Journal

Season 4 is Coming, and Joining the Quite the Thing Podcast Network

So a funny thing happened on the way to getting Season 4 of Podcaster Stories ready – from personal and work life, to guests that weren’t really right for the show.

This resulted in the new season being delayed by about a month, which I apologize for. The good news is that Season 4 will be released next week, so I’m looking forward to sharing more awesome stories with you.

There’s also an update about the Quite the Thing podcast network that Podcaster Stories is now part of, and is very much geared towards community focus and engaging our listeners, so I’m stoked to be part of that.

Thanks for your patience over the summer, and I hope you’ve had a safe and enjoyable one. Here;’s to Season 4.

Contact me:danny@podcasterstories.com

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Mentioned in today’s episode: Quite the Thing Podcast Network

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The Season 3 Recap

Season 3 of Podcaster Stories has just wrapped, and in this episode I look back at the guests and the inspiring and insightful stories they shared.

In episode1, Fitz Koehler of The Fitness Show and authorof the book My Noisy Cancer Comeback shared how her life changed when she was diagnosedwith breast cancer, and how she used that as a starting point for her inspiring fight against it. Listen to the full episode.

In episode 2, I spoke with Roman Mironov of the be Version 2.0 of Yourself podcast. Roman talked about his work as a personal relationship coach, and the importance of defining what’s healthy and non-healthy in your relationships. Listen to the full episode.

Episode 3 saw me talking with my wife Jaclyn, co-host of the Mental Health and Us podcast. Jaclyn shared her 20 year battle with anxiety and depression, as well as the effect an abusive childhood had on her adult life. Listen to the full episode.

In episode 4, John Adams of the DadPodUK podcast joined me to speak about his experiences as a stay at home dad for 10 years, and how Covid has changed today’s generation of kids. Listen to the full episode.

Episode 5 saw communications pro Paul Sutton, of the Digital Download podcast, who shared some very personal stories about his journey with mental health, the dark places he visited as a younger man, and how he’s become an advocate for mental health discussions in the workplace. Listen to the full episode.

James Perdue, host of the Professor of Perseverance podcast, joined me in episode 6, where he talked about being paralyzed at age 19, and the sacrifices he and his parents made to ensure he lived the fullest life he could. Listen to the full episode.

In episode 7, Steven Webb of the Stillness in the Storms podcast, was incredibly open about his life struggles, from parents divorcing when he was very young, to a life-changing accident, and how he used that to forge a positive mindset that everyone can learn from. Listen to the full episode.

In the final episode of season three, Lainey Cameron spoke about her experiences of being the only female senior executive in the tech world, and the toxic masculinity that inspired her to write a book drawing from these experiences. Listen to the full episode.

The show will be taking a 4-week break now, but will return with Season 4 at the beginning of June.

Contact me:danny@podcasterstories.com

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A Look Back at The First Year of Podcaster Stories

On April 21st 2020, Podcaster stories was launched. Unlike my other podcasts up until that point, this wouldn’t be a solo show – instead, it’d be an interview-style show.

Not only that, but it would be an interview-style show with fellow podcasters, many of whom had interview shows of their own. So, to say I was a little nervous would be an understatement!

But, 12 months on, I’m enjoying it as much as ever, and have some fun ideas regarding the next 12 months and beyond.

Thank you so much for listening so far, and I can’t wait to share the next stage of Podcaster Stories with you.

Contact me:danny@podcasterstories.com

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Lainey Cameron on Being the Only Woman in the Corporate Boardroom

This week, I sit down with Lainey Cameron, host of The Best of Women’s Fiction podcast, a show that highlights authors that Lainey respects, as well as interviews with best-selling and women fiction authors.

Each episode, Lainey and her guests share what inspired a favourite author’s book, as well as what advice they’d give to other writers.

Lainey is also the author of the award-winning novel,The Exit Strategy, which was inspired by a decade of being the only woman in the corporate boardroom. It’s been called a “rallying call for women to believe in themselves and join together” and tells the story of a Silicon Valley investor who first meets her husband’s mistress across the negotiating table.

If someone’s a great talent but a pain in the ass to work with, that’s going to be a problem.

For her first book, Lainey hired a voiceover professional to read the audio version, and she shares here how that process works.

Far from simply reading the words on a page, the artist needs to connect with the story and characters, to ensure the author’s vision remains, even when the end result can be something very different from what the author envisaged.

On Creating a Brand Through an Experiment

Lainey originally started podcasting as a video broadcaster using Streamyard for live interviews, and then decided to take that to an audio format.

To her pleasant surprise, the audio version of the show has overtake the video version, and is really taking off, helping her to connect more authors to a wider audience.

I wish I had had that kind of advice when starting out.

As the podcast has grown, Lainey is determined to continue giving a voice to lesser-known authors, and connecting them with the talent that can help them grow their audience.

The Importance of Vetting and Quality

As Lainey’s show has grown, so has the amount of cold pitches she’s receiving to have authors as guests on her show. While this can be a good thing when it comes to episode growth, it can also impact the amount of guests she has on, due to the extra research involved.

A limited amount of time to read the books sent to her
Minimal pre-release information or promo sheets
A lack of peer reviews to ensure the book and author are right for her show

Since Lainey is very conscientious when it comes to who and what she shares with her audience, this extra awareness can cause problems that weren’t there before.

The Continuing Problem with the Tech Industry

Lainey’s background is in the tech start-up world, specifically in Silicon Valley. Being the only high-flying woman executive in the room would come with its own challenges, on top of the job any executive would need to do as part of their everyday life.

It is frustrating and tiring to be the only woman in the room, and to be the only senior woman on the team.

It often lead to Lainey needing to be twice as good as the men in the same position, and understand that the microscope was on her even more because of her gender.

How She Ended Up Hunting with Stoned Tribesmen in Tanzania

As digital nomads, both Lainey and her husband have traveled to numerous parts of the world, leading to a mix of scary and funny adventures.

One that sticks in Lainey’s mind is when they were on a safari tour in Africa, and ended up going hunting with a bunch of stoned teenage tribesmen in Tanzania. Now that’s not something we can all say we’ve done!

Join us for an entertaining chat about the writing world, the ongoing toxic masculinity in the tech world, and why being a digital nomad offers incredible life lessons if you can take the opportunity to grab them.

Connect with Lainey:

Contact me:danny@podcasterstories.com

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Leave a Review and Help Feed Seniors Impacted by Covid

In this special bonus episode, I want to share how you can be part of an awesome social good initiative thanks to the good folks at Podchaser and Captivate.

Podchaser is a podcast directory – think of it as the IMDB of podcasting. Here, you can follow shows, follow creators, create lists of your favourite podcasts, and more.

As part of their #Reviews4Good program, Podchaser will donate $0.25 for any review left on their platform to Meals on Wheels America‘s Go Further fund. Additionally, for every review left on an individual episode, they will donate a further $0.25.

Not only that, but any time a podcaster replies to a review, they will donate a further $0.25.

Double the Donation Thanks to Captivate!

But it gets even better! My podcast host, Captivate (disclaimer: I’m on the Captivate team) will match these donations for every review (show or episode) as well as podcaster reply, up to $1,000.

So, technically, if you leave a review for your favourite podcast, and the podcater replies to that review, the donation to the #Reviews4Good program will be $1.00, thanks to Captivate’s match.

This initiative runs through the month of April, so, what are you waiting for?

Create an account onPodchaser(you can sign up via email, or with your Twitter, Facebook, or Google account), or log in if you already have an account
After you’ve verified your email address, head over to Podchaser and search forPodcaster Stories, or clickthis direct link
Scroll down until you see thePodcast Reviewssection, and clickAdd a Review
Leave the amount ofRating Starsyou wish to give, and then enter your review in theReviewbox
ClickSave

And that’s it – your review will now be live, and I’ll get a notification of it soon. If you do leave me a review,email meto let me know, I’d love to give you a shout out on the show!

Contact me:danny@podcasterstories.com

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This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

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