Episode 37
Charles Commins gives a tip about engaging with your audience
Tips and advice for independent podcasters.
Guest: Charles Commins
Job title: Podcast Producer
Company: Vibrant Sound Media
In this episode, Charles gives a tip about engaging with your audience.
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This podcast is produced and edited at The Sound Boutique by Gareth Davies.
Mentioned in this episode:
Transcript
Hi, I'm Charles Commins.
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:I'm a podcast producer for Vibrant Sound
Media, and today I'm going to give you
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:a tip about engaging with your audience.
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:I'm a podcast producer, presenter,
and voiceover artist through my
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:company, Vibrant Sound Media.
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:I work with a range of businesses
from the BBC, Microsoft, and the
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:NHS to an exciting array of small
businesses to create engaging audio
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:that gives organisations a vibrant
voice that engages with their audience.
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:I started Vibrant Sound Media in 2018
after I left my previous job in retail.
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:From a young age I'd always wanted
to work in radio, and when I
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:was 18 I went to university to
study media and radio production.
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:Whilst there I fell even deeper
in love with radio and worked at a
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:number of commercial radio stations,
as well as hosting several shows
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:on our student station as well.
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:While finding a job in radio
wasn't to be for me, I turned to
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:community radio where I hosted my
own weekly show for a few years.
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:And after realising that it wasn't
too late to achieve my dream of
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:working in audio, I set up Vibrant
Sound Media and started my own podcast
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:called It's All Cobblers To Me, which
is a fans podcast for my beloved
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:football team, Northampton Town.
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:I used it initially to experiment
with different formats and features.
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:And within a couple of weeks, I was
approached by a marketing agency
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:to make a branded podcast for them.
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:Since then I've worked with some
great companies and people and
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:created loads of original podcasts
and edited a few well known ones too.
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:The one thing I love about
podcasting is its intimacy.
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:Audio has always been
the most intimate medium.
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:And for me, podcasting
takes it one step further.
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:When you listen to a podcast,
it's an intended action.
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:You don't just stumble across
a podcast that's already
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:halfway through its episode.
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:You find the one you want
to listen to and hit play.
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:It might be the subject matter that
interests you at first, but before long
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:you're going back to that podcast for more
episodes because of how it makes you feel.
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:You're hooked.
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:You like the way it sounds, the
information you might learn on the way, or
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:the way it makes you laugh uncontrollably.
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:And most of all, you resonate
with the person hosting it.
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:Over time you feel like you know that
person and if you met them in the street
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:you probably feel a little in awe of them.
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:It's this feeling that I'm trying to
conjure up for the businesses I work for.
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:The podcasts I make engage the
listener and let them get to know
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:the people behind the business.
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:My big tip is to just be yourself
when presenting your podcast.
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:You might have a favourite radio
host or podcast presenter even
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:that you'd like to emulate, but
your best self is your true self.
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:People want to get to know you, not
the person that you wish you were.
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:So when you're setting up to record your
episodes, take a deep breath, imagine
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:you're talking to a friend, relax
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:and just be yourself.
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:You can find me at vibrantsoundmedia.com,
Instagram and TikTok.
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:Just search for Charles Commins.
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:All of my links are in the show notes.
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:Thanks for listening to Podcasting People.
