Valuable dog-centric tips and everything else you need to become an informed advocate for your best friend.

Are you a pup-parent who’s dedicated to improving the health and well-being of your best friend so that they can live a long, happy and healthy life? Welcome to the Everything Pup Podcast!

Here you’ll find valuable dog-centric tips; interviews with trusted industry experts AND your favourite dog brands; and everything else you need to become an informed advocate for your best friend.

Your host, Holly Montgomery, has over 15 years experience in the pet industry as the co-owner of 2 holistic pet food franchises. She’s also an award-winning, certified and accredited dog photographer. She’s dedicated her life and career to helping pet parents understand and care for dogs of all ages and dispositions.

In this show, you will find answers to all the most common dog-rearing questions. You’ll get expert opinions on holistic health and nutrition and force-free training methods, AND you’ll discover the hottest new dog products and brands - ALL with a healthy dose humour and a little woo woo thrown in for good measure!
 

Why podcasting....? Well, I've done blogging, and I wanted to try a new format that might grab a new demographic of listeners. I don't actually listen to many podcasts myself! Funny thing - I am so busy with my stores and my own content that there's not much time left over to enjoy content myself. I also prefer to avoid seeing what others are up to, because then I don't inadvertently try to emulate others and my content becomes more authentic to me.

My initial goals and motivation for doing a podcast are mainly to give people that reach out to me resources. I find that I get asked the same questions a lot, and thought that podcasting would allow me to answer those questions for people. I also really, REALLY want people to try small changes to improve the quality of life for their dogs. I think if people had ideas, they would do them, so I try to educate.
I started my podcast in November, 2021. I initially tried to purchase 'gear' in 2020 and was having supply chain issues due to covid. So, it took me over a year to actually get my butt in gear and release the first episode.
 

I try to release an episode every two weeks. I do have a very busy life with a lot of commitments, so I ended up breaking it into seasons. My father passed recently and I made the decision to take a break until early 2023. Although my goal is every two weeks, I also know I have to respect my personal limitations.

Honestly, I don't really have the time for podcasting! I don't just have a day job, I am an entrepreneur which means my days are LONG and I get very few off. But, I have a strong need for a creative outlet so I try to find the time. Usually, I leave work early and do interviews then. Or, I do solo episodes before work.

Production time for my solo episodes is a few hours, minus the accompanying blog and social shares etc. And the interview episodes are longer. I spend time preparing interview questions, then the interview and of course the production. This can take me 4-6 hours.

I fund this podcast myself, but do intend for it someday to become an income stream for me. That's my goal.
 

My podcast is still pretty new, but would be open to sponsorship from companies that are inline with my views and standards.

Podcasting I think does give my pet stores some professional cred. People can see that I know what I'm talking about and I believe that creates trust and loyalty.
 

I use Riverside FM to interview guests, I edit in Adobe Audition, and Buzzsprout is my host.

Finding guests has been the easy part! I have been in the pet food and pet photography industry a long time so I know a lot of experts in the pet space. More recently, I've had brands reaching out to me wanting to be interviewed.

One of my biggest podcasting issues is actually a stable internet connection. I live in the country and my internet is not very trustworthy. The places where I have a stable internet connection are noisy, so I do struggle with that. It's probably the hardest part for me actually.
 

My brand, BrindleBerry Acres, has a decent following on Facebook and Instagram so I share my episodes on there. I also have a good sized email list, and share via that as well.

Top apps for me are Apple Podcasts at 44% of listeners, and Buzzsprout's embedded player (I had these embedded on my website's most popular blogs until recently when I switched to the Apple embedded player) at 29%.
 

Hmmm... I am not sure if I've learned anything that wasn't obvious beforehand, but if I was to offer some advice it would be to just do the first episode. When you don't know the tech, or the processes, getting the first one done is daunting. Just get that one done, then get in a groove and you'll find your way! I am still learning!

I've found Mike Russell's videos on YouTube helpful for editing audio.
 

You can find me at www.brindleberryacres.com and my podcast at www.everythingpuppodcast.com.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brindleberryacres
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brindleberryacres/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@brindleberryacres