► Tell us about you and your podcast
My name is Civilla Morgan, Founder of Childless not by Choice and 21st Century Hannah. In my podcast, I speak to and encourage the childless not by choice demographic on a global level, while creating conversation and awareness by asking those with children to listen as well.
My listeners are childless not by choice women and men, as well as those who do have children.
► Why & how did you start this podcast?
I started my podcast right around July 2015 after realizing that the local AM radio station I had my shows on for about six months was just not working out. I pulled my shows and transferred those shows to my podcast and they became my first podcast episodes.
My initial goals and motivations for starting a podcast remain the same. I wanted to create awareness of and for the childless not by choice demographic on a global basis. I wanted to create conversation in the hopes of getting childless not by choice people to realize it may seem as though they are the only ones suffering from the pain of childlessness, but they are not. And I wanted those with children to realize there is a pain that typically goes unspoken, and that jokes and assumptions about a person's childlessness are unacceptable.
► How'd you find the time and funding to do this podcast?
I release a fresh episode the second and fourth Monday of every month. I average about a month of research for each episode, whether it is a monologue or an interview. After recording my episode, it is forwarded to my podcast producer for production. I quit my job in 2014 to build my platform, so I created a schedule for maintaining my platform. I currently work from home for my day job, which helps immensely, to maintain both my platform and my job.
As for funding, I have one sponsor, and I am always searching for more sponsors. My one sponsor currently covers my podcast hosting fees and podcast producer fees. I would like to create more courses and there are other things that need to be done, but they will be done when I bring on more sponsors.
► What do you gain from podcasting?
I do have a sponsor, and I am actively searching for additional sponsors.
Podcasting benefits me in that it allows me to get the word out globally, that being childless not by choice is not the end of the road, no matter what we are told.
► How does your podcasting process look like?
In re: my podcasting process, I typically plan a theme for the year. Last year it was health and wellness. I interviewed or talked about other subject matters, but the overall theme was health and wellness. This year my theme is work behind the scenes year. I will definitely interview someone that I believe will add value to the platform, but I believe most episodes this year will simply be me monologuing about some tough subject matters.
I record monologues on Audacity, and interviews on Zencastr. I have used Skype in the past. Once my episode is recorded, I Drop Box it to my podcast producer who does the edits, and then Drop Boxes the episode back to me. I then schedule the episode on my podcast hosting platform.
I find guests via social media, or by introduction by mutual friends and acquaintances. As an aside: It is very important to maintain a positive social media presence as we never know who is watching and listening.
I prepare each episode by researching the topic/subject matter/interviewee. If I have a guest, I send them a list of best practices for a positive experience for sound and content.
► How do you market your show?
My marketing process is simple. I do a Facebook Live the Sunday afternoon before each show. I post podcast clips (written) of the upcoming episode on all of my platforms in anticipation of the episode. Once the episode is out, I continue to post via Hootsuite or live on all of my platforms. I basically maintain a consistent but not over bearing social media presence.
I believe all of the channels I use, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, are great for disseminating information on my platform, my podcast.
► What advice would you share with aspiring (new) podcasters?
Advice I would share with aspiring podcasters is to know their 'why'. It sounds cliche, and probably slightly overused, but it is necessary. When you know your 'why', you will be able to research, record, and remain vigilant about your podcast even on days when you just do not feel like researching, recording, or remaining vigilant. It is also very important to conduct research about your subject matter, i.e., make sure there are no other podcasts with the same title you are thinking of using, etc.
What I have learned on my journey is that it is sometimes difficult to maintain a podcast. Some people have been podcasting for many years, and I would only assume they have managed to hold on because they know their why. Besides, podcasting, in my opinion, is addictive. What other medium can be used with such a low financial barrier to entry where one can get the word out about their subject matter on a global level?
I am subscribed to almost 50 podcasts. I listen to them because I find them interesting, but I also listen to learn from their formatting. I believe in remaining teachable and being open to learning from others. I also listen to The Feed Podcast which is a podcast about podcasting. I belong to a handful of podcasting groups on Facebook, and my Podcast Producer has proven to be a great resource over the years. He creates and maintains websites, and he produces podcasts for several podcasters. His contact website is albadigitalmedia.com.