Welcome to Podcast Insider.

I'm Mackenzie Bennett, marketing specialist at Blueberry.

And I'm Mike Dowell, VP of customer relations and a long time podcaster.

And I'm Dave Clements, customer relations and media specialist for Blueberry.

Today, we're talking about something that doesn't get enough credit, your podcast voice, tone, and personality.

Yeah.

A lot of people focus on their gear and editing and all that stuff, but how you sound and how you connect with your listeners makes the biggest difference.

Yeah.

And you don't you don't need to sound like a radio professional, but you do need to sound like you, which is just more intentional.

Yep.

And, also, we wanna welcome Dave Clemons.

You're our new, official cohost.

Welcome aboard.

Yeah.

Thanks for having me.

This can be fun.

Yeah.

We're happy to be back.

So we're gonna talk about your voice is your brand.

You're listening to Podcast Insider hosted by Mike Dell, Dave Clements, and Mackenzie Bennett from the Blueberry team, bringing you weekly insights, advice, and insider tips and tricks to help you start, grow, and thrive through podcasting with all the support of your team here at Blueberry Podcasting.

Welcome.

Let's dive in.

Your voice is more than just what comes out of the microphones or out of the speakers or headphones or whatever.

It's your presence, your rhythm, and the way you approach topics and guests.

Yeah.

So you might wanna think about, does your delivery reflect the energy of the show?

That's something that I have a challenge with sometimes.

And you might also consider, does it match my audience expectations?

When the episode starts, is it supposed to be high energy or low energy?

Are you being conversational, or are you just reading a script?

It's hard to find that balance sometimes.

It's and it's hard to read a script.

You know, like, when we prep for this show, for instance, we have kind of an outline of what we wanna talk about.

We don't have any hard scripted things or, well, not very many.

You could tell when when I'm reading anyway, but, you know, that's kinda just the nature of the beast.

Yeah.

On my personal show, people don't really expect me to do anything but to just be who I am.

You know?

And Right.

Whether they like it or not is up to them.

Yeah.

And, I mean, people people get to know that voice.

You know?

Everybody that's listened to Podcast Insider for any length of time, they're like, yes.

I know what to expect when Mike dials on the microphone.

And if it's not that, then then they're like, wait a minute.

He's been abducted or he's reading something.

That that happens sometimes.

You can you can tell when we're reading a scripted part or I can't you know, at least when I am.

But I I usually don't stick right to it either.

And I know, Mackenzie, you don't either, which is good.

No.

No.

We have a good general idea of what we're probably gonna say for, you know, each each part of the episode, but we're not just strictly reading, you know, off of a page, nothing like that.

That's never really been the case, and I don't really ever see it changing.

Yeah.

No.

We, you know, we wanna make this kind of laid back and, you know, and that's that's our mode here at at Podcast Insider, but, you know, you may have a different mode.

You know?

Your show might be more polished, and maybe that's what you wanna do, but you don't have to.

Your voice, your cadence, the way that you approach your episodes, like, that's the through line for every single episode.

So you wanna define that consistency, and you and you'll do that over the course of your show.

Like, episode one, like, of my show, like, I started, like, thirteen years ago, and I didn't know what I was doing.

So it's evolved over time, but then at some point, it'll click.

And and so it's just good to hold on to that identity and and, like, okay.

That's your brand.

That's the seed.

That's the core.

Your tone, you know, like I said, we're we're here, you know, doing more or less a conversational tone, I think, and a little more laid back and lighthearted sometimes, educational, serious sometimes.

You know?

Just whatever your tone is, keep it intentional so you know, you know, what that episode is about or what that show is about.

You know, listeners will return when they feel comfortable and connected to your tone, your type of show.

You know, like, I I listen to one show that is just very right to the point, very serious, almost broadcaster like, and I like that particular show because of that.

You know, I listen to other shows that are completely off the cuff, and I like that about that show.

And people are gonna learn, you know, what you are like.

And, you know, as long as it's more or less consistent, you're gonna build trust and and and all that with your audience, and they'll they'll come back for more.

Yeah.

And they're also gonna know whether or not it's authentic.

Think about that as you're creating your show, as you're doing your show, as you create new episodes.

You know, listen back to yourself and identify that for yourself so that you can go, does it stay?

Does it go?

Should I carry this along into future episodes?

Because like I said, that's the thread.

It it stitches everything together to create, you know, whatever your podcast is, whatever your message is.

It's it's a bigger part than I think people realize.

The tone of the show, you know, having Dave as our as our cohost now is is probably gonna change just a little bit.

It's not gonna be exactly the same as it was before because, you know, that person is no longer here, and it's just there's no way to, you know, have the exact same thing.

And I think we'll, you know, we're still gonna give you the podcast information and, you know, tidbits and our own opinions, but I think we'll settle into something that might be a little more conversational.

Mhmm.

You know?

So we'll see how that affects the show, but people can still rely on us to get them the exact same type of content that they were getting before.

Yeah.

For sure.

So pay attention while we get used to, like you know, I've been on the mic with Mike, and I've been on the microphone with Mackenzie, I think.

And even you know?

Like, I've got experience doing this, but it's the three of us together making this show.

And so the tone is gonna change.

We're gonna all get a feel for each other and and how the the show goes.

So, like, keep that in mind because we're learning too.

People do fall in love with with a podcast, and most of the time, it's because of the personality.

You know, I used this example before.

You know?

I I have a a couple of podcasts I listen to that I could care less about the subject.

I just like the person.

You know?

And and and I know that sounds weird, but, you know, I listen to that person's other stuff that I am interested in, but I will also listen to that person talk about underwater basket weaving or whatever.

You know?

So it it's more the personality.

It's, you know, kind of the quirks and, you know, everybody's got a unique way of explaining things and and and all that.

And, you know, we get that same question sometimes as you, how am I doing compared to everybody else in my genre?

Well, that's not really important because most podcasters that are are podcast listeners that are listening to a particular subject matter are gonna listen to more than one, and they may like the way you do it better than the other guy.

But, you know, sometimes they'll listen to both.

You know, it's it's all about, you know, just your unique, your uniqueness, I guess, is the right term.

Yeah.

That it's definitely the personality that you have is what the listener connects to.

You know, you you are just natural on your own show.

That's bound to happen.

You tell stories from your from your life, and they are able to make that connection with you.

We always say be authentic, but that doesn't mean unpolished.

You know, we have we have an unfair advantage here.

We got Kate.

She makes us, sound smarter and edits us and all that.

And so we we are a little more polished than we would be normally just because of that.

But, you know, make sure that it's a decent product.

You know, crappy audio is is something that people will not tolerate in a podcast.

You know?

I don't care how good the the subject matter is, if it's just crappy or if you're just not focused.

And I have that problem all well off on tangents and whatnot.

But, you know, just as long as they know what to expect from episode to episode, you know, your listeners will hang with you even even if you do have some glitch here and there.

Yeah.

And, I mean, even those little those glitches, those weird moments, like, that builds the authentic good grief.

The authenticity.

Authenticity.

The That's a hard one.

Emphasis or emphasis on the wrong syllable.

That's where I was going with that.

Yeah.

You're gonna goof up.

It it's not always gonna be perfect.

You're gonna stumble over things.

You're gonna say authenticity wrong.

So embrace some of that stuff.

Cut it out if you need to.

Leave it in if it just makes sense.

So, yeah, I I think this is all just a work in progress, and it's never gonna be perfect.

Just be mindful of it.

You know?

Are you coming across as your real self to your audience?

And is that what you want, or do you want to be something that you're not so people don't know who you are?

You know?

Like, it's just something to consider as as you work through your show.

Podcast listeners can tell fake pretty easily, you know, especially, you know, the the traditional way of listening to podcasts is earbuds.

You know?

You're right in their head.

Yeah.

What a delightful way to phrase that.

Yeah.

Yeah.

But, I mean, you are.

You're right there.

And and the thing is, if you're fake or you're faking it, they're gonna tell.

You know?

They're gonna know that.

Right.

You know, so unless you're, you know, super highly polished and editing every, you know, every omen out of the out of the thing and taking all the breaths out, then it doesn't sound like you don't do.

Yeah.

Please don't do that.

I'm guilty of that.

I've I've gotten better over the years.

Because of the things I've had to edit, you you leave in some of those goofs and the the long pauses and and things like that.

Yeah.

You know, in broadcasting, one of the biggest no nos is silence.

But in, you know, in podcasting, sometimes a little bit of silence is what's needed.

Sometimes people need to think about what you just said.

Sometimes I need to think what I just said.

Very true.

So so don't don't be afraid to have little things in there that are not perfect.

Obviously, we're not perfect, and I don't think we ever will be.

That's not the point.

Yeah.

You don't want you don't want people to be bored, but you also don't want them to be distracted by every little thing in in your show because at some point, they're gonna be like, nah.

This is not for me, and they'll leave.

And don't sound like you're bored.

I I Right.

I've I've I've heard podcasts where, you know, the the podcaster, the the host or whatever is, you know, okay.

I gotta talk about this, blah blah blah blah blah blah.

You know?

And then you go to sleep.

You know?

That's not good.

Unless you're doing a sleeping podcast, and then Yeah.

By all means.

Yeah.

That's a whole another thing.

Yeah.

I have certain podcasts I put on when I'm going to when I'm going to bed, and I don't get very far into them usually because they are boring.

Yeah.

It's doing its job.

There you go.

It's kind of a mindset thing of everyone gets to set their own standards of what they want their show to be.

But depending on how high or low or whatever those standards are, people will decide for themselves if they if they match that, if they want if they accept that.

Yeah.

You know, if you're like, hey.

I am just gonna leave in Todd was known for just cutting off the beginning and end and leaving the rest of the episode untouched.

And people were totally fine with that.

He had a great listener base who loved that, you know, quintessential Todd episode that was coming out with whatever just popped into his head at the time, but there's definitely some people who are going to edit the crap out of it, whether or not they are taking out every single breath and pause or whatever, but that's up to you.

You are Yeah.

You are the host of the show.

That's all for this episode.

Thanks for tuning in.

Yep.

And remember, your voice and tone will tell listeners who you are before they even know your topic.

And your personality is definitely what makes them stay.

So be real, have fun, and make every single episode sound like you.

And, of course, we're gonna remind you that Blueberry gives you everything that you need to keep your podcast sounding sharp and true to your own style.

Subscribe or follow Podcast Insider for more tips, tools, advice, and help you grow your show.

You can find us at podcastinsider.com if we disappear from your favorite app for whatever reason.

And, thanks for listening.

Next week, Mackenzie, you, and Dave are gonna be talking about interviewing skills.

Because the silence is not just what's coming through the microphone or your headphones, but also what is going on in your head.

It's hard to make your brain quiet, but it's a good skill to work on.

With that silence, staying present and not performative.

You know, that silence can lead you into the next thing that your guest might say.

And instead of focusing on a list of questions or research that you did ahead of time, be in the moment, and react honestly to whatever it is that they're saying.

It can turn into a story that way.

Thanks for joining us.

Come back next week.

And in the meantime, head to podcastinsider.com for more information, to subscribe, share, and read our show notes.

To check out our latest suite of services and learn how Blueberry can help you leverage your podcast, visit blueberry.com.

That's blueberry without the e's.

We couldn't afford the e's.