How to create an impactful brand through podcasting w/ Sarah Lohse

J. Rosemarie (Jenn):
0:00

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Sara Lohse:
1:01

We don't listen to podcasts because we miss school.

J. Rosemarie (Jenn):
1:03

I really love this quote because podcast listeners want to hear what you have to say, right, but making your show entertaining as well as educational will keep them coming back. That's what today's guest, Sara Lohse, wants you to get. Hi, I'm J. Rosemarie and I'm very happy that you've chosen to listen to Tools Podcast Trade because I know there are tons of other podcasts out there about podcasting you probably could be listening to. If you find this podcast helpful to you, please follow us and leave us a 5-star review on your preferred listening platform. Thank you. My guest today is Sara Lohse. Welcome, Sara.

Sara Lohse:
1:55

Hi, thank you so much for having me.

J. Rosemarie (Jenn):
1:57

Yes, for sure. Thank you for coming talking to us on tools of the podcast trade. Before we get into what you do, could you tell us, oh, sarah.

Sara Lohse:
2:07

Yeah, I am the founder and president of a company called Favorite Daughter Media. I work with businesses and entrepreneurs to help them launch podcasts in order to grow their business, and I am the co-host of the branded podcast that talks all about personal branding.

J. Rosemarie (Jenn):
2:24

Okay, Alright. So what got you into podcasting?

Sara Lohse:
2:30

I actually kind of fell into it on accident. I was the director of marketing for a financial firm and they had launched a podcast to kind of help spread financial literacy. And I took over as the podcast producer and was seeing all that goes into running a podcast and kind of trying to grow it and I saw a lot of mistakes happening, whether it was the guests that we brought on not really knowing what they were doing, or hosts that I was connecting with for a guesting opportunities. So when I launched my podcast I really did it as a way to help people do things a little bit better and I was coaching people on being better guests, being better hosts, and it ended up me helping people actually launch their shows.

J. Rosemarie (Jenn):
3:16

Okay, alright, so tell us about your podcast.

Sara Lohse:
3:20

Yeah, it's called Branded. I hosted with my business partner, larry Roberts of Red Hat Media, and we just talked about everything having to do with personal branding. We both had really great experiences in building our own personal brands. I've worked a lot with other brands, helping them grow and build their own brands, so we talked about everything from how you really define your brand and build out who you are and what you do, and then some things about podcasting and thought leadership and just kind of everything in between. Right, okay.

J. Rosemarie (Jenn):
3:52

Alright, we'll put a link to this in the show notes to your podcast as well. Thank you, yes, for sure, alright. So starting a podcast as a brand. How can you build your brand or expand your brand using a podcast?

Sara Lohse:
4:09

There are so many ways that you can do it. It's really a great tool for marketing. If you don't treat it like marketing, you really have to treat it like content and put that content and the value of the show first, and that's going to help you grow. So when I talked to brands, the first conversation that we have is around what's the show going to be about, and we really have to come up with an idea that's not actually about your brand. So if you have a podcast, that's just about your brand. That's an infomercial.

J. Rosemarie (Jenn):
4:46

That's not a podcast.

Sara Lohse:
4:47

So instead we have to think of what are the values behind your brand, what are the ideas that you stand for and what are the ideas that really get you excited, and then how can we relate that back to your company. So really focusing on the ideas and the values that people can relate with and get to know you better and start to trust you, and then it links back to the company and how they can work with you.

J. Rosemarie (Jenn):
5:15

Okay, so your podcast is not, should not be started or used to bore people to death with who you are as a podcaster or a business right, but to enhance the lives of your customers and your potential customer right.

Sara Lohse:
5:35

Exactly. If there is a podcast about Jeep which they probably do have one they wouldn't be talking about Jeeps, they wouldn't be talking about seats and steering wheels and no one's going to listen to that show. But, instead, they would talk about the things that they really value and the things that their brand stands for, like adventure and getting off road and kind of getting off that beaten track and the people who really resonate with those brand ideas. They're going to be the ones that listen to the show.

Sara Lohse:
6:04

And when it comes time that like, okay, I need a new car, jeep is going to be the brand that really comes to mind, because they've connected so much with the ideas and the values behind it through listening to that podcast.

J. Rosemarie (Jenn):
6:16

Okay, all right. So that's starting a podcast to expand your brand. How about not starting a podcast, but using a podcast to enhance your brand? And how would we do that?

Sara Lohse:
6:32

So it really comes down to thought leadership and if you want to be building a personal brand or building yourself with your professional brand, you want to become a thought leader and just highlight your ideas and your visions and everything around, whatever these values that your brand stands for are. So talking about the different topics and sharing your stories around it and sharing your experiences that's going to help people really get to know you and really get to trust you.

Sara Lohse:
7:04

And a lot of people have heard of the like, the no like, trust process in sales and marketing. So it's such a great way to really start that process and build that trust, because podcasts are so built on that communication and that human connection that really ties into that.

J. Rosemarie (Jenn):
7:24

Yes, and I was really trying to drive at being a guest, because that's one of the biggest thing about podcasting, about branding and about building a business, is that you don't necessarily have to start your own podcast.

Sara Lohse:
7:43

Yeah, Right, definitely, and being a guest is a really great way as well and it's actually what I originally built my company around was that idea of being a really great podcast guest?

J. Rosemarie (Jenn):
7:55

and.

Sara Lohse:
7:56

There's just it's not something that you can just step into and just, okay, I want to be a podcast. Guys, I'm gonna book myself right now on a show. You really have to put some prior thought into it, the same way you would be putting that thought and putting that planning into launching your own show. You have to really be prepared and have your message really clear. Have your stories, have everything ready so that you go into it with a really value forward message, rather than having it feel like they just let you on their show to do an ad for your company. That's the worst thing you can do.

J. Rosemarie (Jenn):
8:35

Thank, you for saying that, oh of course. Yeah, alright, so I'm give me three tips. I give you know audience three tips and how to be and outstanding guests on someone's podcast. I bring value and stuff like that.

Sara Lohse:
8:55

Sure, so the first one is always going to be the lead, with. Stories I can't cast are so much about that interaction, that connection. It's not about the data. So even if what you talk about is really data driven, you want to have stories around what that data means, what it means to you, how you came about it, having it tie back to who you are as a person, because data can be googled. You don't need me to come on your show and talk about the roth ira contribution limits like look that up.

Sara Lohse:
9:29

Yeah what me on your show to talk about my experiences and what it means to me and how I became passionate about the topic. So really leading with those stories over the data and the information is going to make you a much better guest. And then, after that, it's when you're actually on the show make sure that you are Just bring as much value as you can and not bringing sales messages. Even though this is a marketing tool, it's not a sales tool. You're not meant to be. Oh so yeah, if you want to learn more about that, you can pay me a thousand dollars a month and I'll teach you how to do it. You want to actually be telling people how they can do things by themselves.

Sara Lohse:
10:11

You should be able to walk away with like actionable steps that they can take To do better at what they were trying to do, and they shouldn't have to pay you for it, because people don't like to always do things by themselves anyway and it's probably not worth their time to learn how to do it. So there's still likely going to want to pay somebody else, but you've built their trust by telling them how to do it and not relying on them paying you for it.

Sara Lohse:
10:38

Yes so that's the second one, and then I would say the third one is having a really clear call to action. If you spend the whole episode avoiding sales messages, like you should, you still want to be able to tie it back to what you do. So have a clear call to action with some kind of lead generation funnel, some kind of lead magnet, so you can capture the listeners that are interested in what you had to say and put them back into your own contact list so that you can talk to them later and really continue that conversation offline.

J. Rosemarie (Jenn):
11:12

Yeah right, thank you. I like number two. I often tell the people I mentor that you know, if you, even if you don't have a podcast, go give, go teach people how to do things. Whatever it is you want to do. Get on somebody's podcast and teach somebody what you have to say. I think they kind of think I'm crazy. No, I love that.

Sara Lohse:
11:37

I always say that give like ninety percent. Yeah, and it's that ten percent of the people who are super interested, who want to make the investment and want to pay someone to do this. That ten percent of people will pay for that ten percent extra.

Sara Lohse:
11:51

Yes ninety percent. They just want to hear the stories and learn a little bit more. Take a few steps by themselves. Give them what they need, because not everyone is meant to be your client, not everyone is meant to be your customer, and the people that are in, the people who are Motivated enough to take that next step, those are the ones you're meant to work with.

J. Rosemarie (Jenn):
12:10

Yes, definitely, thank you. All right, how can we use storytelling to really enhance our brand but also Make an interesting podcast?

Sara Lohse:
12:27

If I sat here and read to you a textbook about marketing, would that be interesting? Probably not. It's. The information is important and the information has to be told, but we need to tell it in a way that gets people to pay attention, and I don't think reading the textbook and just sharing the information really does the trick. And it also isn't real life. So it's much easier to explain something and get someone to understand it if you put it into that real life context and by sharing your own stories, you're helping people get to know who you are and really what drives you and what's behind everything that you're doing, and it's in a way that they want to listen to.

J. Rosemarie (Jenn):
13:14

Yes.

Sara Lohse:
13:14

Because this is. We don't listen to podcasts because we miss school. We listen to podcasts because we want to learn something and be entertained. So we have to really remember that entertainment part and it also just really shows your authenticity. And authenticity and podcasting is so important you need to really show who you are and be who you are, and that's what's going to get people to relate to you. All of human connection goes down to those shared experiences. So if you have all of these experiences, someone out there probably has been through something similar and they want to hear about it.

Sara Lohse:
13:52

They want to know they're not the only ones and that's going to make them feel really connected to you. You have to tell those stories.

J. Rosemarie (Jenn):
14:00

Yeah, yes, true, I think Russell Bromstner is one of the biggest proponent of this theory, but he also lives it. And I go through a lot of discussions about having the perfect audio and podcast and all of that. When I first started to listen to Russell Bromstner, he did not perfect audio, but he had a lot of listeners because he tells a lot of stories and he's very animated.

Sara Lohse:
14:25

You know people are so much faster to forgive bad tech if the content is good. Yes, so even when I, when I help people launch their podcast, I don't tell them to buy the two, three hundred dollar mic. I don't recommend the mic that I'm using. I recommend the one I started with, which was like 50 bucks off of Amazon. Because it's not about having it be perfect. It's about having it be authentic and having it be something valuable. You can upgrade later. You can improve things later.

J. Rosemarie (Jenn):
14:57

Besides, your first podcast episodes are going to suck anyway, yeah, no matter what, you're never going to yeah.

Sara Lohse:
15:03

Yeah, I like I look back at podcasts that I did a year or two years ago and I am so embarrassed. But that makes me happy because if you're not embarrassed a year later, you haven't grown enough or improved enough in that year. Yeah, so always kind of have that goal of in a year from now. I want to be so embarrassed of what I'm doing right now. Because, that just means you're gotten so much better.

J. Rosemarie (Jenn):
15:30

Yeah, yeah, Absolutely All right. So what is the biggest issue problem roadblock that you find aspiring podcasts stumble over.

Sara Lohse:
15:44

I think it's that need to be perfect and even like we were talking about not having to be perfect and wanting to like you should be embarrassed. It's that fear of that embarrassment. People are afraid to get started because they're like well, what if I'm not good at it? Right? Well you probably won't be. But if you don't start now and start practicing like everything gets better with practice, If you don't start that practice now, you're never going to get good at it.

J. Rosemarie (Jenn):
16:12

Yeah.

Sara Lohse:
16:13

Like I made the mistake of when I started guessing on podcasts my first like three podcasts I guess that on were huge, Like some of the biggest shows top of the charts, and I should not have done that because I probably embarrassed myself. I like feel bad for those hosts for letting me on their show. I'm like if you bring me back now I promise I'll be better. But I did it and it helped me get more comfortable.

Sara Lohse:
16:40

And now I can go on other shows and feel like I'm actually bringing something valuable instead of like you actually let that one go live, Like that one should have been like in the archives, like don't even show it. Yeah so that that biggest roadblock is just that mental piece of I'm not going to be great at this, it's not going to be perfect, I'll start it when I'm better. But they don't get better if they don't start.

J. Rosemarie (Jenn):
17:07

Right yeah.

Sara Lohse:
17:08

So don't let perfection stay in the like, stand in the way of putting out something that can become really great.

J. Rosemarie (Jenn):
17:17

Right, yeah, thank you. Thank you for that. All right, so what do you do for your clients and how can we get in touch with you?

Sara Lohse:
17:24

Yeah, I have a couple of different ways that you can work with me. I do work one on one with clients and actually helping them launch their podcasts and everything from helping you come up with the concept and how it can relate to your brand and grow your business through the full production and launching the show. And I also work with people as a consultant and a coach and helping you come up with your stories and figuring out what stories are the best for you and what's going to really portray your expertise and position you as a thought leader so that you can guest on shows and be a really great guest and I. One of those tips that I gave at the beginning when you asked me for those three tips was about having that really great call to action.

Sara Lohse:
18:07

So I do have a free gift for your listeners If you guys are interested. I put together a, an ebook with 50 ways to generate leads. It has 50 different lead magnet ideas and you all can download that at favorite lead magnetscom and that'll be right on my website. So all my contact info is there in my social media and if you want to get in touch with me, I would love to talk to you.

J. Rosemarie (Jenn):
18:32

Yeah, awesome. And oh, you gave your website and we'll put that on the show notes as well. So, yeah, amazing, thank you so much. Yeah, sure. So what is Sarah grateful for today?

Sara Lohse:
18:44

Oh, today I am grateful for hot apple cider, because I live in Texas and it is 40 degrees and that's not supposed to happen, so I would be wrapped in a blanket, drinking hot cider while kids trick or treat tonight.

J. Rosemarie (Jenn):
18:58

Oh, that sounds like fun. I remember when it was 100 and something in 90 days straight of 110.

Sara Lohse:
19:07

So I'm not complaining about the cold, I am just grateful for hot drinks and warm blankets.

J. Rosemarie (Jenn):
19:14

All right, thank you. All right, so any parting shots, any final thoughts for us.

Sara Lohse:
19:21

If you've thought about being a guest or launching a podcast, just do it. You're not going to get better if you don't start now All right, thank you.

J. Rosemarie (Jenn):
19:28

Thank you, Sara Lohse for coming and talking to us today. I appreciate you.

Sara Lohse:
19:33

Thank you so much for having me. This has been a lot of fun.

J. Rosemarie (Jenn):
19:36

Yeah, no one's left.