Discussions and tomfoolery around the Sonic the Hedgehog fandom

I’ve been a Sonic fan since a child, in fact I think my first Sonic game was Sonic Spinball on my Mega Drive! That passion evolved into creating a YouTube channel called The Sonic Show that proved to be a success and even help me gain the title of Europe’s Biggest Sonic Fan. During this time I wanted a place where me and my peers could just ramble about how we felt on the rollercoaster that is being a Sonic fan. I think that appeals to our listeners who are equally as passionate about Sonic the Hedgehog but may also be use to feeling of exhaustion that is being a Sonic fan!
 

Our podcast started off as an off shoot from a popular YouTube channel I created called The Sonic Show. It really was just a space for myself and peers to talk about the highs and lows of Sonic. With time that evolved into regular segments, skits and characters created in our own little universe. I think that is what so appealing about podcasts, as it really allows you to be part of a conversation. I never really had that when I was a young fan!
 

We have been through different phases. At the start we just got together to record when significant news happened. However we realised that until we committed to a routine, we would never really be able to flesh out an audience and a format that we all could feel comfortable in.

In an ideal world this podcast comes out every other week though we did take a massive break for two years. Luckily we were approached by Audioboom to host our show after which they have helped us find relevant advertising which has only been used to cover the costs of hosting our own website. It really is a self feeding machine.
 

On the materialistic side it has helped us meet great sponsorships which is always nice to try new products. But on a more important note, it’s at times been a amazing way to build a mini family and go on a journey together. When life gets you down, the routine and people of a podcast really can help you through it!
 

Since about our third season of the show I have always used a Mac and software called Audio Hijack. It gives me full control over all audio inputs and outputs with minimal fuss. I can’t recommend it enough. In terms of show prep, it varies. For a normal show I will research and pick a variety of news items and select any fan mail that we wish to read out.

If we are doing a special skit, I will usually spend an evening prepping audios tracks, scripts and more as a lot of this production is recorded “as live” so all cohosts can experience it in real time.

Our approach to guests ask varies too. If they are just appearing as an extra cohost, they are usually briefed ahead of time of what to expect. If they are with us to be interviewed, I try to bullet points topics I wish to discuss. I find writing actual questions makes the interview feel very forced. All our online voice recording is done over Discord these days.
 

Twitter is our current main tool for promotion. Though we are exploring other avenues such as Tiktok. It’s hard sometimes to understand how to reach your listeners. For us the largest share was always Apple Podcasts but now we see Spotify’s share increasing rapidly.
 

Make a few episodes before you really go in on promotion. Nobody is excited for a podcast with one episode. Establish that you are in this for the long run. Also if you have a niche, COLLAB! Not only do you share audiences, it’s a great way to meet like minded people and learn from them.
 

My Twitter is found at http://Twitter.com/jayeggemann but I would rather you follow the shows Twitter as it’s recently started a new due to a change in hosting. That’s at http://Twitter.com/opinionzoneshow .

And of course our show itself can be found on al podcasting platforms as well as https://audioboom.com/channel/thesonicshow