► Tell us about you and your podcast
I'm Jack L. Tilley, 12th Sergeant Major of the Army, Retired. I have served 36 years in the U.S. Army finishing my career as the top Non-Commissioned Officer. My experience over the years has given me useful knowledge to help our Veterans and Families navigate the uncertain waters of transitioning from military to civilian life.
Your Next Mission® has covered topics with some incredible guests ranging from transition, mental health, education, financial wellness, the military family, VA benefits to numerous charitable organizations serving our Veterans and families, a Medal of Honor recipient, Veterans Treatment Court, extraordinary stories of war and nine (9) U.S. Army Installation Commands.
Your Next Mission® speaks directly to all Veterans, Active Duty Servicemembers and Military Families who have transitioned or getting ready to transition out of the service.
► Why & how did you start this podcast?
I believe that is our responsibility to give back and help as many Veterans and Families as possible. My service in the U.S. Army gave me the desire, knowledge, and insight to do just that. We must inspire and empowers others to be the best they can be especially those who are struggling. This was my motivation for starting Your Next Mission®.
Your Next Mission® is a place where we can have frank and honest conversation, tackle the tough questions, share stories, and have some fun along the way.
We started Your Next Mission® on April 13, 2021 after a few months of preparation.
► How'd you find the time and funding to do this podcast?
Your Next Mission® is a program initiative of the American Freedom Foundation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization whose mission is to help our Veterans and families. We have devoted our lives in a full time capacity to the foundation and its mission.
In 2022, we began producing Your Next Mission® as a video podcast in addition to an audio podcast. We record one week a month and release one episode every Tuesday. Our production budget incorporates a virtual background which reflects my career in the military and helps us create the best experience possible for our Veterans and Families. Our team consists of a 5 member production crew for each session. In addition, we engage a full time marketing team to promote the podcast.
Our foundation, which includes Your Next Mission®, is funded through sponsorships and charitable donations.
► What do you gain from podcasting?
Our objective by releasing Your Next Mission® is to fulfill the mission of the American Freedom Foundation. From the feedback we have received from around the country, we are making a difference in the lives of our Veterans and Families.
Support from organizations like Cavalry Agency, Navy Federal Credit Union, Purdue University Global, Veterans United Home Loans and others help us realize this objective with their generous sponsorships. They have supported the work of our foundation for many years.
► How does your podcasting process look like?
Your Next Mission® is created using Unreal Engine and is distributed on Anchor.
The process for recording an episode is multi-layered. We first identify our guests, who are usually subject matter experts from the military and civilian communities who can provide important information and resources for our Veterans and Families.
The guests are interviewed during a prep Zoom call to establish a connection and begin a relationship that will create a more intimate discussion on the actual podcast.
Your Next Mission® is recorded in a sound stage studio using green screen and multi cameras to capture the look and feel of a live in studio production.
Your Next Mission® goes through an extensive editing process to create the best possible experience not only for our audience but for our guests as well.
► How do you market your show?
In today's society saying "Hey Siri or Google, play the latest Your Next Mission® podcast" is important. Our intent is for Your Next Mission® to be available to every Veteran anywhere. Equally important, is to know on which devise the audience consumes our podcast. Our data suggests, a vast majority use their phone to access Your Next Mission®. Our data further suggests that there is an equal balance between audio consumers and video consumers.
Many Veterans, our targeted audience, suffer from hearing loss and cannot listen to an audio podcast. Understanding this information led us to create Your Next Mission® with video capability as well. Currently, our audience can watch the video version of Your Next Mission® (with subtitles) on Spotify and YouTube. The audio version Your Next Mission® is available on Amazon, Google, Apple, iHeart, Spotify, Castbox and our website at https://yournextmission.org
► What advice would you share with aspiring (new) podcasters?
Producing Your Next Mission® has been an incredible journey knowing we are helping many Veterans and Families with issues associated with transitioning from military to civilian life. When we started out in April 13, 2021, we knew very little about producing a podcast but knew we wanted to help in any way we could. We had to learn by trial and error.
My first piece of advise is to follow your passion. Understand your mission and your target audience and how you want to communicate that mission to them. Always look for ways to improve your product - the podcast.
We started with just audio during our first season and developed a video capability during Season #2. In Season #3, we improved our look greatly by creating a 3 D virtual set.
It is and always will be our major goal of creating the best video podcast so that we provide an engaging experience for our guests and audience.
► Where can we learn more about you & your podcasts?
For more information, you can locate our content at the following locations.
Website: https://Yournextmission.org and https://americanfreedomfoundation.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AFFYourNextMission
Username @Your Next Mission®
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/your-next-mission
Page name @Your Next Mission®
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/your_next_mission/
Username @you_next_mission
Twitter: https://twitter.com/YNM_Podcast
Username @YNM_Podcast
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpvSL9qGhYFUz8-3bIBRIUA
Handle @yournextmission
All of our listeners can reach out to me directly at Tel: 844-424-1134 or at Email SMATilley@yournextmission.org