Celebrating 100 Episodes w/ My Podcast Producer, Leah Bryant
The Basic B Podcast simply wouldn’t exist if not for Leah. And you’ll hear why in this episode!
For the 100th episode of The Basic B Podcast, I wanted to have a conversation about everything that’s gone into this podcast and what I’m seeing work for podcasts in general. There was literally no better person to bring on for this interview than Leah Bryant—the production ninja behind The Basic B podcast! She makes me AND my guests sound good, brings my last-minute ideas to life, & is always sharing her wealth of podcasting knowledge with me. This conversation has a focus around podcast launches & rebrands as well as SEO for podcasts—because yes it is a thing!
Tune in & do a lil happy dance with us as we celebrate 100 episodes of The Basic B Podcast 🎉
Thank you so much for being with me on this wild journey! Leah & I would love to hear from you—you’ll find our contact info below and/or in the accompanying blog post.
Topics covered in this podcast episode:
What makes a podcast successful
How podcast SEO works (and if it’s worth it)
And how quickly SEO works for podcasts
The most impactful SEO pieces every podcast needs
How to optimize your podcast show and episode titles for discoverability
How to monetize your podcast without sponsors
The #1 mistake podcast hosts are making
Tips for podcast rebrands or relaunches
The best way to track podcast metrics that matter
Statistics & fun facts about podcasting
The different types of podcast editing & production
Where to begin if you want to rebrand or launch a podcast
What podcasters need to know about marketing their show
Meet: Leah Bryant
Meet Leah Bryant—a former fraud investigator turned strategic podcast producer. She went from fighting crime to cutting “ums” and “uhs,” and now helps B2B brands amplify their message through the power of podcasting.
As the founder of Leah Bryant Co., Leah specializes in launching and managing high-quality podcasts that inspire, inform, and convert—without consuming your entire schedule. With more than 1,900 episodes produced across more than 39 shows, she’s helped established brands grow loyal audiences and generate meaningful revenue through intentional, well-executed podcast strategies.
Her unique approach is built around clarity, confidence, and connection—helping business owners show up as the experts they are, while inspiring their listeners to take action!
Leah now leads a powerhouse team of women with expertise in copywriting, graphic design, SEO, editing, and production—offering full-service support to make podcasting seamless and successful.
Related Episodes:
Storytelling on LinkedIn w/ Tania
Mentioned Resources:
Get on the Mic Drop Method Waitlist
Connect w/ Leah:
Podcast—coming soon!
Connect w/ Brittany:
This episode of The Basic B podcast is brought to you in partnership w/ Leah Bryant Co.! Help me reach more service providers like you by following the show & leaving a rating or review on Apple & Spotify!
The unedited podcast transcript for this episode of The Basic B podcast follows
Welcome back to the basic bee podcast, friends. We have reached the 100th episode. I can't even believe I'm saying those words. So here we are, hundredth episode. And I wanted to have a conversation about everything that's really gone into the podcast, what I'm seeing working for podcasts in general. So there was like literally no better person to bring on for this interview other than who I consider basically the other half of this show. And that's probably gonna make her cry. Leah Bryant. She's the ninja behind the podcast and she makes me and my guests sound really good. She also brings all of my last minute ideas to life, which is really fun to be like, hey, Leah, can we do this thing? And she's like, yeah, sure. And then she just makes it happen magically. And she's also always sharing her wealth of podcasting knowledge with me. And if anyone has ever, like, you know, if you've been in my DMs or emailed me or whatever, if you're like, I'm gonna start a podcast, I'm like, leah, Leah has the things. So I'm sure this conversation's gonna bounce around a little bit, but there's definitely gonna be a focus around podcasts, launches, rebrands, as well as SEO for podcasts.
So before I bring her on officially, here is a quick intro. Meet Leah Bryant, a former fraud investigator turned strategic podcast producer. She went from fighting crime to cutting UMS and UHS and now helps B2B brands amplify their message through the power of podcasting. As the founder of Leah Bryant Company, Leah specializes in launching and managing high quality podcasts that inspire, inform, and convert without consuming your entire schedule. With more than 1900 episodes produced across more than 39 shows, she's helped establish brands, grow loyal audiences, and generate meaningful revenue through intentional, well executed podcast strategies. Her unique approach is built around clarity, confidence, and connection, helping business owners show up as the experts they are while inspiring their listeners to take action. Leah now leads a powerhouse team of women with expertise in copywriting, graphic design, SEO, editing and production, offering full service support to make podcasting seamless and successful.
Leah Bryant: Hello, my friend. Hello. I'm so excited.
Brittany Herzberg: I'm excited you're here.
Leah Bryant: A hundred episodes.
Brittany Herzberg: I can't believe we've done a hundred episodes.
Leah Bryant: It's banana pants. It's awesome. You know, I'm gonna be like all your other guests to say, man, I just need to take that snippet and.
Brittany Herzberg: Read it every day, just play this podcast. I'm convinced that that is why we're getting so many downloads.
Leah Bryant: No, your show was great. That's why you're getting so many downloads.
Brittany Herzberg: I mean, only because of you. All right, before we get into the gushing session, shall I hit you with the question that I ask the people?
Leah Bryant: Yes.
Brittany Herzberg: All right, Leah, what do you think is the most important for sales, social proof, storytelling, or SEO?
Leah Bryant: So, you know, I've listened to every show.
Brittany Herzberg: Yeah.
Leah Bryant: So I'd like to really think about, like, what people have said, what you've said, and I have learned so much from you. So that being said, I'm going to pull in my inner Britney.
Brittany Herzberg: Best of luck to you.
Leah Bryant: And say that I think it's less about choosing one and understanding how all of these work together.
Brittany Herzberg: You did pull a sheet out of my book. I love this.
Leah Bryant: Yes. So, like, again, enter Britney. SEO helps people find you. Storytelling helps people feel connected, and then the social proof helps them trust you. So if you want to grow and convert your audience, especially, you kind of need all three. So in relating this to podcasts, if I may.
Brittany Herzberg: Please do.
Leah Bryant: I've seen, you know, podcasts rank well because of great SEO. No show in particular, but if the story isn't strong and the host isn't building, like, their credibility, you know, through their guests and also being featured as a guest and then reviews, obviously, and then consistent quality. No, I'm just kidding. Listeners don't stick around. And then, like, on the flip side, you can have amazing storytelling and client wins, but if you're not optimizing that content, then you're not going to get discovered.
Brittany Herzberg: Yeah.
Leah Bryant: So it's a combination that makes the magic and that it makes it sustainable, too. Right?
Brittany Herzberg: Yeah.
Leah Bryant: Oh, that's one of my favorite words.
Brittany Herzberg: I have so many S words. Sustainable, successful, all of the S words.
Leah Bryant: It's great.
Brittany Herzberg: Well, I know we're going to probably get into some of, like, the shows.
Leah Bryant: That we've worked on.
Brittany Herzberg: We don't have to name names or anything like that unless you really want. But you were just mentioning, you know, shows aren't going to get found if you don't optimize them to be findable. So, I mean, what have you noticed are maybe like, the biggest, most impactful SEO pieces for a podcast.
Leah Bryant: Okay. So I would say the first thing everybody wants to do is they want to be creative with their title, and that's great, but save you creativity for speaking to your audience, because you're like, your creativity isn't gonna help you strategically be found. Well, let's use an example that we worked on together, if you don't mind, because you're also helping me with a case study for this, so I feel confident in talking about this. So we had a client who their podcast was colorful Conversations, which is great. I bet their conversations would be fun and lively. They're an interior designer, so that makes sense. But that's not going to tell me exactly what the show is about or if I want to listen to it. When we went in to rename the podcast, we got really strategic and able to pull in keywords. That way it's telling people what exactly it is. Like, black and white.
Brittany Herzberg: Yeah. With your podcast title especially. I mean, I feel like sometimes you can be a little playful with the episode titles, but.
Leah Bryant: But the episode titles. Yeah. Sometimes I feel like you could also probably pull in some SEO and be playful.
Brittany Herzberg: Yeah. Yeah, exactly. And that's the tone that I strike. Try to strike.
Leah Bryant: I think you do fabulous with that.
Brittany Herzberg: I mean, thanks. You've seen pretty much all of the work I've done, too. And in case anyone's ever wondering, Leah's the reason that I even do podcast SEO. Cause I think it was, I don't know, year and a half, two years ago, you were like, hey, do you wanna write show notes? And I was like, that sounds fun. Next thing I know, Leah and I have figured out podcast SEO.
Leah Bryant: So good.
Brittany Herzberg: Yeah.
Leah Bryant: Also think about your description. Sometimes they want to write a sentence or two or they want to write a novel. I think there's a happy medium in between those two. And, like, really call out to your, you know, who you want to pull in as a listener and be strategic with those keywords and think about when people are going to search for something. How are they putting it in there?
Brittany Herzberg: Yeah. How are they phrasing it? What are they saying in that search bar? Yeah.
Leah Bryant: Pull that into your description.
Brittany Herzberg: Oh, I like that. So an argument could be made. Like, even in my brain, I'm like, well, mine is called the Basic B. But we have done something. And part of the reason why we're talking about rebrands as well during the conversation is because that's one of the things I'm doing with the podcast. I love talking about SEO, storytelling, social proof, but I also want to weave in some other stuff, so I found a way to do it. The name isn't changing, though, the Basic B. So you've talked me through some ideas of what I can do to make that title more optimized. And you want to talk to the good people about that.
Leah Bryant: Yeah. So the Basic B, it's fabulous. You have it on your podcast cover. You can continue to have it there, but you can always also add an extension to your title to draw in those keywords and even who your audience is.
Brittany Herzberg: Yeah.
Leah Bryant: And it doesn't have to be on your cover art, but it does need to be in your hosting platform. It's like where your title is the basic B. And then you could type in whatever your extension would be. Like this topics for these people. Oh, yeah, essentially.
Brittany Herzberg: Right.
Leah Bryant: And then that way you're using your keywords for what it is and who it's for. And then there's also explaining, like, what it's about too. Right. So you're like, two. What does that say?
Brittany Herzberg: Two for one stone.
Leah Bryant: Yes, thank you.
Brittany Herzberg: I mean, that's what I'm here for. No, that makes a lot of sense. So, I mean, right now, mine is the basic baby SEO, storytelling, social proof, something like that. I can't ever remember the order that the words are in. But I could also see with the advice you just gave, having it be the basic be SEO for established entrepreneurs or something like that. Yes, that's good.
Leah Bryant: Or you could even niche down more if you wanted to find a subset within entrepreneurs.
Brittany Herzberg: Right. Like service providers or coaches or.
Leah Bryant: Yeah, and the great thing, too, about podcasting is, like, there's nothing that says you shall never change that ever again.
Brittany Herzberg: I know you have the opportunity.
Leah Bryant: Change it often, change it frequently. Obviously, if it's not broken, don't fix it. But if it is broken, please fix it. And fix it often if it needs to be fixed.
Brittany Herzberg: Such a good quote. But if it is broken, please help us, people.
Leah Bryant: I'll reach out to Brittany and I and we will help you big soon.
Brittany Herzberg: Yeah, I mean, especially Leah. Leah's the one that's gonna be like, here's what you do. I mean, you've seen so many different shows of your own. You've also, like, seen other shows. What do you think makes for a quote, unquote successful podcast?
Leah Bryant: Hmm, That's a good question.
Brittany Herzberg: It's a loaded question.
Leah Bryant: And I bet everybody's like, oh, it's easy. She's gonna say that. It's gonna be the numbers and the metrics. But I'm actually gonna tell you that it's not all about just the download numbers, because why are you podcasting? It's about connection. So, like, if your show is delivering the value to your right audience, you're building trust and you're driving conversations, like, off the platform, like into your DMs or in your email or through your funnel or whatever, then it's working, then it's successful. I mean, unless you're a hobbyist, then please, by all means, download numbers away. But yeah, success is really about consistency, clarity in your message and making it easy. That's the key. Please hear me. Making it easy for listeners to take the next step with you or your brand. Because if somebody's listening to your brilliance and be like, oh my gosh, I have to have all of this in my life. They need to know how to do that. Please tell them how they can have all of that in their life.
Brittany Herzberg: That's one of the most frustrating things, I think, from a user experience, listener experience, is they talked about a quiz, they shared a lead magnet, they talked about a book, and I have to go and type it in, which, I mean, I sound so lazy. But that's how people use things. They want a button to click.
Leah Bryant: Because here's the thing, if you have something listed in your episode descriptions, for example, Brittany does a fabulous job. So whenever she mentions something or someone mentions something, it's in the episode description. So that way if your phone is in your pocket and you're working out and you can't go get it, then you know that it's there and you can come back later. You don't have to stop, write it down or whatever to remind yourself to do that. It's already there for you. So, yeah, just don't forget that.
Brittany Herzberg: Yeah, I called myself a wink happy human the other day.
Leah Bryant: I love that. Funny. Be like Britney.
Brittany Herzberg: Be like Brittany, in at least in that aspect. Other things, question mark my. But having the links, making it easy. You're making me think of something that you talk about in your roadmap, which is like up leveled, which we can totally talk about. But I do remember at the beginning of that roadmap, you're like, what do you want your podcast to do for you? So for me, I'm thinking about, okay, I want this to tie in to my business. So how can I do that? I can talk about the free offers I have, I can talk about the paid offers I have. I can make ads for things like upcoming workshops or done for you offers that I have. You just have to have that goal in mind and then you are able to, I think, easily backpedal and go, okay, if I want this, I have to do this. If I want this, I have to do this other thing. And I think you and I have both seen a lot of podcasters kind of get defeated or make it really hard for themselves. And then they don't have, quote, unquote, success.
Leah Bryant: Yeah.
Brittany Herzberg: And you know, okay, so I started this Show January of 2024. We're recording this in April of 2025. I've had two really incredible things happen through the podcast. One of them just happened this morning. Yay. But my favorite story is I had someone listen to one of the shows. I don't even know if she listened to the entire episode, but she sent in an inquiry form and ended up booking a done for you offer with me. All within 36 hours. Heard the podcast, sent in the inquiry form. We got on Voxer. She asked me one question. She was like, okay, I'd like to pay in full and do this thing. And here's the date. And then this morning. Oh, I promoted the episode from last week and I got an Instagram DM from someone who was like, I love that episode. And I just bought your podcast SEO download.
Leah Bryant: Yay.
Brittany Herzberg: Things happen. But I guess I also want to just let people know. It can take time.
Leah Bryant: It can take time. There is not very many things that's instant with podcasting. You just have to be patient with anything. Like when I launch a podcast, just for instance, I tell my clients or I'll tell anybody, don't look at your numbers for 90 days. Yes. Look at em within the first seven days just to make sure that you have people that are listening and you're doing all the good things. But then don't look at it for 90 days because you could get so wrapped up in those vanity metrics that you're not concentrating on your message. You're all in your head about, oh, somebody's not listening, da, da, da da. But yeah, so just having that plan is important, right? Because I've seen so many people start a podcast and not build a strong foundation. And then within the seven episodes, they're gonna pod fade. Right. You can't have a house built in the sand and expect it to withstand a hurricane.
Brittany Herzberg: No, you can do that. It's just not gonna be there for very long.
Leah Bryant: Exactly, exactly. You just have to have a strong foundation.
Brittany Herzberg: Could not agree more. I will say though, like you were talking about, most things don't happen quickly with podcasts. I have been honestly quite shocked that by going in and optimizing just the title and the tags so that I offer podcast optimization for episodes that are existing. And I've done this with, I don't even know, somewhere around 10 clients so far. So I've seen this be a pattern like two days later. They'll have 16% increase in downloads. Now, that said, I do know that we don't want to obsess over the numbers.
Leah Bryant: No.
Brittany Herzberg: But seeing that jump, it's like, oh, something's working. I have also seen someone 5x their downloads in, like, about two months, so we can see that. We can also correlate it with several of these clients to more people going to their website.
Leah Bryant: Yes.
Brittany Herzberg: Because they have podcast episodes as blog posts over there. Yes. Hint, hint.
Leah Bryant: Hear me. And Brittany, please don't skip out on having that as part of your website or as part of a separate website and still link back to your website because the people want to know all about you and all that you're offering.
Brittany Herzberg: They really do. And again, it's just about making it easy for them to say yes.
Leah Bryant: Yes.
Brittany Herzberg: If you're not making it easy for them to say yes and go back and evaluate. Do you have links in your show notes? What are some other things you would say? I don't want to, like, hijack your advice.
Leah Bryant: No, no, no. I think that's great. Like, we are a society of instant gratification. If I have to go hunt for something, chances are I may do it. But if I have something that's very easy for me to tap on and tap this and tap that and book a call and in your voxers and hi, how are you? Then, yes. So, yeah, link to your website. Link to your social, like, whatever social platform. I wouldn't say don't, like, list every single place you're listed like you're available. I would link definitely your website. And then for a social platform, where are you active most? If that's threads, then list threads. If that's Instagram, then do Instagram. If you're on TikTok, if it's here, there, or gone or whatever, but you never know where.
Brittany Herzberg: Never know, never know.
Leah Bryant: But list that. Right. And then if you have, like a freebie that's like evergreen, that makes sense. That would fit with the podcast as a whole. You can always list that too. Just thinking about it, like, holistically and not necessarily episode specific.
Brittany Herzberg: Yeah. Like maximizing that footer.
Leah Bryant: Exactly.
Brittany Herzberg: Yeah.
Leah Bryant: That's why I love Buzzsprout so much, because they have that footer.
Brittany Herzberg: I love buzzsprout.
Leah Bryant: Right. Libsyn doesn't that I know of have that footer. And it's kind of frustrating to copy and paste that every time. Maybe again, that's just me being. Me being lazy. But I love the, you know, just have that footer and it puts it on everything all at one time.
Brittany Herzberg: Yeah. It's efficient. You and I are all about efficiency. And if it's a challenge for me and you where we're in stuff multiple times every single week, it's for sure gonna be frustrating for people who are in there just once a week for their show or every other week or something like that.
Leah Bryant: Yeah.
Brittany Herzberg: What's a mistake that you see podcasters make? What's the tippy top mistake you see them make? And maybe we've already covered it, so if we have, you can totally skip it.
Leah Bryant: No, we haven't. The biggest mistake that I see podcasters make who aren't working with you or I is that they are skipping the strategy piece.
Brittany Herzberg: Yeah.
Leah Bryant: So I guess we kind of. Right. Talked about that, for instance, in my roadmap and in, like, my mic drop method program that launches in June. Sorry, that was such a shameless plug.
Brittany Herzberg: Yay. I love that. I was gonn ask you, so. Thank you.
Leah Bryant: The biggest portion of either one of those or anything that I do in my world is we spend lots and lots and lots of time on building that foundation and finding out your who, what, when, where, why, how. All the things, especially the roadmap specifically, is like walking podcasters through, like, defining their audience or their brand message or their content pillars, like, before they even record a single word. And a lot of people jump straight into, like, the tech and the COVID art because it feels fun, it's easy. But then they don't think about their why. Why is a podcast going to exist or how it's going to support their business or even, like, how is it going to support their goals for their business? And then another thing is neglecting, like we were just saying, the listener journey, because I try to teach my clients to map out, not just the first few episodes, but, like, holistically think about how the show is leading into their offers or their community or their program or whatever. So, like, if you're not thinking about how to guide a listener from awareness to action, you're missing out on that real magic of podcasting. Right. It's that messy middle.
Brittany Herzberg: It's the messy middle, but it's also like the. It's like the most impactful.
Leah Bryant: The most impactful. Yes. I love it.
Brittany Herzberg: Yeah. So if you're not paying attention to that, you're totally missing out on the stuff that's actually gonna get someone to not only just listen to an episode, follow the show, recommend it to other people, follow up with you. You know, buy a download, book a call with you Whatever that next step is, that's like. I think for me, that's the most frustrating part of talking to other podcasters. They're like, my podcast isn't working. And it's like, okay, you have to go back to the beginning and figure out especially, what do you want the podcast to do? How do you see your podcast fitting into your business? Like the funnel and the. The listener journey, the client journey. Like, what's happening there? Like, some of my clients, they have told me specifically that people always say that they've listened to the podcast. Either they've been a longtime listener or they heard an episode and they've reached out to them to book a thing. So it's very obvious to them that, oh, okay, people are coming in through this, so I really need to optimize it and pay attention to it.
Leah Bryant: Yes. And another fun fact is when you do have those links in your footer, I would make those links specifically for the podcast so that you know they're coming in through the podcast.
Brittany Herzberg: Yeah, that's a next step. There's so many things that I feel like I could do better. And I was terrified to do a podcast at all. You know that. Cause I was like, leah, what do I do? What's going to happen? Because of course, like, my biggest panic, fear, worry was all the tech stuff. And I've said it, it all stayed good. I wouldn't have a podcast without you. Like, if you for some reason were like, I'm not going to be doing podcast production anymore, I'd be like, cool. So this is the final episode of the basic. But, like, I can be very hard on myself and wanting to make sure the quality is like, such a tippy, top level. It's one of the things I love about you. And at the same time, I've really tried to challenge myself with this podcast of, okay, I'm gonna do some things really, really well and, like, very right. And I'm gonna miss the mark sometimes, and that's okay. So I feel like it's been my own little sandbox of experimentation. And then I'm able to bring ideas to you with lbc.
Leah Bryant: Yes.
Brittany Herzberg: Show you what's working. Bring ideas to my, like, one to one clients and show them what's working and just give them some variety, give them some new strategy to try. And you can at least try it. Like you said, you can always go back and optimize things, change things. Nothing is set in stone.
Leah Bryant: No. And what fun is life if you did it and it was perfect?
Brittany Herzberg: Yeah.
Leah Bryant: Where's the fun in that.
Brittany Herzberg: I mean, I like old stars and stuff. So, like, that part is you still.
Leah Bryant: Get an old start for trying and doing it.
Brittany Herzberg: That's true.
Leah Bryant: Even messy.
Brittany Herzberg: Yeah. I thought of a question to ask you because I was very curious. You mentioned.
Leah Bryant: I love the excitement.
Brittany Herzberg: You mentioned something toward the beginning of our conversation where you were saying, like, the seven podcast fade. What are some of those numbers of, like, most podcasters don't get past X amount of episodes. Or, like, do you have any, like, numbers, data, statistics and stuff?
Leah Bryant: Well, I think that, like, most, they don't make it past seven episodes, but I've seen some podcasters do like 20 some episodes and then they're out.
Brittany Herzberg: Oh, that's sad.
Leah Bryant: It is really sad. And I think that people don't realize, and I'm saying this because in this beta group that I'm doing, every single one of those ladies has said, I didn't realize how much there is to do. People are like, oh, I just need to hit record. And we're good. No, no, no, no, ma'am. No, sir.
Brittany Herzberg: I mean, you could, but. Dr.
Leah Bryant: I mean, you could, but you want people to listen to your brilliance and they want to be able to hear your brilliance.
Brittany Herzberg: Yeah.
Leah Bryant: But, yeah, it's between 7 and 21 ish episodes is when usually the pod fade happens. That's interesting. Or they set themselves a goal of like, oh, I'll do season one and then take a break. Then they don't come back.
Brittany Herzberg: Then it's the break that never ends.
Leah Bryant: It's the break that never ends.
Brittany Herzberg: They went to the beach and enjoyed it so much that they're not coming back. Sorry.
Leah Bryant: They're not coming back.
Brittany Herzberg: Wow. It's really cute. Cause, like, you get my congratulations things from Buzzsprout.
Leah Bryant: I know. I love it.
Brittany Herzberg: And it's so fun that we get to celebrate together. It's not just a me thing. Like, you do this for all your clients. So I don't want anyone listening to think that it's like simply a Britney Leah thing. It's not.
Leah Bryant: Yeah, I'm probably obnoxious about it sometimes, but no, I'm just like, celebrate this.
Brittany Herzberg: Yes.
Leah Bryant: Just really pumped. Because if you have a production team or if you don't, you're still putting in the work. So you need to also celebrate those wins just as much as your audience, you know, will help you celebrate those wins. Like, just reach your hand around and give yourself a good pat on the back.
Brittany Herzberg: Okay. So one thing I did want to make sure that we talked about and it keeps like pinging in my brain. Is the type of editing the way that you edit a podcast. So I have told people and I have like blown their socks off. I'm pretty sure about the type of editing that you do because I think most people are under the assumption that podcast audio editing is just like, I'm going to make this sound crisper or I'm going to edit out the like and us and all the things. So I think most people think that it's just that editing out some of those words and making the audio sound better, but it ain't. So could you tell us about that and tell us about like.
Leah Bryant: I mean, sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt you. I guess super pumped about this because this is my jam. I know this is like where I reside in my happy place. So I'm gonna keep that. That in there too.
Brittany Herzberg: Please do. I want you to. I dare you.
Leah Bryant: There's all kinds of different styles of editing, right? Yes, you can. For a solo person who doesn't have a team who wants to keep it low budget, they can definitely like record in Riverside. And Riverside makes it easy because you could go in and do text based editing where you're like, oh yes, please delete all my M's. Please delete all day pauses. Please delete this and this. And has AI help you do that. And there's nothing wrong with that. But keep in mind that AI is very just. It sees things very black and white. There's no messy middle. So when it cuts it out, just because I'm trying to explain this, I do better at visual.
Brittany Herzberg: She likes loom.
Leah Bryant: I do love loom.
Brittany Herzberg: I'm following what you're saying though.
Leah Bryant: Thank you. So like when it cuts it, it cuts it to where it's not taking in the fact that you may have a word right after it or you may be breathing or something like that. So it sounds very choppy and sometimes your listeners may not care. But just like I was telling my husband says I can't listen to a podcast now because every time I hear one I'm like, they're using AI to cut that. Cuz it sounds really choppy.
Brittany Herzberg: Yeah.
Leah Bryant: But like what I like to do is I manually do all of that so that I could crossfade your breaths and your words to make it all flow very seamlessly. But another thing that I like to do is I'd like to be extra.
Brittany Herzberg: Yeah, this is why I love you.
Leah Bryant: When I am producing something. Yes. My name is attached to that. So obviously I want to make it, quote, unquote, sound good. But I also want my clients to look and sound good. So, like, if you're recording an episode and you say the same sentence twice, I'm going to find which one sounds better. You take out the duplicate. Or if you are talking about something and you say a word, and I'm like, I don't think that they meant to say that word there.
Brittany Herzberg: I'm laughing because I'm thinking of the example from the case study.
Leah Bryant: Yes.
Brittany Herzberg: Okay, I'll loop the listener in just real quick. So in this case study, which I will make sure it's linked once it's up and ready and on Leah's website. But the podcast host said, D U I instead of diy, DUI instead of diy. So it was a very big mistake.
Leah Bryant: Very different meanings.
Brittany Herzberg: Very different meanings.
Leah Bryant: Right.
Brittany Herzberg: So Leah caught it and had her rerecord it.
Leah Bryant: I'm like, hey, can you record this? And instead of saying dui, because we're not driving under their influence, we want a DIY DU it ourselves. So, like, yeah, like, things like that. And then I do that same thing for the guest, too. It's like, if it's a guest episode, I also want your guests to sound great. It's not just. I mean, it is a Britney show. It's not just about, like, you or any of the hosts that I work with. It's also about the conversation as a whole. Content editing. Like, does it flow? Does it make sense? Are they getting a little bit tangenty? We maybe need to snip it out some because we don't want listeners to get lost. We want them to also stay engaged. Because if you have a lot of back and forth because you've known somebody for 25 years and you're talking about something that happened 25 years ago that only you two are gonna get. Like, your audience may not get that, and that may be a time for them to tune out. So, I mean, I may delete that and you can still have that moment and it's still recorded. We'll just make it concise and streamlined.
Brittany Herzberg: Yeah, that's the thing that I couldn't remember the phrase. But you edit for content. So, like, the flow of the show and the flow of the conversation and that again, that doesn't mean that you're editing out all of the likes and the ums and the uhs.
Leah Bryant: No.
Brittany Herzberg: And it doesn't mean that you're neglecting the audio sound. It's very much the opposite. You're considering, like, I would say, the amount of likes and ums and ahs and the audio quality, for sure. And is the conversation flowing and is the listener able to easily follow? So I just really appreciate that, and I don't think a lot of people understand that there is that level of editing available for a podcast.
Leah Bryant: And I also wanted to say a hot tip here, too. Please do not edit every single, um, like, you know, right out of your podcast, because podcasts are conversational. Whether it's a solo or you're talking to someone, you're still talking. Our brains need those pauses, those crux words. Is that the right thing I want to say? I don't know. Sure.
Brittany Herzberg: We're going to go with it.
Leah Bryant: Yeah, we're going to go with that. Like, our brain needs that. So, like, leaving some of those in. Not after every sentence, but yes. Maybe every couple of minutes or something. Just what feels good and what feels right. If it's easy to take out or whatever, then do that and just kind of think about that, too, as you're going through.
Brittany Herzberg: Yeah, no, I love that. Shall we talk a little bit more about this roadmap of yours? Because when I even thought of having my own show, I was like, okay, where am I going? I'm on the bus, but where are we driving? And I had had some previous experience with podcasting, and that's one thing that I knew I really wanted to be mindful of is like, I'm on the bus, but where is it going? What's happening? So your roadmap was so helpful because it walked me through everything. I'm sure I'm going to forget things, which is why I want you to tell us more. But, like, it walked us through how. Do you want this podcast to support your business, or do you want it to support your business? Are you gonna have guests or solo? What's that gonna look like? Frequency? The tech that you're gonna need, like, all those kinds of things. You totally revamped it and you added the private podcast. So, like, it's like a whole thing now.
Leah Bryant: It's a whole thing, yeah. Cause I wanted to add the private podcast so that it's like Leah's in your pocket coaching you through. Right. So you don't feel so alone. Cause sometimes it can feel a little lonely when you're doing that by yourself. And I didn't want people to do that and then feel discouraged. So essentially, I took my seamless framework and broke it down into a podcast roadmap. And so, like, seamless, it's really the seam part of it. A C, A M in that stands for strategy, execution, action. And then like marketing so kind of broke that roadmap down into those different phases. So like the strategy part is the foundation. I know I've said that like 14 million times, but it's just so important. Right. It's just like where you don't want to forget. That does encompass how long are your episodes going to be or what do you think a good benchmark for that is? There's like actual research that goes into that, depending on your niche. Like if you're a history podcast, Yes, I will listen to a history podcast for hours, but do I want to sit and listen to somebody talk about business tips for hours? Not necessarily. And thinking about your audience, like how busy are they and that sort of thing. And then solo guest roundtables, Q and A coaching, all that fun stuff. Like all of that's in that strategy piece. And then like the execution piece is going to be like, what tech am I going to use? How am I going to set up my tech? What tech is best? And like I even like list some of my favorites in there. I have favorites that are a high end budget and then some that are not. And they're all like on Amazon, easy to get to. And then like the recording, best tips for recording, have some lemon water beside you or some kind of beverage so that way your mouth doesn't get dry and you're clickety clacking all the way through.
Brittany Herzberg: Yeah.
Leah Bryant: You know, and then the action piece of it is setting up all the things, uploading it into your hosting site for where your podcast is going to live and then your website and building out those wonderful show notes where if you don't have Britney's download, then you should definitely go to the link in the show notes and click on it and get it, friend, because it's amazing. And then the marketing piece is being strategic about how can I promote this episode within the 72 hours of it publishing? Because fun fact, hot tip, podcasting is a lot like the algorithms on social media. The more people you have go listen within those first 72 hours, Apple, Spotify, they're like, okay, people are loving this. Let's show this to more people, like on their home screen or when they're searching and all the things. So just kind of like being really strategic again, that word is coming up. If you don't know by now, be strategic.
Brittany Herzberg: You have to, because if you don't, you're missing out big time.
Leah Bryant: Yes, it's a PDF and it just Kind of, like, walks through. It's one of those sections, and I, like, give you little places to write out things or type it, whichever your jam is. And then the private podcast is essentially me walking you through each one of those sections, being your cheerleader. Because I love being a cheerleader for anybody and everybody.
Brittany Herzberg: You're a good one.
Leah Bryant: Thanks. Like, I've had people, like, send me emails or DMS and just ask me questions, and they're like, I'll totally pay you for this. I'm like, if it's just a question, I'm not even concerned because I just want to see people succeed. That's like, brings me joy. So I love that. Yeah.
Brittany Herzberg: Do you have, as we wrap up, any, like, word of advice for someone who's starting or refreshing their podcast? Like, any. Anything?
Leah Bryant: Yes. Not to sound like a broken record, but start with strategy. Please don't record a single episode, a trailer, intro, nothing, until you know who you're talking to, what you're talking about, why it matters. Because you can always tweak your tech. You can update your visuals. You can change all the things. Right. But clarity is what creates the momentum and keeps people listening. And that's obviously the key. We want people to keep coming back, keep listening and staying for the whole thing. Just having a strategy.
Brittany Herzberg: Well, I mean, thanks for helping me come up with this strategy and also continuing to help me execute this, because it really does. I told you this in Telegram a couple weeks ago, and I think I made you cry. But, like, this really does feel like our show and not just my show, because I don't know the tech, and I'm not comfortable with the tech, and people think I'm a tech person. I'm like, I. God bless you, but no, don't put me in charge of your tech. You just really don't want that. Unless you want things that are held together with, like, duct tape and glue. Like, don't. Don't do that. No, but I mean, you have seen the entire iteration of this podcast. You have made all of us sound really, really good, even when headphones weren't.
Leah Bryant: There or mics were messed up or bookcases falling.
Brittany Herzberg: Bookcases falling. Oh, gosh, that was hilarious with Tanya. That was amazing. I was trying to think of, like, any kind of, like, big things that have happened. That was definitely a funny one.
Leah Bryant: That was funny.
Brittany Herzberg: But, yeah, thanks for helping me really have a solid foundation and then also feel confident to even go through a rebrand and that kind of thing. So thanks, man.
Leah Bryant: You're welcome. We're like peanut butter and jelly. You got the SEO bringing up the good audio. Good times.
Brittany Herzberg: It's great times. It's great.
Leah Bryant: It's my pleasure.
Brittany Herzberg: Thanks.
Leah Bryant: I'm just happy to be part.
Brittany Herzberg: Yeah.
Leah Bryant: Because that's what I love. Helping people bring impactful messages.
Brittany Herzberg: And you're good at it.
Leah Bryant: And so are you. Thanks.
Brittany Herzberg: Oh, I will make sure that the roadmap situation with the private podcast, I think it's just a bundle, Right.
Leah Bryant: I have a couple of options.
Brittany Herzberg: Okay.
Leah Bryant: Depending on your budget.
Brittany Herzberg: Okay.
Leah Bryant: So I have a $9 option, $27 option, or an $127 option that, like, includes some telegram support.
Brittany Herzberg: Ooh, that's fun. Okay, so I'll make sure all of those are linked. And you said that this is coming out within the next month or so, so we will have links maybe for the next round of your group coaching to help people launch their podcast.
Leah Bryant: Yes.
Brittany Herzberg: Okay. That's exciting.
Leah Bryant: I'm super excited because your first round.
Brittany Herzberg: Has gone really well. Like, I know some of the people who are in there, and they're having a blast. And, yeah, it's a lot of work at the beginning, but having said that, here we are, episode 100. Especially having someone like Leah who can produce the audio, it gets easier. I'm gonna say this, and people are probably gonna fall out of their chairs, but just this morning, because I was away last week, I was able to publish two blog posts. I was able to get all of the stuff done for this week's episode blog post and get the one done for last week. So it gets easier the more you do it. It's just, I think, like, just a muscle that you have to flex.
Leah Bryant: Practice makes perfect, right?
Brittany Herzberg: It does.
Leah Bryant: We didn't wake up all being awesome at what we do every day. No, it took practice.
Brittany Herzberg: It did hard work, some face plant moments, and then. Oh, yeah. Okay. That's not how that goes. Is there anything else you want to mention or tell us about or any. Anything before we head out?
Leah Bryant: No, I think we covered everything. I would just say be kind to yourself.
Brittany Herzberg: Yeah, yeah.
Leah Bryant: Be kind to yourself and keep going. Don't stop, don't stop.
Brittany Herzberg: Get it, get it. Okay. And on that fun note there, thanks for sticking around. Thanks for being with me through 100 episodes. Plus, I don't know how many it will be at this point by the time you hear this, but that's been fun. Everyone and I will catch you on the next episode.
