Communicating about how we communicate, so that you can learn to become a competent and confident communicator.

My passion is helping others learn the skills they need to become more confident and competent communicators. I have 30 years' experience as a communication specialist with 18 of those years as a professor teaching communication courses at the college level. I am an author, a speaker, a corporate communication skills consultant, and a TEDx speaker and coach.

The Communication TwentyFourSeven podcast is where we communicate about how we communicate. It consists of two types of episodes: 1) Solocasts where the host provides short, easy-to-understand, and easy-to-apply tips that listeners can practice to improve their communication skills. 2) Interviews where the host interviews a variety of guests who share their experiences and lessons learned as communicators.

According to some of the statistics I've seen, the majority of the listeners for my podcast are women; however, the podcast provides useful communication-related information for anyone interested in improving there effectiveness in communicating with others. Listeners tune in for tips that will help them learn to identify and adapt to different communication styles, improve their listening habits, give and receive feedback more effectively, manage conflict in a healthy way, and become a more dynamic public speaker.
 

I started this podcast as an extension of my business, Communication TwentyFourSeven, a communication skills training company. I do listen to a lot of podcasts. I especially enjoy podcasts that challenge my way of thinking and broaden and deepen my understanding of societal challenges.

My initial goal and motivation for doing a podcast was to help increase my visibility on social media. As a communication specialist, I want to be seen as an authority in my field, which will hopefully translate into potential clients.

My first episode dropped July 11, 2021.

This is an interesting question in that if we include how long I had thought about doing a podcast, then it's been several years in the making. But if we're talking about how long from narrowing down the focus to writing the first couple of episodes to recording and editing and publishing, it took about a month. I seriously regret not doing this sooner because I absolutely love it!
 

My episodes are released weekly. If I'm producing a solo episode, it takes me about 2 days total. If I'm interviewing a guest for an episode, it takes about 2-3 weeks between the interview and the publishing date.

When I first started, I was horrible at being consistent with publishing episodes. I'd say the first 6 months were me just figuring out what I was doing and becoming comfortable with the process. In season 2, I became more intentional with the process. Now I know a new episode will be released every Monday, so I have a bank of interviews saved for rainy days. Sundays and Mondays are my dedicated days to work on podcasting, so during those days I will do a variety of tasks from writing to recording to editing to publishing.

I fund the podcast myself (for now!). Getting sponsors and monetizing is the dream that I think most of us have. I spend about $86 /month for editing and hosting software, designing software, and access to a podcast guest/host matching site. I don't spend money on marketing; rather, I try to share clips and episodes several times a week on all my social media channels.
 

I am actively seeking sponsors, so if anyone has a lead, I'm all ears! :-) Thus far I haven't been able to crack the revenue code and like many podcasters, I'm still learning how to best monetize my show. I include affiliate links and links to my book. I have recently begun earning a commission for interviewing certain guests, but to date that has also been a very little amount.

I have not gotten a sponsor yet.

I'm currently looking at Podcorn for leads, but am considering doing some cold-calls and marketing to local businesses in my area. I reached over 1,300 downloads this past month, so I'm hoping that is a sign of continued growth.

Podcasting is beneficial to me for a few reasons. As a communication specialist, having a podcast gives me a stage to be viewed as the authority on communication skills. It also encourages me to do my research and stay updated on the most recent studies in connection to my area. As an interviewer, it helps me hone my own communication skills in terms of listening and speaking. Also, I have made some pretty awesome connections with other podcasters and have developed friendships I otherwise would not have had the opportunity to develop if I were not in the podcasting community.
 

I like to keep everything simple, from the hardware to the software. To celebrate my implementing a Season 2, I purchased a new mic (FIFINE Studio Condenser USB Mic for my PC). It was on sale for $39.99 USD at the time and I get compliments often on the quality of the sound. I use StreamYard to live stream my interviews. I use Alitu to record voice for solo episodes and can download the audio into the program for my interviews and then edit, add music, and my own affiliate ads. I use Buzzsprout to publish to all the platforms. I find guests to interview through PodMatch.

Prior to accepting someone as a guest, I do a pre-interview with them to make sure they're a good fit and that the conversation flows well. After I decide to have them on the show, I send them a Google form to fill out with basic info and one or two questions. I don't send interview questions as I prefer to have a conversation that is organic. I use Calendly and send them the link so they can choose their interview date. As we get closer to the interview, I create an announcement using Canva and then send a final reminder email to the guest with the link and a copy of the announcement so they can share it with their audience. After the episode airs, I send a follow-up email with the links to them with another request to share with their audience.
I interview guests via StreamYard.
 

Listeners can find my show on Google as well as all the major social media platforms. I share new and older episodes on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram. The top apps for listening to my podcast are Amazon Echo, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.

I have found sharing my episodes through my social media channels most useful.
 

The most important thing I've learned thus far on this journey that was unexpected was how supportive the podcasting community is. I've joined several groups and have enjoyed meeting and developing relationships with other podcasters. It has been a wonderful side-effect of creating a podcast.

I have found joining groups on Facebook and MeetUp has been one of the most helpful tools to use to make connections. Other podcasters are the most valuable resource. PodPros has a terrific online community as well as a fantastic podcast led by Alex Sanfilippo. Another terrific online community I have found is led by Thomas Wu called PCM (Podcasters, Creators, Makers) Networking on MeetUp.
 

Jennifer Furlong
Corporate Communication Skills Coach & Consultant
Owner, Communication TwentyFourSeven
TEDx Speaker & Coach
Web: www.communicationtwentyfourseven.com
LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-arvin-furlong-16779a5a/
TW: @speechteach912
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_WaQeCnXmfFf1RidUBdAYQ
Podcast: https://communicationtwentyfourseven.buzzsprout.com/