Editor’s Note: This post’s author, Andrew Lewin, came to Duke in August 2017 to participate in an Environmental Communications Certificate forum on new content development.  We were inspired by his passion for marine conservation and also by his considerable knowledge of how to start a podcast and grow an audience.  Andrew’s course is still in development, but here’s your chance to preview his expertise in podcasting.  Enjoy!

Starting a podcast was not an easy decision for me.  Back in 2012, I was wavering on how to bring my website, Speak Up For Blue, to the next level when I considered two options:

  1. Creating Videos
  2. Creating a Podcast

I was familiar with videos because I watched YouTube shows like Phillip DeFranco and the SciShow and thought that creating videos could be a viable solution to taking my efforts in Marine Science and Communication to the next level. So I started to create videos because I thought it was easy and I didn’t understand podcasting.

Video Wasn’t For Me (at the time)

I used my laptop’s camera and some simple editing software to create videos on Marine Science and Conservation. It worked well for a while; however, the editing was taking up my time. Time was very valuable to me. I worked full time and I was a father of a beautiful daughter at the time (had another daughter 2 years later). I did all of my Speak Up For Blue work after my day job and after my daughters went to bed. The recording and editing took forever and they weren’t professional by any means. The videos reached a good amount of people, but I was getting burnt out. So I abandoned my efforts of doing video and went back to the drawing board. I looked at podcasting.

The Podcast Journey

Podcasting was really foreign to me. I didn’t listen to too many podcast shows, but I was starting to get into it. I listened to entrepreneurial shows because I am an entrepreneur, but there was also a lack of ocean conservation podcasts. I started to listen to shows that discussed the benefits of podcasting and I took note. I researched how to start a podcast back in 2013-2014, but found that there were too few resources. Then I found out about Audello. Audello was a software package that made it easy for anyone to start their own show. It was a one stop shop, which was a perfect fit for me as the learning curve was low, so my podcast journey started. However, it took me about a year before I actually published my first episode. I had a bit of fear to get over. Once The Speak Up For Blue Podcast went live, my real journey began.

Podcast Results

It’s been 2.5 years since I published my first podcast, and I can honestly tell you that my life has changed. I published 395 episodes by the date of writing this article. I experimented countless times with equipment, format, publishing times and frequency and the direction of the podcast. The overall success of the podcast has not come in the number of downloads that I accumulated over the past 2.5 years, but what has happened to my life and career as a marine scientist and conservationist. I want to share how my life has changed and what led to those changes:

  1. I Found Purpose In My Career I was working for the Canadian Federal Government when I started my podcast in a great job; however, I never felt that I was doing what I was meant to be doing in my career. I was 39 years old and I wanted to make a difference in marine science and communication. Podcasting gives me a voice that reaches all over the world to provide information to people that will help them make informed decisions on how they can live for a better Ocean. I receive emails from people who live in Hong Kong, Australia, the U.S. and Canada that say I helped them start recycling or buying products that were better for the environment. They also thank me for providing the information on marine science and conservation that they couldn’t get anywhere else. My podcasting has made a difference and my career has gained purpose.
  2. I Built An Engaging And Loyal Audience – Never in my mind did I think I would build such an engaging audience then I did with the podcast. I started to receive emails from people who listened to the show. One after another, people were telling me that the show meant something to them. I was changing the way they thought about the Ocean. About six months ago, I started a Facebook Group and opened it up to everyone who listened to the podcast. I ask people to join every episode. The group has grown to over 400 people who are listening to the podcast on a regular basis and want to share their thoughts on the subject of Oceans.
  3. Podcasting Allows Me to Make a Personal Connection to the Audience – I once got an email from someone who told me they listened to every episode. Are you kidding me? I had over 300 episodes at the time! The person wanted to know as much as possible about the Oceans and the podcast was their direct line. Another time I was at a conference and someone recognized me by my voice. They asked me if I was the guy who did that show: The Speak Up For Blue Podcast. It was a really weird feeling.
  4. Podcasting Allowed Me To Build A Brand – Through podcasting, I was able to build the brand of Speak Up For Blue to the point where colleagues and friends were repeating my introduction I give at the beginning of every episode. The show quickly turned from a hobby to a business as my brand grew within the marine science and conservation field. I set out to reach the public and gained the respect of my audience and my colleagues.
  5. Podcasting Opened Up Opportunities For Me – My previous work in a freshwater laboratory was a great job, but it wasn’t where I wanted to stay. I wanted to work with oceans and the podcast gave me this avenue. I was able to connect with marine scientists and conservationists every time I published an episode or did an interview. Opportunities within my field quickly arose. People within my field contacted me to be interviewed for a new project about which they wanted my audience hear. Then I got an offer to develop a podcast for an organization. It was my first paid offer. I was sought after because of the work I did with my podcast. It was an opportunity that I wouldn’t have had otherwise. People continue to recognize me for my ability to create podcasts, tell stories and interview people within the field. It continues to be a great journey.

As I have already mentioned, it has been 2.5 years since I started the podcast and my life has changed. I fell in love with the podcasting platform and I continue to work within it to increase my reach for my own show and for others. Speaking a message into a microphone that I know will reach my audience motivates me to do more. In fact, I am in the process of producing/co-hosting more shows that have do to with marine science and conservation.

Podcasting Continues To Be Underrated

However, podcasting is highly underrated. Even though 21% of the US Population in 2016 had listened to a podcast in the last 6 months, the platform continues to be undiscovered. More and more people are realizing the power of podcasting. People with a message in any niche realize they have the power to build an audience that wants to listen, and brands realize that there are a number of opportunities that have a great ROI for sponsorships and increased brand awareness. There is power in podcasting and it will provide people with a message to succeed more over the next decade.

Part of my mission is to help get YOUR mission out to the podcast platform. If you have a brand or organization that would like to have a deeper connection with your audience, register for the next Podcasting for Environmental Communications Course with the Nicholas School of the Environment’s Certificate in Environmental Communications program.

 

-Andrew Lewin

Host of Speak Up for Blue

Podcasting for Environmental Communications course instructor