► Tell us about you and your podcast
My name is Kris Keppeler, actor, writer, voice actor, narrator, and funny story junkie. After I got laid off from my corporate job a couple years ago, I decided to go full time as an audiobook narrator, voice actor, and business blog writer.
The name of my podcast is Does This Happen to You and it's a story every week about our daily anomalies. The story is sometimes fictional but it's always about a personal journey or observance about getting through life. My listeners are men and women who enjoy a quick funny story about life.
► Why & how did you start this podcast?
I love to tell funny stories and I originally began the podcast to tell my own stories. I don't listen to lots of podcasts myself but I read lots.
My initial goal was to share funny stories with friends and share their stories, too, which I did. I enjoy voice-over work since I used to sing quite a bit, so a weekly podcast meant I did voice-over every week. The love of voice-over motivated me to keep going.
My podcast began in 2010. I released my first episode within a week as I'm set up for voice-over work with a home studio.
► How'd you find the time and funding to do this podcast?
I release an episode weekly and it takes about 3-4 hours to produce. When I had a day job, I just worked on the podcast in the evening.
I fund the podcast myself. Since I'm an audiobook narrator and voice actor, I have a home studio set up. I spend about $150 a year on my podcast, although I spent about $300 last year as I entered my podcast in some showcases.
► What do you gain from podcasting?
I don't have any sponsors or revenue. It's a showcase for my narration and weekly practice, too. Since my podcast showcases writers and stories I love, I enjoy meeting new writers and corresponding with them. A new author and I recently completed an audiobook of her fantasy series, so it advances my career, too.
► How does your podcasting process look like?
I have a Rode NT1A mic connected to a Presonus USB audiobox, which connects to my laptop. I use AVS4U as my DAW (editing software). The Rode mic sits inside an enclosed studio with sound dampening panels.
My podcast is narrative, not interview. I'm always contacting writers to get permission to narrate their story and reading to find stories which fit my theme to narrate.
I always look the story over before beginning the narration, look up words I'm not sure how to pronounce, and narrate a few sentences out loud before I begin recording.
► How do you market your show?
My stats are hard to interpret as most come through Chrome which is Google. I recently added my show to a Radio Show Podcast line-up which gets it more attention.
I use social channels such as Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest to market it. I find lots of awareness comes from writers sharing the podcast of their story.
► What advice would you share with aspiring (new) podcasters?
Have a mission and get involved in the podcast community. I've gained more followers from being involved in the podcast community.
I think it's important to have a mission/reason for your podcast and listen to YouTube videos about intros and outros for your podcast.