"I started out knowing absolutely nothing, so if you’re interested in podcasting, don’t let that stop you."

I’m Colleen Gratzer. I’ve been a print designer and web designer/developer since 1997. I started my own business, Gratzer Graphics LLC, in 2003.

In March 2018, I started the Design Domination podcast. Design Domination helps emerging graphic designers sharpen their skills and become more business savvy, so they can get more respect and command higher rates. It’s for logo designers, print designers and web designers looking to make a successful living freelancing or working with in-house clients at their places of work.

In addition to sharing my own experiences, I also interview other dominators in the design industry.

Prior to podcasting myself, I didn’t listen to podcasts. Podcasting was never on my list of things to do. (I mean, who likes the sound of their own voice? LOL. Plus, I didn’t want to put myself out there.) But I saw a need for real actionable advice for emerging designers whether it pertains to technical skills, creativity, clients or confidence—and I felt they could learn from my experiences.

After formally studying graphic design in college, my first professional gig was as the sole graphic designer for a nonprofit. I had no other designer or art director to bounce ideas around with. I didn’t always feel confident and sometimes would second-guess myself.

After that, I worked for a couple publishing companies and a design firm, where I was able to consult with other designers and challenge myself. My confidence grew over time and then I went out on my own in 2003.

After being a successful designer for more than 20 years, I started a side business, Creative Boost, along with the Design Domination podcast, in March 2018. Under Creative Boost, I also plan to start a design mentoring community.

I release episodes every other week. That’s all I can manage right now with my client-based business at the same time.

It takes several days to produce an episode. It takes more effort if it’s just me, less if it’s an interview.

I fund the podcast myself, through my business. I’ve spent about $6,000 this year on podcast and website hosting, domain names, transcripts, some Facebook and Instagram ads. Half of that amount was for trademarking the business and podcast names.

I’d be delighted to get sponsors. It would be nice to have some funds to offset the monetary costs. I got an offer early on but have not yet had time to evaluate the product, so I have not accepted the offer. I want to be sure any sponsors and what they offer would be in line with the quality of information I provide.

More important has been the non-financial side to podcasting. Very surprising to me, as I was afraid to put myself out there for fear of negativity or criticism, I’ve gotten nothing but amazingly positive feedback from my audience and how helpful the information has been and how it’s different from most other design podcasts. That makes me feel awesome!

Also, I’ve been able to talk to experts and leaders in the design industry whom I’ve looked up to for 20-some years.

There’s a lot involved with a podcast: recording; editing; reviewing and correcting the transcription; writing a description for the MP3 files; posting it to the website; finding an image for the episode for the website and social media; creating social media images; promoting it on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc.; asking people to be guests, getting them scheduled…

I use Trello to manage topics and potential guests, where I have promoted each episode, which guests have accepted and I’ve sent a release form to, etc.

I use GarageBand for recording if it’s just me, Zencastr otherwise (but I’ve had some issues with it saying it is using my mic and isn’t so I’ve had to rerecord my track in those cases). Once, I had to use Free Conference because the guest did not have a newer computer and didn’t have anything I could use to record him online. So I joined the call online and he called in from a landline.

I use GarageBand for editing but a couple times while editing the same long episode, it removed the rerecording I had done (and I had saved it often too). That was a nightmare!

I have a huge list of potential guests. There are so many people I want to have on, so many people in the industry who can help my audience. I might be connected with them on LinkedIn, they might have authored books I have had on my shelf for many years. They may be people I don’t know that I find out about through someone else through something they shared and then I find out who wrote that particular article or created that work and reach out to them.

The show is available on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Overcast and Android, as well as on the Creative Boost website, http://creative-boost.com with a full transcript and show notes.

I share episodes on the Creative Boost Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts. I also share them on LinkedIn—on my profile and in relevant groups. I share some episode as articles on LinkedIn.

I ask guests to share the episode on their social media platforms.

I’ve also run some Facebook and Instagram ads to find more listeners, offering them a helpful free guide if they want to subscribe to the e-mail list.

I started out knowing absolutely nothing, so if you’re interested in podcasting, don’t let that stop you. I came across Pat Flynn’s (I didn’t even know who he was then) three free tutorial videos and went through those. I definitely recommend them.

Creative Boost website: creative-boost.com

Design Domination podcast page: creative-boost.com/podcast/

Facebook: facebook.com/creativeboostco/?ref=bookmarks

Instagram: instagram.com/design.domination/

Twitter: twitter.com/creativeboostco

E-mail: info@creative-boost.com