments below. Please share so we all can learn from each other!

Troy Price is the co-founder of Front Porch Studios in Berea, Kentucky. He has been involved with podcasting for over a decade. Listen to his show “Podcasting Tips From The Front Porch” HERE.

Comments:

Molly Ruland - Jan 1, 2020

Great insight, thanks Troy!

Love this. Thanks!