Discuss the intriguing and ever-expanding field of cybersecurity.

I am a cybersecurity professional with over 20 years of experience and six years of IT experience as a sysadmin. My specialization is offensive security, where I utilize my hacking skills to perform penetration tests of systems and applications. I am a former adjunct instructor who taught pentesting, and I still teach through workshops. I am the concept creator and coauthor of The Pentester Blueprint: Starting a Career as an Ethical Hacker. I am a frequent conference speaker and have spoken at conferences around the globe.

On my podcast, my guests and I discuss the intriguing and ever-expanding field of cybersecurity, including topics on the offensive security side, the defensive side, and the response side of cybersecurity. Guests also share their origin stories and advice.
My listeners vary from those wanting to start careers in cybersecurity to experienced professionals.
 

My main focus on the podcast is to help others through guests sharing their origin stories, advice, cybersecurity information, tips, and tricks. Numerous listeners have shared how the guests have encouraged and inspired them while starting or advancing their careers.

My initial goal is to reach as many listeners as possible and share valuable information from the podcast. Listeners can learn things from the podcast that they can only get from experienced professionals.

I started my podcast in April 2023. I hosted another podcast, The Hacker Factory Podcast, through ITSP Magazine and started The Phillip Wylie Show as an independent podcast.

The first episode did not take long. I released it six days after recording it.
 

I release one episode a week and recording, editing, and publishing it takes approximately two hours.

I have a day job, and I record episodes after work.

I started out very inexpensively. I used Spotify to host my podcasts and got a free podcast site through Transistor. I upgraded to Podcast Page for added functionality and aesthetics. I use Riverside.fm to record and edit and Deciphr for transcription and show notes, although Riverside offers great transcription and show notes. I am spending around $130 a month. I have had a couple of sponsors who helped me recoup the money, and I made a profit.
 

I do take sponsors, and the amount varies depending on the type of sponsorship. Companies that I had relationships with got a better deal starting out.

After four months, I got my first sponsor. I knew the company's founder. I have a decent-sized social media following and am known in the cybersecurity industry, and that helps. When I got the sponsorship, I don't recall the number of downloads at the time, but I am sure it wasn't much. As I mentioned, my social media presence and my name in the cybersecurity industry help.

I have met a lot of people and made friends through my podcast. I get to meet listeners in person at cybersecurity conferences. I also met some great people from interviewing them on my podcast. My podcast has helped my personal brand grow as well.
 

I use Riverside.fm to record and edit. I use Deciphr for transcripts and show notes, although with the enhancements in Riverside.fm I am doing more transcription and show notes with Riverside. Riverside is used to remotely record guests. I find a lot of guests from the cybersecurity community and social media.
 

I use social media the most. I mainly use X (formerly Twitter) but have added Facebook and Instagram. I speak at and attend many cybersecurity conferences and get the word out that way.
 

My best advice is to find something you are passionate about as the subject of your podcast and try to keep your costs low. As your podcast grows, you can invest more. Connect with your audience through social media, create a Discord community, and take advantage of in-person opportunities to connect with your listeners, such as events, including conferences and conventions.
 

My podcast website is https://phillipwylieshow.com
My website is https://phillipwylie.com
You can connect with me on my social media accounts.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/phillipwylie/
https://www.instagram.com/phillipwylie/
https://x.com/PhillipWylie