Stories, silliness, and social-emotional skills for the kid in all of us!

Storypillar is a podcast for kids ages 4-8 anchored in global stories and social-emotional skills. Sneak (an enthusiastic caterpillar), Bean (a tween butterfly), and Meg (me–a human person) tackle sticky social situations, explore stories from all over the world, and pick up great advice from our kid listeners.
We publish three episodes per month:
1) A Sneak Attack!!!: Sneak shares interesting facts and ridiculous jokes featuring the country of the month.
2) A Full Episode: Sneak, Bean, and their giant chicken, Sparky, introduce a sticky social situation kids commonly struggle with–like bullying or feeling anxious. Then we “blast off” to the country of the month to hear an adapted folk tale that touches on our social-emotional theme. Finally, we pick up advice for navigating our sticky social situation from a kid listener.
3) A Bean-o-meter Check: Bean checks in with her mind and body, plays some pretty chill music, and shares strategies for getting a handle on BIG feelings that tie into the sticky social situation of the month.
Our mission is to provide a FREE, non-screen resource that makes learning about different perspectives and navigating ALL the big feelings (even the unpleasant ones) fun and comfortable for kids and their grownups.

I’m a Black-White biracial female who grew up in rural Michigan before teaching migrant children in the midwest, BIPOC middle schoolers in Alexandria, VA, and middle school in the Bronx. During these experiences it was apparent that kids need exposure to a wide range of people and perspectives in order to develop a healthy relationship with themselves and those around them. Likewise, kids shouldn’t feel guilty or flawed just because they have messy or unpleasant feelings. So…I resigned from my teaching job, bought some gear, wrote a theme song and a boatload of adapted folktales, and launched Storypillar in February, 2023.
It’s been tough–I started completely on my own and am still handling the majority of production while simultaneously tackling growth and monetization–but it is 100% worth it. All kids–regardless of income–deserve guidance as they discover the world and grow into who they are.

Hmmm…I’m still figuring out the whole time and money thing. :) I used personal savings to get started and have both an online Storypillar merch store and a monthly supporter donation Ko-fi page up and running. I have also been applying to grants and ramping up outreach efforts to grow Storypillar’s audience to a size large enough to entice sponsors and advertisers.
In terms of time, I recently lost hearing in my left ear, which was surprising and terrifying--not least because ears are pretty essential for creating audio content. This health challenge was absolutely the result of trying to single-handedly keep Storypillar galloping at an unrealistic pace. Over the past three months, not only has my hearing (thankfully) returned, but I’ve been able to take a good hard look at Storypillar’s goals, offload more of the production work into capable hands, and restructure its publishing schedule it in a way that allows it to reach as many young ears as possible for as long as possible…without sacrificing vital body parts.

First and foremost, Storypillar gives me JOY! I do have plans in place to earn revenue from monthly supporters, merchandise, and eventually sponsors and advertisers, but spreading Storypillar’s core values are as important to me as turning a profit. For example…
My 8 year-old’s class recently made their own podcast, and I was called in as the resident expert. When I asked his classmates which podcasts were their favorites, I expected to hear Greeking Out, Forever Ago, Story Pirates–the kids’ podcast biggies. But when five or six second graders shot their hands up like they were spring-loaded and screamed “STORYPILLAR!!!” I turned bright pink and almost broke my face smiling. It was indisputable evidence that this show that I’ve poured so much of myself into and even temporarily lost my hearing over is actually reaching kids. And they like it! Hooray!

I use a Rode PodMic, a Behringer U-Phoria UMC202HD interface, record and edit in Hindenburg, and publish through RSS.com. Because Storypillar is a DIY, indie podcast, my “recording studio” is a room divider lined with acoustic panels and draped with heavy-duty sound-dampening blankets. It’s not too fancy, but I’m able to get great sound quality…if my neighbors aren’t running their air conditioners or using the dryer. :)
Full episodes take at least 40 hours, start to finish–research, writing, recording, editing, publishing–and mini-episodes take about 10 hours. Luckily, I’ve been able to hire a first-class illustrator–Mackenzie Allison–as well as some wonderful writers and sound editors to help lighten the load.

Marketing, discoverability, and growth are tricky beasts for kids’ podcasters to tackle, largely because we can’t depend on social media for interaction with our target audience. To date, collaborating and arranging promo swaps with other kids’ podcasts–Culture Kids, What if World, The Adventures of Power Dog, Dorktales, The Big Fib, and so many other gems–has been the number one way I have grown Storypillar’s listener base. We do have an active Instagram account, but connecting with kids and their grownups through other shows they love has been a far more dependable way to grow our listener base.

If you’re just starting out…
-Estimate how much time you think production will take…and then double it :) Seriously–especially if you’re doing most of the groundwork yourself.
-Find shows that you genuinely love and reach out to the hosts for advice. Especially in the kids’ podcasting world, show creators are extremely supportive and willing to share their insight.
-Some great music/FX resources: freesound.org and pixabay.com

Info/Get in Touch:
Website: www.storypillar.com
Instagram: @storypillar
Join our mailing list
Support Us:
https://ko-fi.com/storypillar
Shop at:
storypillarstore.threadless.com