How Jay Franze's Operational Strategies Hit the High Notes in Tech Security

[00:00:00] Hector: Hello and welcome to another episode of podcasting success secrets. My name is Hector Santia Esteban, and for much of the last decade, I've spent trying to figure out what makes a successful podcast. And this show is here to give you all of the things I've learned, to share all of those mistakes I've made, and to introduce you to some of the amazing people who have helped along the way.

[00:00:23] Hector: And today's episode is about. About getting sponsorships. Well, I'm going to actually encourage you and I'm going to actually encourage business podcasters. And when I say business podcasters, I don't mean podcasters, like he's talking just about business, but I mean, podcasters who have a business entrepreneurial podcasters, even.

[00:00:43] Hector: I wanna encourage you to stop using the word sponsors and today's episode is gonna go into why you might wanna do that. But I was talking with a client the other day and this client, they were actually at a conference recently, uh, a rather big conference with, um, someone that it was, is rather insta famous and someone that, you know, a lot of people would know.

[00:01:04] Hector: And so there was a really big sort of celebrity esque figure in the space and industry speaking. And she said that she went to go see them. But as she was walking through the event, what was interesting is that. Someone came up to her and they said, Hey, you're the person who has the podcast. And you know, I listened to you and isn't, and she was just taken aback by it.

[00:01:24] Hector: Cause she's like, Oh, that, that is me. And that's, that's kind of nice, right? It, it always feels, it feels nice to be noticed. It feels nice to be, to be wanted sort of. And so. It was just, it gave her sort of this epiphany that the show has, has kind of grown, right? It's kind of become this, this sort of thing and, and there's something real behind it.

[00:01:45] Hector: And so now when a lot of businesses realize that that has happened, they're like, well, they, we have this real thing here. How do we get more out of it? How do we get the most of it? Naturally, the conversation usually turns to how do we monetize it? How do we get. To how do we get making, how do we start making revenue directly from the podcast?

[00:02:04] Hector: Cause we talk a lot about on the show and a lot about my platform is using your podcast to sort of indirectly create revenue for your business, right? To use your podcast to be able to. Allow you to create connections and develop relationships and to establish thought leadership and expertise and create content that allows that, that feeds your business, right?

[00:02:26] Hector: We talked about that. I think a lot of people, and maybe the golden goose, if you will, is when you can do that and also you can use the podcast to directly make money, right? I mean. Sure, it is nice if a business and a company says, Hey, we will pay you to for the podcast. We'll, we'll pay for the podcast, right?

[00:02:48] Hector: We'll pay you to do something for us on the podcast. We'll pay you to shout us out or to, you know, run an ad or to do whatever it is. I think that is, that does feel nice. It kind of, it's, it's like a. It's almost easier, right? It's a little bit easier in a sense because all the hard work has been done.

[00:03:03] Hector: Frankly, the hard work is in establishing the audience. The hard work is in getting your listeners to come back week after week. So naturally, once you've been able to do that, I think, of course, businesses are going to come out of the woodworks and want to start working with you. And that's sort of what's happened to this company.

[00:03:23] Hector: But they or to this podcast into the for this business, but they wanted to sort of take it to the next level, right? Or they wanted to get intentional about it. They wanted to be able to, um,

[00:03:39] Hector: they wanted to be able to, you know, have some, some clear things that they can offer, clear things that they can do. And so I want to talk about really on this episode, we'll talk about three things that you can do if you're at that place where you're You've got to show people are listening and now you want to start to turn, you know, the faucet on in terms of sponsorships and monetization.

[00:04:01] Hector: However, tip number one, what I'm going to say, well, let's, let's, let's come back to that. I'll tell you what you're going to. Use instead of the word sponsors and tip number two. So there's a quick hook to that. The first hook that I would, or the first tip that I would give you though, is to stop thinking about your show, just as a podcast and to start thinking about your show really as a brand.

[00:04:25] Hector: And when I, when I think about a brand to me. A brand means a community of people, right? When, when the biggest brands in my mind, uh, you know, Nike, Apple, you know, even, even sort of Amazon that like brands, they don't, they're, they're not really a thing brands live in the ether. What brands are is they are, they are people.

[00:04:49] Hector: Who come together, they believe a certain thing and they come together and they, they do certain thing a certain way. They buy products so that they can get them shipped to them straight to their house. Or, you know, they, they only use certain types of products or like whatever sort of the, the belief is.

[00:05:07] Hector: That's what the brand is. And I'm getting sort of, I don't know, my, my sort of background. I had got a marketing degree and, you know, I came up in sort of the social media world and before it was in podcasting, like kind of got into, you know, did branding and, and, you know, had a branding agency and we did websites and logos and all that sort of stuff, because I think all that's important, right?

[00:05:25] Hector: And I think it all, all of it makes sense in, in. Getting someone to believe that they are a part of something. And when I think about the best shows or the shows who are able to create raving audiences and thus have sponsors who are willing to line up out the door, because if you're, if your audiences don't believe in you, if your audiences don't like, don't.

[00:05:47] Hector: Aren't like down to ride for you. Like if they don't, they don't, they don't have your back in a sense. It's going to be hard. Even if there's a, even if you have a lot of downloads per se and on paper, it looks good, it's going to be hard for those businesses to actually get anything out of it because they're not going to see any real conversions.

[00:06:06] Hector: But if, even if you have a small audience, but those listeners will jump. You know, over and through and around buildings for you and run through buildings and jump over whatever the sayings are, right? If they will do whatever it takes because you ask them to do it, that's what sponsors, that's what sponsors want.

[00:06:25] Hector: And so that way, if you say, Hey, go to this event, sign up for this thing, register for that, go buy this. And they actually do it. That's, that's what sponsors want. And what. Is going to create that is when they feel a part of something when they feel like like you understand them. And so that's when I think if you can stop thinking about just your podcast as a pot or excuse me, just your podcast as a as a podcast.

[00:06:49] Hector: And then the next level up, you might think of it as like a show. Okay, how do we create experience and then the brand in the community? Like how are we engaging our people, whether that's through merchandise or community or, you know, digital forums or the comment section? I mean, there's. There's no right way to do this.

[00:07:05] Hector: There's so many different options and routes and paths, but really creating a community around your show is going to give you so many more opportunities when it comes to sponsorship and monetization. But it's also going to allow you to have an, and create that place where people come and feel. Feel a part of something and thus are willing to go almost do whatever it takes to be a part of that group.

[00:07:34] Hector: Tip number one is to stop thinking about your podcast, just like a podcast and start thinking of it more as a brand and community. Now, tip number two, if you want to get tip number two, if you want to start turning on this, this sponsorship faucet, if you will, especially if you have a business podcast. Is to stop using the word sponsor and to use what I like to use.

[00:07:59] Hector: And what I would suggest to use is use the word partner. And the reason is, is that a lot of people have this idea of what a podcast sponsor is, or they have this concept of what a. Podcast sponsorship or podcast sponsor like like they already have a conception of what that is and they have they put that in a box And the problem is is that that world and that industry is so sticky and so messy and so frankly fucked up That like I would not want to touch that with a 10 foot pole Like it's such a fuck it It's for another it's for another conversation.

[00:08:33] Hector: I can already hear myself getting worked up But the point is it's not relevant to most people Business podcast because most business podcasts, if you're doing it the right way and you've listened to the stuff that we talked about on the show and you're following me on instagram linkedin and you and you're actually taking action on some of the stuff that I've been putting out, well, then you are starting to niche down and you're starting to create not a massive, not a mass appealed audience.

[00:08:55] Hector: That's, That's not what this show is about. And that's not, frankly, what I found is the most, uh, is, is the most likely way to succeed when you have a business podcast, the most likely way to succeed when you have a podcast for your business is to get super granular, to get super niched down, to really, really slice down the pie.

[00:09:16] Hector: And if you've got a pie of, you know, an industry of a hundred thousand people who are the five. 5, 000 people, right? The five, the most important 5, 000 people that you need to be talking to. If you can create a show for them and all of a sudden you can start to command their attention. Now that's worth something.

[00:09:34] Hector: You know, I mentioned that some of the, um, some of the shows that we work with, you know, the, the contracts and the clients they sign their, their 100, 000 contracts. And so naturally some of these, these sales and some of these deals take a long time to, to come together. And also on the other side of that, when you are able to, to do that and you're able to, to communicate that to a partner, because it's one thing if you, you have the show and then, you know, you can create deals for, for yourself through the show.

[00:10:07] Hector: Well, if you can all be all of a sudden do that for another company and there's another company out there that can close six figure five, six figure deals. I don't know, maybe even seven figure deals from the listeners on your show. How much do you think that is worth? And going back to my original point, which got me here.

[00:10:25] Hector: If you only call them a sponsor, then they're only going to want to pay sponsor prices, and they're also only going to think that they're going to get sponsor value. And so instead, if you use the word partner, well, all of a sudden, not only does it open the door of possibilities, but But it actually will not only does it expand their idea of what the value they're going to be getting, but it also expands your possibilities and how you can get there.

[00:10:52] Hector: Because being a partner, well, you don't just, and we'll talk about this on the third point, but you're not just limited to doing an ad read. And so we'll talk about some of the ways in which you can do that. and collaborate with your partners, but that's the way that you want to think about them. And that's the way that they want to be thinking about their partnership with it and their, excuse me, and not just their, their partnership, but that's where they, they want to be thinking about their role in the partnership is that it's, it is a partner.

[00:11:24] Hector: It's not a sponsor where I just give you money. And you go do, you know, I like if you think about what a sponsor was, you know, originally, at least I think I don't know. Here I go try to dig into my what I think is a smart brain, but like I'm reminded of like the old artists when they had a sponsor. Hey, I'm gonna make this you go off into your room, you make a painting, you bring me back something cool and I'm gonna clap and love.

[00:11:48] Hector: And then, okay, if it was great, I'll do it again. But the, the engagement and the, the, the amount of. Investment, if you will, is just the money, whereas in a partnership, a partnership is oftentimes it does involve money. Oftentimes partnerships do involve a form of monetary investment, but there's also a different form of investment that comes along with it to make the most out of the relationship, to make the most out of the partnership.

[00:12:17] Hector: And so that's why I think that just changing the name of it, all of a sudden. for so many more possibilities. And so just stop if you want, if you want to start getting quote unquote sponsors for your show, stop calling them sponsors and see what happens. I guarantee you, you'll start to see some cool things happen.

[00:12:35] Hector: If nothing else, you'll start to see more conversations happening and more people coming to the table and um, and starting to have these conversations. Third tip, right? And I don't know how to make this like a one sort of tip, but The third tip would be to don't just do podcast reads. Let me think about a way that I could say that in the affirmative.

[00:12:58] Hector: Instead of only doing podcast reads, also include other engagements. And what I mean by that is, can you also be posting for them on social media? Can you be sending email blasts? Can you do some sort of live activation? Can you do a live Podcast recording somewhere sponsored by them and maybe you sell tickets.

[00:13:18] Hector: Maybe, I mean, I don't know, the list goes on, but thinking about ways that you can engage them in some sort of cool, interactive way that does what you need to do in terms of creating content for the show. But more importantly creates some sort of,

[00:13:40] Hector: what's the word I'm looking for? Some sort of, of resident, the only word that's coming to me is resonance with your audience. Like when you go and you, it's one thing to interact with somebody or interact with a brand or to see, you know, even like I think about restaurants, you see a restaurant, you see their reels all the time, or you see this dessert place and you see their, their reels and you see their amazing stuff all the time on social media.

[00:14:07] Hector: And you get a certain amount of, of experience and you feel a certain amount of connection. I think that's the word I'm looking for. Can you get a certain amount of connection through social media, but if you can create some sort of live. Well, the amount of connection that they have both with your partner and then now with your show, is that a totally different level?

[00:14:27] Hector: It's a totally different level. So find different ways that you can activate and engage with your, uh, with your partner, maybe, you know, maybe it's not something like, like in real life, but maybe it's a live webinar or a live training or an Instagram live or something like that, where it's different. It's unique.

[00:14:45] Hector: They go, Oh, This is out of the ordinary and they're doing it with this cool company that's interesting. And just by people's natural curiosity. And if you're providing value and you're doing it in a way that's energizing, uplifting, and all the right sort of stuff, right? I mean, you gotta remember, you, you can't just, like, people will call you capitalist pigs.

[00:15:04] Hector: All you know, you know, no matter what, when you, when you start taking money for your podcast. But on the same, on the same token. When you're doing this, you don't want to forget about creating a good show. You don't want to forget about creating good content and providing real value for your audience.

[00:15:19] Hector: That is what got you. That's what allowed you to be able to do this. And so it's you finding a way to creatively integrate this partner, their brand, their product, their service, their values, their ethos, their whatever it is that is coming out of this brand. Integrate it with your show, your brand, your messaging, your perspective, your unique experiences, your unique style, your flair.

[00:15:41] Hector: When those two come together and then all of a sudden you're pointing it at somebody who is, you know, you're, you're directing it at a targeted, captivated audience because you know what they're interested in. Well, all of a sudden it's like, wow, that's a really unique sort of, that's a really unique thing.

[00:15:57] Hector: And that stands out. People watch that people engage and all of a sudden that converts as well. So those are three quick. Easy tips that if you want to start to turn on the faucet, and once again, I would not encourage you to do this until for sure episode 50, right? I would say minimum, you know, episode 50, if you hit it out of the gate and you're crushing it and you've got a massive audience, okay, maybe.

[00:16:22] Hector: You know, maybe you start looking at it earlier, but I would say absolutely, I would focus on on production and getting your voice and dialing in your audience and building in your listener base and building up that goodwill for for at least a year. Right? That reason I say 50 is that's usually a year, right?

[00:16:38] Hector: About an episode a week or so. Give or take you. By episode 100 after episode 100 is where I would start to recommend for most business podcasts to start to look at how they can leverage the show. If they haven't started to leverage any other partnerships or sponsorships of that nature, things like that, I would say, okay, now let's look up and let's see who can we start to partner with.

[00:17:02] Hector: Because we have this media entity. We have this platform that we've built. If nothing else, we've, we've built up this consistency. So now you have this, this, this media entity, right? Like, I don't, I don't, I don't know, maybe we should do a whole episode on like what the value of that is for a business, but you have this thing.

[00:17:19] Hector: And so. Now you can start to direct that sort of, you know, death star, that laser beam at something, but it takes time. So I would not encourage you to do that before, you know, definitely not before 50, probably I would recommend you starting after episode 100 is the, is like the good and the good place to do it.

[00:17:40] Hector: And that's usually two years plus. Right. And that's, that's from an organic timeline that I've seen happen sort of organically is that. After the first year, the audience is built after year two, people start to put into place the things to start to monetize. And by year three, if they're doing it and, you know, staying consistent, they're working this path by year three, they're having some sort of, of revenue coming in.

[00:18:06] Hector: So if nothing else, they can offset the production costs of a, of a production company like me, and then everything on top of it that they make is all profit and cheddar. So, uh, hopefully that gives you some insight. And of course, if you, if you guys have any questions, I want to encourage you to come find me on LinkedIn, Instagram.

[00:18:23] Hector: Those are the two places that you can find me at Hector underscore podcast, Hector Santia Esteban on LinkedIn. You can just search both of those. And, uh, I'm the only other one, uh, the only other Hector Santia Esteban is a doctor and he's out there and he beats me on Google. So, because he's a doctor, so Google thinks he's more important, which naturally he is a very important doctor, so it's He should, but my goal is to take over him on Instagram So I would love your help to be the number one Hector Santi step on on Instagram as well Otherwise, I appreciate you guys and if any of you guys want any help with any of this stuff that we talked about, go to amplifymedia.

[00:19:05] Hector: com. You can get a free podcast profitability session. I'll show up, we'll hang out, we'll talk about how you can start implementing this stuff and utilizing it for your show and your business. And that way you can walk away with a plan to execute it. Uh, or obviously. If you, if you want our help, we can do that as well.

[00:19:21] Hector: But it's been an amazing time hanging out with you. I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did and we'll see on the next one. There you go.