An independent podcast for thinkers seeking valuable life stories with practical mental health insights.

My name is Benoit Kim, a Penn-educated former policymaker turned psychotherapist, US army veteran, and host of the Discover More Podcast. I was born in Paris, France, and lived in South Korea and China before migrating to the United States at age 15. A third culture kid (TCK), a student of life, and a multilingual psychotherapist working in all three languages clinically. I pivoted early into the non-profit and policy sector from the private sector upon graduation, then committed to Teach for America (AmeriCorps program) teaching in inner-city Philadelphia before taking a military leave from this commitment and graduate studies at the University of Pennsylvania due to 2017 near-deployment. In this near-deployment to the North-South Korean border, I experienced my first major depression and had to acknowledge that perseverance does not always prevail, which catalyzed my venture into mental health. I then worked in the policy sector for a few years before pivoting into the clinical field as an aspirational psychedelic-assisted psychotherapist. Lastly, I started the podcast 3 years ago by simply leaning into curiosity, hired a video editor recently, and the show was featured on Top Apple Podcasts 200 chart in 2022, and recently became a top 2% globally ranked podcast in all categories.

Discover More is an independent podcast for thinkers seeking valuable life stories with practical mental health insights. As a psychotherapist, Benoit Kim highlights the magical relationship between healing and the optimal human experience. Here’s to mental health being a top priority: today and every single day.

My listeners are "adventurer" types seeking practical mental health insights. My demographics breakdown is 52% for ages 23-27, 45% for ages 28-34, and 2% for ages 35-44. Additionally, 74% of the total listeners are from the United States, 10% from Spain, and the rest from other English-speaking countries. The gender breakdown is almost evenly split but leaning towards male-majority.
 

As an archetypical thinker, I am cognitive in nature and esoteric in practice with the type of knowledge and interactions I pursue online and offline. Therefore, I have always grappled with this innate loneliness due to feeling unrelatable to most due to my said esoteric interests and intentional way of thinking. In 2016, I discovered the Joe Rogan Experience and it became an entry point to the ever-expansive world of podcasting, auditory learning, and "befriending" all these great thinkers and esoteric enthusiasts (i.e., Tim Ferriss) during my tedious commuting days helped remedy the said loneliness. Moreover, I realized I have a natural ability to retain and recall most content through audio, while also being an extroverted introvert who enjoys immersive one-on-one conversations.

In 2019, I reached out to the former co-founder to start a passion project, this podcast, with the pure intention of capturing some of our late-night conversations in a public catalog as a sounding board by inspiring us to be better thinkers.

Now, 3.5 years later, the podcast has become a growing business and recently started 2023 with 100,000 audio downloads and 10X growth in 6 months. So, why podcast? I believe in the avenue of pure long-form storytelling as stories are reflections of our visceral experiences, especially in the current era of the "death of nuances and attention."

We understood the importance of creating a "point of no return" to prevent "paralysis by analysis," so it took us 2 weeks to release our first episode after reserving our domain name, social media handle, and attending Google university. Of note, our first episode was recorded via my iPhone because we did not even have a basic mic setup yet.
 

I release biweekly episodes since I have no intention of replacing my other career of being a psychotherapist through podcasting because I love the clinical work equally. Currently, with an editor on the team, it takes about a week to fully produce an episode from the initial recording due to the podcast's YouTube channel. I continue to architect the overall structure of each episode and its content despite having an editor, so 1 week is an optimal production timeline for me at this stage.

I believe passion becomes purpose through cultivated commitment, intentional consistency, and built-in systems. So, I have recorded nearly every Saturday since the conception of this podcast in 2019 because this is purposefully meaningful especially as I am witnessing the exponential growth and evolution of my craftsmanship, and cultivating meaningful connections on the show.

I spend about $100 on each episode which includes all production costs (i.e., video editing, reel production, etc.).
 

Although I accepted a successful sponsorship (MagicMind.co) in October and November, at this time, I am focused on doing featured interviews, episode swaps, and refining my craftmanship because I fully believe in the long game and my ability as a podcaster. As such, there is no current revenue due to not monetizing the show.

I receive sponsorship offers frequently, so MagicMind reached out for a sponsorship spot (both preroll and midroll) in September, and we agreed to do 4 episodes (i.e., October and November). At the time, I had about 200-300 downloads for each episode but with 90%+ engagement, and the company was happy to sponsor the show.

As aforementioned, I am currently focusing on getting ranked on the top charts and growing the show through podcast collaboration. I have been getting anywhere from 20,000 to 30,000 downloads each month since November (e.g., in December, I received about 30,000 downloads).

Most psychotherapy session is about $100-$150 per hour, so I internalize my podcasting cost as a fixed cost because it is both deeply meaningful and therapeutic for me. Additionally, as I alluded to in question 2, podcasting serves as a unique avenue for me to connect with some of the best thinkers and spiritual-conscientious people from around the world, who are following their unconventional paths in life. The relationships I cultivated through podcasting are profound in every sense of the definition. Indeed, my love for podcasting grows continuously even 3.5 years later.
 

I believe in the power of refined simplicity. So, I use anchor.fm as the hosting platform, riverside.fm as an interview platform, Calendly for interview booking, Adobe Audition for backup recording and audio editing, and Google calendar for discovery calls (i.e., vetting process). I receive a constant influx of interview requests, and I seek out fascinating people who are on their uniquely unconventional paths (e.g., a world-class suicide prevention psychologist, a supermodel turned Earth.Org ambassador and environmental speaker, etc.).

First, I go through a vetting process via 15-30 minute Discovery Calls. If compatible, then I would ask the guest to complete a pre-interview questionnaire for additional contexts that can not be found through research. Second, I do my due diligence and collect pertinent context and information from either their platforms or conducted interviews online. Lastly, I prepare 5-7 anchor points to ensure an organic (unscripted) and fluid conversation throughout the 1.5-hour interviews that best provide maximum value for the listeners.

Before the pandemic, most interviews were conducted in person, but currently, I am doing mostly virtual interviews via riverside.fm. In 2023, I already have a deliberate plan to start building my in-person recording studio through a friend's multipurpose media space.
 

I have an SEO-optimized website, great social media engagement, and a bidirectional feeding loop of YouTube and audio platforms. Additionally, I work with people with established off-page SEO networks (e.g., connections, articles, and other plug-in outlets) to promote my podcast by targeting similar listener demographics based on other recommended shows (i.e., Apple Podcasts, Rephonic, and ListenNotes). Yes, I do have a breakdown somewhat based on anchor.fm's limited analytics and listenership breakdown.

The best-tested way to grow the show is by doing swap interviews and ad swaps with similarly sized podcasts within the same category. By doing this, you already are vetting out irrelevant podcasts and the need to identify who are podcast listeners as a baseline. I find marketing through the aforementioned podcast collaboration the most useful. The marketing channel with the lowest conversion rate is social media.
 

Do not focus on analytics or social media for the first year. Lean into the "long game" mindset by refining the art of podcasting (i.e., articulation, ability to share powerful stories and responses in 2-3 minute increments, and instantaneous rapport building with guests by being genuine and immersive, etc.). You can always establish a stronger social media presence after establishing a great foundation first. I share this because many guests will not even consider being on the show if it is less than 1 year old, and cultivating an unshakable foundation as podcasters allow us to feel comfortable and relaxed with guests that we are meeting for the first time. Above all, the established rapport will allow the "magic" to unfold in the container of these immersive conversations.

I am a part of the Grow The Show (GTS) FB community, which focuses on helping podcasters to grow their shows by taking fewer common detours and setbacks. The GTS is also a great podcast by an expert podcaster who successfully grew both of his podcasts to multi-six-figure businesses. The Reddit podcasting thread also has some useful information and feedback. Otherwise, I listen to other great podcasters (size aside) that have mastered the art of podcasting to emulate some of their extractable factors and approaches. Lastly, Google University never fails you if you know what you are seeking.
 

Website: https://www.discovermorepodcast.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DiscoverMorePodcast/featured
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/discovermorepodcast/
Email: discovermorepodcast@gmail.com
Donate: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/discovermore