Feature crime stories from the Philippines

My name is Christine and I am Filipino-German podcaster, currently living in England. I am a former lawyer, avid traveller and true crime fan.

Lagim Podcast is my first of two podcasts and it is almost a year old. I noticed that after years of listening to true crime podcasts, I barely hear about stories from Asia, specifically the Philippines. Filipinos love crime stories and they are very internet savvy, so it only made sense that I tap into that potential audience and share crime stories to Filipinos and others, in order to mix up the genre a little bit.

My listeners are mostly Filipinos from the Philippines and our large diaspora. My listenership is 85% women and the rest are men or non-binary folx.
 

I have started to really binge on true crime podcasts during my training as a lawyer in 2017. It was a way to unwind and kill time during long commutes between work and home. I never thought of actually starting my own podcast because the thought seemed intimidating.
When I qualified as a lawyer I needed a creative outlet as the job was very stressful. I started conceptualising the podcast that would later become Lagim. It took me almost a year to really sink my teeth into the process and, ultimately, it was the boredom during the pandemic that pushed me to finally take the plunge.

I released my trailer on 23rd November 2020 and my first episode on 4th December 2021. It was nerve-wracking!
 

I release episodes every other Friday. My research into the cases depend on the complexity and history. A lot of the cases I was and am interested in took place in the early 90s and there is so much information to go through. There are newer cases as well and since they are newer, the amount of resources available to me is equally vast. Sifting through all the information is 60% of the production process.

I do have a day job and I spend after-hours producing my podcast, sometimes late into the night. I try to also do as much as I can during the weekends to free up some of my weeknights. It was tough at the beginning but I found a good rhythm after almost a year.

I only spend money on editing and hosting. I am still unsure of my editing skills, so I am outsourcing it at the moment. In a month, i think I spend around £50 for editing and hosting expenses.
 

I am currently looking for sponsorship. I have very much put that on the back burner as I am still figuring out how to make myself attractive to potential sponsors ha!

I have, however, started dipping my toes into affiliate marketing. So far, no yields but I am sure it will eventually work.

Podcasting has helped me stay sharp, given all the reading I am doing. It has prevented me from going into full-blown pandemic blues because I am always busy. Most of all, I appreciate the community I was able to build around the podcast. I have Filipino women sending me messages about how they finally feel seen as true crime fans, knowing that Filipino stories are also out there now in the true crime genre. I have met loads of wonderful and hard-working Filipino podcasters and we all have big plans as soon as the pandemic is over. I could not be more thankful for the podcasting experience in the last year!
 

I started out using my phone for recording. I eventually purchased a mic but it was horrible, so I am in the market for a good microphone. Until then I am recording on my phone again, which has good enough quality for now.

For each episode, I make sure to prep a timeline of a case. I then flesh out the timeline and that becomes the basis of my script. I look at historical context, interesting facts around the case and make sure to integrate all that into the episode. I make sure that I research points of law as well because I always like to give my POV as a former lawyer. I then finish typing up the script and proceed with the recording.
As soon as I am satisfied, I send the raw file over to my editor and we talk about what I want to happen. Once I get the finished product, I make sure to prep all the promotional material for my social media accounts. I prep Instagram, Facebook, Twitter posts through Canvas. I prepare an audiogram through Headliner. I upload my episode and cover art onto Buzzsprout and schedule the release accordingly. I do the same for the audiograms, which I release on Youtube.

And then I wait until the day, to post my social media material, to interact with the listerners, to hype up my episode and make sure that I reach as many people as possible. I sometimes fancy paying for paid posts on Instagram but not always.

I have interviewed a couple of people but interview is not my normal format. When I do interview them I use Google Meet and the results have been varying, so I think I will switch to Zencastr for the next interview!
 

As already mentioned above, I make sure to post on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and sometimes on TikTok as well. Those are the platforms I find most effective and helpful as well easy to manage.

My listeners can find me on all major podcasting platforms such as Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Goodle Podcasts etc. Majority of my listenership comes through Spotify because it is a popular app amongst Filipinos. Apple comes next but it is far away from the Spotify numbers, to be honest.
 

My advice to aspiring podcasters? JUST DO IT. Do not overthink it like I did. The podcast will never be perfect the first time around, so you might as well start, learn, have a good time, meet amazing and like-minded people and then you will see yourself improve as time goes one!

I find it helpful, listening to podcasts about podcasts like Wit and Wire. I read the educational material from Buzzprout and Patreon. I also follow some people from Podcast Movement. I used to be active on Clubhouse and learned loads from the podcast-related rooms there but I have not been in there for weeks now due to my busy schedule. It is definitely worth a peek though.
 

My main website is https://lagimpodcast.podcastpage.io/

I am mainly on Instagram @lagimpodcast and on Twitter @lagimpod.

I sometimes post content on TikTok @lagimpodcast

On Facebook, there is Lagim Podcast fan page and discussion group, so people can just search for Lagim Podcast and they will for sure find those two pages.

My Patreon page is https://www.patreon.com/lagimpodcast

...and my buymecoffe link is https://www.buymeacoffee.com/juzewoba
THANK YOU!