Podcast Bestie, the Podcast
Courtney Kocak
Podcast Bestie is a best friend to podcasters trying to grow and monetize their shows. First, a popular Substack, now also a podcast! Hosted by Podcast Bestie founder Courtney Kocak. podcastbestie.substack.com
From Podcast to Page: Cara McGoogan on Turning Bed of Lies Into Blood Farm
Hey Besties! Today we've got a special bonus episode featuring Cara McGoogan, who ticked off a major item on my bucket list when she successfully transformed the second season of her podcast Bed of Lies into her book Blood Farm (The Poison Line in the UK). In this episode, Cara breaks down the process of adapting a podcast into a book and the opportunities and challenges that come along with it. This conversation explores how podcast writing differs from book writing, how to structure a compelli
Sep 9, 2024 • 1:00:33
What Is V4V? A Primer on Value4Value Monetization for Indie Podcasters with Kyrin Down
Hi Besties! For the season finale, Kyrin Down, co-host of the Mere Mortals Podcast, is here to give us a primer on V4V, or Value4Value, which is a new way to think about value in podcasting. Basically, V4V enables payment directly from podcast listener to podcaster using Bitcoin, making it easy to support your favorite podcasters, no matter where in the world they are based. Value4Value is a good option for pretty much every indie podcaster's monetization strategy, and in this episode, Kyrin exp
Jan 12, 2024 • 1:06:20
How to Rebrand Your Podcast with Angie Griffith of Podfluencer Society
Hello Besties! I’m back with another episode all about rebranding, which is something a lot of podcasters have to navigate as their podcasts evolve, including myself. Today’s guest also has first-hand experience. Angie Griffith started in the music industry as an artist manager before her pivot to podcasting and becoming the talent herself. Angie now hosts a podcast called Podfluencer Society, which recently underwent a rebrand. In this episode, she shares the strategy for how she relaunched her
Nov 26, 2023 • 28:15
Your Indie Podcast Tune-Up with Andreea Coscai of Tink Media
Hi Besties! I’m excited to be back with Andreea Coscai, another babe from the Tink Media team. Josh Taylor from The Wild West Extravaganza tweeted: “Every time i find out that @courtneykocak has interviewed someone from @tinkmediaco my ears perk up. They're like the Navy Seals of podcast marketing.” That is both hilarious and very true. In this episode, Andreea shares some great perspective on podcasting marketing, collaboration, community, sustainability, social media, and more for indie podcas
Oct 11, 2023 • 31:29
Growing Queens Podcast to 100K Downloads Per Month & a Thriving Patreon Community with Katy Hearne-Church
Hello Besties! I'm thrilled to share today's episode because it's chock-full of practical takeaways from a popular history podcaster. Katy Hearne-Church created Queens Podcast and recruited her bestie to co-host in 2017 — now the show gets 100K downloads a month and has a thriving Patreon community. In this episode, Katy shares how they nurture their community of diehard listeners on Patreon, the power of promo swaps and polling your audience, and her research and editing process. We also discus
Sep 11, 2023 • 45:13
The Art of the Podcast Trailer with Arielle Nissenblatt
Hey Besties! It’s summer — we’re all busy working, traveling, and having fun — so I’m taking my sweet time rolling out the rest of this season… but today’s episode is so worth the wait. I have Big Podcasting’s Bestie and all our Besties, Arielle Nissenblatt, on the show today. Arielle is the founder of Earbuds Podcast Collective and the head of community and content at Squadcast.fm. In this episode, she’s sharing podcast marketing examples from the launch of her new show — Trailer Park, The Podc
Aug 9, 2023 • 42:00
How to Grow Your Podcast: A Podcast Marketing Master Class with Jeff Umbro of The Podglomerate
Hello Besties! We’re all here because we want to know how to grow our podcasts and today’s episode is a banger in that department. We’re getting a podcast marketing master class from Jeff Umbro of The Podglomerate. He’s going to teach us all about their five tiers of audience development and some case studies for how to apply them. And guess what, Besties? Before Jeff was spending millions on podcast marketing, he got his start as a podcast listening addict and indie podcaster like so many of us
Jul 17, 2023 • 52:29
Podcast Like a Motherf*cker with Emily McElwreath (& Cheryl Strayed!)
Hi Besties! Today’s guest is Emily McElwreath, host of The Art Career podcast, and Emily’s superpower is guest booking. Some of us feel like we need to work our way up to our dream guests, but not Emily. Starting season one of her podcast, she didn’t wait for permission to approach top-tier talent. She was hot out the gate with Laurie Simmons, Marilyn Minter, and other big names in the art world. She’s even managed to land Pulitzer Prize-winning art critic Jerry Saltz and one of my all-time favo
Jul 3, 2023 • 23:15
How to Leverage Blogging Strategies for Your Podcast with Danielle Desir Corbett
Hey Besties! Today's guest is Danielle Desir Corbett, the multi-talented host of The Thought Card podcast and the creator of a blog by the same name. She is also the founder and host of the podcast and community Women of Color Podcasters and the creative mind behind the Grants for Creators Substack. In this episode, Danielle shares how she launched her podcast from her blog and some big lessons she learned along the way, including the importance of embracing failure. Don't let your podcasting fe
Jun 15, 2023 • 39:40
How to Go Pro & Get Started as a Freelance Podcast Producer with Pod the North's Kattie Laur
Hi Besties! Whether you're trying to get your indie show off the ground, break into freelancing, or recover from burnout, this episode has something for folks at every stage of their audio journey. Our guest is Kattie Laur, a public radio enthusiast who turned her passion for audio storytelling into a career as a freelance podcast producer. As co-creator of the responsible travel podcast Alpaca My Bags, Kattie and host Erin Hynes help you travel in a better way, so we can avoid “blowing up the p
Jun 2, 2023 • 48:49
Organic Growth Hack: Recurring Collaborations with Niche Podcasts with Aakshi Sinha of Tink Media
Hey Besties! This episode is such a treat because I had the chance to chat with Aakshi Sinha, a Podcast Marketing Specialist from Tink Media, all the way from India. Connecting with people around the world is one of the many reasons I love podcasting!Prepare to be inspired as we delve into Aakshi's podcasting origin story — exploring her gateway podcast, her desire to be a part of the podcasting community, and how she landed her job in the podcast industry. She also shares her love for creating
May 26, 2023 • 24:22
Podcast Marketing Is About Finding Your Podcast Besties with Lauren Passell of Tink Media + How to Get Featured on Apple Podcasts
Hey Besties! Can't afford PR right now? Don't worry — Sweet Mama Swap is in the house to help you get started all by yourself! That's right, today's guest is Lauren Passell, the founder of Tink Media, and she's giving us the Tink treatment for free, generously sharing the strategies she uses to help her clients get coverage and grow their shows. She dishes her expert advice on how to make podcast collaboration effective, fun, and EASY, land a coveted Apple Podcasts feature, pitch bigger shows fo
May 8, 2023 • 49:44
Cross-Media Promotions for Your Podcast with Anna Van Valin of Every Day is a Food Day
Hey Besties! Today, we're taking an out-of-the-box approach to podcast collaborations. Our guest is Anna Van Valin, an independent podcast producer, consultant, and host of the Every Day is a Food Day podcast. Anna is an advocate for cross-media promotions, which is a different way to go about the whole promo swap strategy. In this episode, she shares how she got started, some great case studies, and tips for pitching brands for this type of collaboration. Plus, we discuss whether Instagram Reel
Apr 26, 2023 • 34:07
From Zero to 100K Real Quick: How Mina AF Engaged Mina Starsiak Hawk’s Existing Audience with Producer Megan Hayward
Hi Besties! Today’s special guest is Megan Hayward from editaudio. We are very lucky because she has a delightful British accent that is very easy on the ears! Megan is here because last month (March 14th, to be exact), I saw on Twitter that the show she’s producing hit 100K downloads. The show is called Mina AF, and it’s hosted by HGTV star Mina Starsiak Hawk. In this episode, we discuss how Megan and the team approach the creative and producing on this new show, plus how they engaged Mina’s pr
Apr 19, 2023 • 27:59
The Art of Podcast Marketing with Devin Andrade from Tink Media
Hey Besties! I’ve got Devin Andrade on the podcast today. She’s from Tink Media—Lauren Passell’s company that crushes it on the podcasting marketing side—so we discuss the creative side of podcast promotion and marketing lessons she’s picked up from working at Tink, including a great cross-promo example. Devin also shares her top tip for indie podcasters trying to grow their shows, how to make your content more accessible, some of her favorite recent podcast discoveries, and more.* Subscribe to
Apr 11, 2023 • 29:33
From Globetrotting Travel Photographer to Daily Podcaster with 13 Million Downloads with Gary Arndt of Everything Everywhere Daily
📣 Attention: Season one of Podcast Bestie, the Podcast is now in session! New episodes will drop every Monday in April and May. Today, I’ve got Gary Arndt of Everything Everywhere Daily on the show unpacking his journey from globetrotting travel photographer and blogger to daily podcaster. His latest podcast was a lucky pandemic pivot that now has 13 million downloads and counting. Gary shares his strategies for making Everything Everywhere Daily a successful show — everything from shorter epis
Apr 3, 2023 • 48:03
Podcast Websites That Convert, Plus SEO for the Web & Podcast Players with James Cridland of Podnews
Hi Besties!Today is the day… Podcast Bestie, the Podcast has officially dropped its debut episode.I’ve got James Cridland of Podnews on the show today talking all about SEO for websites and podcast apps, how he’s helping audit your podcast, press release tips, and more. First, we discuss James’s place in podcasting history, which I found very interesting, but if you’re just here for the tips and the fish ‘n’ chips references, jump ahead to the six-and-a-half-minute mark.Here’s a link to the TRAN
Mar 3, 2023 • 40:52
