Even if you aren’t born with the kind of personality that makes you want to get in front of people and shine, you can learn and develop a type of charisma that will help you podcast and your business thrive.
At Podcasting for Business, we call those born with charisma the Rockstars. And for those who learn it, they are the Wingmen.
Rockstars are the main draw of the podcast. You listen to a rockstar content creator for the same reason you’d go to see a rock concert. Them just being them is enough. Think about podcasts where you don’t really care who the host is talking to - you just want to spend some time with them.
The wingman is a quiet hero who excels at making other people look like Rockstars. For example, on a podcast, the guest becomes the center of the podcast in an interview format, and if a wingman does a solo episode, then he or she makes sure every piece of content lifts up the audience and helps them to achieve their goals.
Rather than being in the spotlight like the Rockstar, the Wingman is the one shining the spotlight.
And of course Wingman to Rockstar is a spectrum, not a binary - people can fall all along the scale, and have elements of both categories.
But when you figure out your charisma type, you can make sure you’re podcasting in a way that plays to that particular strength, and see more success achieving your goals with it.
Rockstars are going to do fabulously with Thought Leadership, Audience Engagement and Conversion Podcasts.
Wingman will shine in Relationship Building, Audience Engagement and Content shows.
What Does The Data Tell Us?
Are the top 100 Podcasts composed of Rockstars or Wingmen?
We don’t do a host-by host analysis on this basis - but we do look at episode formats - how the show is hosted, and by whom.
This is a rough heuristic for Charisma because unless a host’s personality is dialed into the format, it’s highly unlikely to top the charts.
Here is the show format breakdown from our report:
Interview shows make up the highest percentage of the top 100 podcasts, and while an interview style podcast is going to be a perfect fit for a Wingman - a lot of Rockstars do them as well. You will notice when you listen, however, that Rockstar hosted interview shows are more conversational and less interviewish.
Solo shows are more the natural ground of Rockstars - but like in interview shows, Wingmen can excel here as well if they really focus on teaching content.
Alternating episode types can be a wonderful way for a podcaster with one charisma type to get the best of both worlds, and achieve business goals while playing to their hosting strength.
As with most podcast-related things - there aren’t really right or wrong answers, just ways to make it easier or harder on yourself.
So figure out your charisma style, and make things easier on yourself!
Latest on The Company Show
I have a weakness for walls of text. I really do.
See, I love to teach and think and expound and explain, and I do it best in writing. This is, as I have been frequently reminded by my wonderful business partner, rather merciless on the end reader, on websites, in newsletters and emails, and sometimes even on social media.
And it’s a problem because while the content may be good (and I fondly like to believe that it is,) it’s hard to read. This is important everywhere, but it’s especially important on social media.
I’ve never been a huge fan of using social media which means I’ve never really developed the skills at making content for it. But there are so many experts who are amazing at it, for which I am profoundly grateful. And many of those are very generous with their knowledge.
We are talking with one of those experts today, and she’s got some strong opinions about the length of content that belongs in LinkedIn, as well as the topics, the relationship building, the role of LinkedIn to business, and how podcasters can take advantage of it.
Sophie Lechner is the creator of The Magnet Model, and she helps mission driven entrepreneurs find their audience on LinkedIn and build relationships with them so that they can spread their message and grow their own businesses.
If you want strategies that you can use today to improve your LinkedIn game, listen to or read the episode right here.
I’m sure you’ve heard of the Pareto principle, or the 80-20 rule where 80% of consequences or results come from 20% of causes—or efforts.
On the one hand it’s great because you’re getting huge value out of some of the work you’re doing…. but which part?
That’s the rub and trying to answer that question is the work of entire industries and an important activity for business owners and marketing managers evaluating what they and their teams spend time on.
It’s one of the reasons we developed the Business Podcast Blueprints - so it would be easier to see what work was creating what results to facilitate strategic decision making. I remember when we first started One Stone Creative, and I was another one of those marketers who just kind of threw up her hands and said: it’s going to work but we don’t exactly know why.
It was only through years of experimentation, data collection and analysis that we started to see the patterns that let us codify the Blueprints into tools that could be used proactively to get specific business outcomes and the attendant clarity—from podcasting.
Most of us aren’t just podcasting through, we’re blogging, and posting on social media, making videos hosting events, and creating visuals.
And there’s an expert I’m really excited to introduce you to who is bringing a wonderful level of rigor and analysis to content marketing more generally, with a special emphasis on the king of all content—the email.
My guest today is Shannon Hernandez, the creator of the Joyful Business Revolution.
We’re talking about data, we’re talking about working according to your strengths, we’re talking about email the as-of-yes unseated most profitable form of communication on the internet, and we’re doing it with Shannon’s specialty—absolute joy.
If you want to step up your content creation game and learn more about the power of email, listen to or read the episode right here!
Attention Authors!
One Stone Creative has partnered with The Podwize Group to create something really special for authors.
The Six and Six Podcast for Authors is a 6-episode podcast season paired with 6 guest appearances where you are the expert on other shows, all talking about your book and your business.
It’s a fabulous deal, and might be the perfect tool to help you launch, or renew interest in your non-fiction book!
Check out the details here! You could have a new, audience-nurturing podcast and the guest placements to support it in just a few weeks!
Upcoming Events
When you start podcasting as a marketing channel for your business, you’re often not coming from a background where your voice is seen as a tool that needs to be cared for – but it is, and you should make it a priority. It’s not just about how you sound in your recordings – it’s about preventing vocal strain, improving the longevity of your voice, and having more control over how you sound.
What you’ll learn:
- Voice care is self care – 1 necessary mindset shift
- Voice Triage is a band-aid – strategies to soothe & improve recovery
- Actionable tips for preparing your voice to interview & record with ease
Followed, of course, by Q and A and networking!
I hope we’ll see you there! Click here to be automatically registered!
It's going to be an awesome call.
Do This Now
Want to take one action to make a difference in your show and how well it’s working for you? It’ll only take 5 minutes.
Are you playing to your strengths as a podcast host - and are you using a Blueprint that lets you make the most of them?
Spend a couple of minutes today thinking about whether you prefer to be the source of authority and inspiration for your clients, or if you take more joy in supporting and highlighting them.
Then think about whether you have structured your podcast in a way that lets you do that the most easily. If you are a rockstar exclusively doing interviews, throw some solo’s into the mix! (You will notice an uptick in downloads for those episodes - I can practically guarantee it!)
If you’re a Wingman who is struggling in the spotlight, give yourself a rest and do what you d best on your next recording - make someone else look and feel fantastic.
It’ll probably make your next recording a little more fun.
Are you a Rockstar or a Wingman? Hit reply and let me know!
All the best,
Megan Dougherty
and the rest of the team
at Podcasting for Business by One Stone Creative
PS. Do you have an idea, strategy, case study or use case for podcasting in support of a business that you'd like to share on The Company Show? Then let's talk! Hit reply to this email and tell me your idea!
