The Reason for Podcasting | Alex Sanfilippo

Do you remember the reason you got into podcasting as a host or guest? Over time, it's easy to lose sight of why we got into being a podcast host or guest in the first place. In this episode, Alex Sanfilippo (along with the help of some friends) shares how podcast hosts and podcast guests can reconnect with their purpose, realign with their ideal listeners, and course-correct to ensure positive impact is being made. Get ready to improve your focus and rediscover the reason behind your podcasting journey!

MORE FROM THIS EPISODE: HTTPS://PODMATCH.COM/EP/328

Chapters

00:00 Navigating the Podcasting Journey
03:17 Voices of Experience: Why We Podcast
11:39 The Impact of Podcasting: Real Stories, Real Change

Takeaways

Course correction is essential for both podcast hosts and guests.
Remember your 'why' and the purpose behind your podcast.
Reflect on who you are serving with your content.
Hearing from listeners can reignite your passion for podcasting.
Podcasting can have unexpected impacts, like teaching a language.
Meaningful conversations elevate the podcasting experience.
Community and connection are vital in podcasting.
Stories shared can lead to real-life changes for listeners.
It's important to document your journey and progress.
Finding inspiration in nature can help clarify your podcasting goals.

MORE FROM THIS EPISODE: HTTPS://PODMATCH.COM/EP/328

Chapters

• 0:00 Navigating the Podcasting Journey
• 3:17 Voices of Experience: Why We Podcast
• 11:39 The Impact of Podcasting: Real Stories, Real Change

Transcript

You're listening to Podcasting Made Simple. Before becoming a full-time podcaster, I used to work in the aerospace industry. Now, if you just heard that and you think I did something exciting, like be a fighter pilot, an astronaut, skydiver, you're wrong. I'm sorry. I work behind a computer. It was a job that I love. Please hang with me. I still have some good stories here, but I wasn't doing any those really interesting things. But what I was doing was a lot of data and research on the aerospace industry at large.

primarily below the atmosphere. Once again, sorry, nothing in space. But the point is, I can remember one time working on this project and my big focus was to determine where some of the older aircraft ended up. Like where was their final destination? And I'll keep some of the intense stories to myself here. I don't want to scare anybody. But one thing that we found that happened really common was the navigation system and the autopilot would go out. Now, not all those ended in really traumatic.

crashes or anything like that, but it very regularly ended up in the aircraft landing, maybe in an emergency situation, because it couldn't find the airport or just landing somewhere completely wrong altogether. And that was like that aircraft's final destination. They ended up scrapping the airplane or whatever had to happen with it. And I was always really intrigued by this. And thankfully, technology has come a long way and for the most part, they get to where they're supposed to go now. But my point sharing this is this, if the airplane doesn't course correct along the way, literally thousands of times, it will never end up in the right...

destination, even if they initially start off on the right path to get there, they are not going to end up there because wind, because all the other things that happen, right? I won't get too technical on it, but all the things that are involved in that plane getting moved around while it's in the sky, they have to continuously course correct. And the reason I bring this up is because us as podcasts guests and hosts, I think that it's really similar for us. Hey, if I've not met you, my name is Alex Sanfilippo and I'm really excited to share with you today. I want to talk about the reason

for podcasting as a guest or as a host. And I wanted to share that story upfront because I wanna challenge each of us to think, when is the last time we course corrected? Did we get into podcast guesting saying, I'm gonna be on 50 shows, I'm gonna talk about this and that's it? Have we veered from that? Hey, podcast hosts, have we started a show and really lost touch with who it is that we serve and we kind of forgot the direction that we really originally wanted to go in? And are we still heading in those right directions as guests and as hosts? Are we still going the right way?

And there's three things I think that really matter with this. Number one is to remember your why, your purpose behind starting in the first place. Like what was that reason? And then to always go back and reflect on the person that you're saying you're aiming to serve. Who is it that you're trying to serve? That's our course correction, right? Is us reframing saying, okay, this is for this person. Am I still doing that really well? And the last thing is to remember the times we've actually helped somebody because that can remind us, I know where the destination is because I've kind of seen a piece of it, right? I've seen it because I've helped somebody along the way.

These are the type of things I want us to consider. And today I was thinking that the best way to do this would be for me to not even be the one who shares. And that might sound a little weird, right? But what I did is I asked five podcasters that I know, both guests and hosts are on both sides of the microphone. I asked them to share why they podcast, something that's happened to them along the way that they heard from a listener, something that helped them get back that center of why. So right now we're going to jump to those five different videos I want to share with you and I encourage you.

Look for yourself in that as well. Cause I think that you will define that. And I think it'll really help you a lot. So let's jump to those videos now. Hey everybody. Seth Levitt here, cohost of the fish tank podcast. Now the fish tank is a podcast that I launched back in 2018 with my buddy, OJ McDuffie. He cohosts the show with me. OJ is not only a podcaster, but he also happens to be an all time great Miami dolphins wide receiver. OJ and I realized that anytime he and I get together or certainly if we get together with.

Some of his former teammates, maybe players that I worked with or other people around the organization that worked in the front office like myself or media members that covered the team. Whenever we get together, what do we do? We remember the good old days and it's just this fun opportunity to really have a lot of laughs about things that we experienced. And we realized.

How many people would love to hear this? How many Miami Dolphins fans across the world would love to be able to pull back the curtain and hear what do their favorite players talk about when nobody's listening? So that's why we got into it. We really didn't see much beyond that. But then something interesting happened. Once we started to roll these stories out, people responded. They would tell us how much they enjoyed the show. They would tell us how much

They loved hearing things about players that they cheered for, but really knew nothing about them outside of them wearing a helmet and shoulder pads. And then something really special happened to us. So one of our biggest supporters of the show, he's actually in Mexico, his name's Emilio and he constantly listens to the stories. They'll come up with fun memes that he creates. And Emilio is a part of a group called Dolphins Nation Mexico. And we were at an event here in South Florida.

for the Worldwide Dolphins Club. It's an organization that brings in dolphins fan clubs from across the country. And someone tapped me on the shoulder and he said, somebody would like to meet you. He's from Dolphins Nation, Mexico. Is Emilio here? I no, it's not Emilio, but his name is Armand. And Armand came up to me and he says, it's so great to meet you. We actually learned to speak English from the fish tank, from your podcast. I what do mean you learned to speak English? We're this silly little podcast that tells stories. He said, Emilio is our English teacher.

Emilio would give us assignments. He would send us home and say, listen to the fish tank. Go listen to the Mark Clayton episode. Go listen to the Jason Taylor episode, the Zach Thomas episode, and then listen for this. And when this happens, tell me what it means. And then translate it to Spanish. And then he would literally give them assignments. And these guys learned to speak English. And their English was fantastic. And they learned to speak English listening to our little show. It's the last thing we ever anticipated would happen.

But I gotta tell you, when we heard that, it really gave us a greater perspective as to what these stories can mean for people that were so invested in the Miami Dolphins in a way that we were, and maybe even more than we were. So, you wanna know why do we podcast? It's to be able to brighten the day for people, it's to be able to bring people something that they can't get anywhere else. And then apparently, it's to help people learn a new language. It was shocking, but it was inspiring.

And we couldn't wait to get back to work the next day to record our next podcast. Hello, my name is Minter Dial and I'm the host of the podcast, The Minter Dialogue Show, which actually exists in French and in English. Why do I podcast? Well, back in 2010, when I started, it was really only to experiment, figure out what was podcasting. Now that I'm some 700 episodes into it, I have a much more formal understanding of why I podcast.

And that's to have meaningful conversations that elevate the debate and connect dots, people and ideas. I measure my success or the success of my episodes on two criteria. The first is for the guest. Did they have a meaningful experience? Did they learn anything new? And one of the ways I secretly look at that is if they say, Hey, mentor, that was a great question. Of course, I also want to have a meaningful impact on the people who are listening.

So just a couple of references. First from my guests, have one Brenda Kiesel who wrote in, Minter is a delightful, thoughtful and mischievous host who knows how to push the right buttons to get the most out of his guests. Bravo. And I also have AC3 Snow who wrote in, plenty of tough questions which lead to some fresh insights. One listener wrote to me and his name is Zoltan Vaz who's the founder of Space Tech.

And wrote in, Minter's podcasts are always thought provoking and of interest. But what truly sets his podcasts apart is his ability to take guests and listeners to unexpected depths and heights. Through Minter's wisdom and conversations, I've embraced change, conquered fears, and found mine all star. With over 500 episodes recorded, there's no lack of great guests and topics. Minter's podcasts and conversations

or my compass to a life that's truly meaningful. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is what keeps me going week in, week out. Thank you for listening. Hi there. My name is Amanda Blackwood. Of course, I'm a podcaster. My podcast is The Survivors' Stories of Hope Live Here. I created my podcast because I'm a survivor of human trafficking. It's my calling now to help elevate the voices of other survivors who have overcome their own traumas.

I learned a long time ago that everyone has a story and most people just want to be heard. So recently a long time listener of mine reached out to let me know that my podcast had inspired her to work on having a better relationship and better communication with her mother. They'd had a strained relationship for at least the last 40 years or so. She'd gotten some actionable tips and some practical advice from a couple of the guests that I've had on my shows.

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She even went so far as to purchase a couple of the books that they had written. Since the two of them have formed a deeper bond now than ever before, they're more open to discussing even the more difficult topics of conversation, including her childhood. And their relationship has really turned into something beautiful now. I've also had a few different guests who have told me afterward that they really appreciated the sense of community that they received.

from having been on the podcast and knowing that I would and sometimes did fight for their ability to speak out and to speak up. In some cases, they appreciated that I was willing to defend them against slanderous attacks. It takes a lot of courage to be able to speak up after having survived any kind of trauma. My podcast, because my guests and the desire to help others, always inspire me to keep doing it.

Hi, I'm Matthew from Girl Dad Nation. I'm a dad to three daughters and I started podcasting because I wanted to learn and connect with other girl dads all doing their best in raising daughters. It's been amazing chatting with fellow dads from so many different backgrounds, but all with the same love for their daughters. I had a listener share this. This came from Jordan on Twitter. He said, Girl Dad Nation has really helped him grasp how to navigate being a girl dad in terms of trying to connect a young female's emotions with the grown male's emotions.

Without a doubt, the biggest thing I've taken from Matthew and his guests is that at the end of the day, the most important thing is that my daughters need to know that they are noticed, they are valued, and they are loved. No strings attached. I hope that motivates you as it does me. I love that and I love getting all of those notes from listeners. I've gotten so many like little notes on Instagram and stuff like that of people just motivated, inspired to do fun things with their kids, being a better dad.

And in podcasting and in life, let's grow a little better each and every day. Thanks so much. The power of podcasting sometimes doesn't show up as five star reviews or a paycheck or an ad revenue, but it comes in a form of actually saving a life. And one of the most impactful things that has happened because of starting my podcast was

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hearing from a friend of mine who had come to a local retreat and found out about my podcast, went home to another retreat, she shared my podcast at a local retreat and it impacted these women that I had never known. I got a couple of emails from that, but one of the most impactful things from that was another gal who then

from that retreat found out about this podcast that I had put out, listened to an episode, and it literally saved her life. So come back to the first person that was touched by my podcast in the very beginning. She shared with me that this one gal came to her and said, thank you for sharing that podcast.

I literally was going to kill myself. And because of that podcast, I was moved and I felt seen and heard and known. And that was one of the most impactful stories that still to this day inspires me to press record. On the days that I don't want to record, I think about the story of that one woman. And because I said, yes,

to recording and putting it out there, it saved her life. That is the power of podcasting. I really hope you found those five stories as inspiring as I did. I could see myself in some of those stories and it was a great reminder for me to remember why I'm podcasting and who it is I'm serving, even remembering past stories that in some ways I had forgotten, which again, requires that course corrections we talked about at the beginning. And so for sake of practical,

application, which if you've ever heard me speak before or read anything I've done, I love that side of things. Here's what I want you to do. If you were listening to that, you were watching that and you said, you know what? I think I need to course correct. Good. Cause I think we all need to do that a little bit more than we do to make sure we're heading to that right destination. The way that I encourage you to do this is to grab pen, paper, and go somewhere that you feel most inspired. For me, that's the ocean to live near the beach in Jacksonville, Florida. I like to sit on the beach and I like to just have pen and paper and then think about those three things I said earlier. One.

who you serve, right? Who is that that you're really serving? Think about your why and how it's connected to that. Think about the purpose behind it and what it's going to do for you, what it's going to do for them. And then also just think about the past and how you've actually helped somebody. And if you haven't yet, envision what that might look like. Doing this is going to help really set you on a great track. And I just want to encourage you, this is such an important element of podcasting because when we don't do this on either side of the microphone, it's really easiest for us to get so far off course that we just decide to stop because we're lost ourselves. We don't know where we are.

So again, I hope these five different videos were really inspiring, encouraging to you today. And I thank you so much for spending this time with me. And I look forward to seeing your realigned vision and purpose for your podcast or your podcast guesting. For more episodes, please visit podmatch.com forward slash episodes. Thank you so much for listening.