First Class Founders: Creators | Solopreneurs | Personal HoldCo - How to Build a Million Dollar Audience with Podcast Legend David Hooper of Big Podcast

How to Build a Million Dollar Audience with Podcast Legend David Hooper of Big Podcast

06/07/23 • 35 min

First Class Founders: Creators | Solopreneurs | Personal HoldCo

E34: Today's episode is a masterclass in audience building by none other than podcast legend David Hooper. He's worked with big clients including AT&T, RunDMC, Victoria's Secret, and Fedex.
David and I spoke at length about how his career shaped up over the years and discussed several things, such as how living and growing up in the Music City influenced his career, the long journey from a college radio host to podcast marketing consultant, ideas and strategies to grow a big audience, which he picked up from his years in the radio and podcasting business, as well as several anecdotes from his interactions with celebrities in the music business.
Let's get down to business!

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SPONSOR:

I love using Riverside.fm to record all guest interviews like this one with David Hooper. Try it out 100% free here and when you're ready, use the code FIRSTCLASS to get 20% off any paid plan.
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EXCERPTS:
Building a Smaller But More Engaged Audience: "You can be more successful having a smaller operation. So that's kind of the counterintuitive thing for podcasting that I think people miss."

— David Hooper (27:55)
The Power of Niche Podcasting: "But I will tell you that I've gone with the production that I've done as niched down as a per neighborhood podcast only for this neighborhood. And we have made more money CPM cost per thousand out of any other thing I've ever been involved with."
— David Hooper (28:38)
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TOPICS:
[00:07:03] David Hooper: From American Bandstand Fan to Radio Jock
[00:08:35] People Don't Care About Your Stuff As Much As You Do
[00:11:12] From Radio to Music Conference to Podcasting
[00:15:49] Lessons for Founders: Pivoting for Audience Engagement
[00:17:40] Be Open and Flexible in Your Creative Journey
[00:21:40] Winning by Twinning: Be Relatable, yet Aspirational
[00:27:12] How to Increase Your Sponsorship CPM by Niching Down
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LINKS:

BigPodcast.com
Justin Gordon's Episode

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First Class Founders is a show for indie hackers, bootstrapped founders, CEOs, solopreneurs, content creators, startup entrepreneurs, and SaaS startups covering topics like build in public, audience growth, product marketing, scaling up, side hustles, holding company, etc.
Past guests include Arvid Kahl, Tyler Denk, Noah Kagan, Clint Murphy, Jay Abraham, Andrew Gazdecki, Matt McGarry, Nick Huber, Khe Hy, and more.
Episode you might like:
Future of Newsletters with Tyler Denk, Founder & CEO at Beehiiv
From Zero to 100K Subscribers: How to Grow Your Newsletter like a Pro with Newsletter Growth Expert Matt McGarry
...

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SPONSOR:

LINKS:

BigPodcast.com
Justin Gordon's Episode

Previous Episode

Surprising Lessons From Top Creators: Insights from Jennifer Phan, Founder & CEO of Passionfroot

E33: Today's guest is Jennifer Phan, Founder & CEO of Passionfroot, a platform which is aiming to become the operating system for creators.
Jennifer has worked with some of the biggest creators including Arvid Kahl, Michael Houck, and Ali Abdaal.
Being at the epicenter of the creator economy, she knows a thing or two about becoming a successful creator.
So, what are the secrets to becoming a successful creator?
Let’s find out.
***
SPONSOR:

I love using Riverside.fm to record all interviews. Try it out 100% free here and when you're ready, use the code FIRSTCLASS to get 20% off any paid plan.

***
EXCERPTS:
How Being a Creator is like Being an Investor: "As a creator, you can actually apply exactly that kind of investor and portfolio mindset and place a lot of smaller bets, try a lot of different platforms where you create content."

— Jennifer Phan (7:56)
The Ups and Downs of Entrepreneurship: "I think we're on a very good track. I think it's this roller coaster, right? Like one day it's like amazing, everything looks great. The other day is when a user churn is like, oh my God, how are we ever going to make it?"
— Jennifer Phan (28:44)
Building Resilience: "You're supposed to feel one third of your time great, one third of your time and one third of your time future. And that shows that you're out of your comfort zone."
— Jennifer Phan (29:34)
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TOPICS:

How Jen went from VC to creator to founder (4:07)

Similarities between VC investments and creators' small bets (7:56)

How to attract sponsors (12:28)

When to start looking for sponsors (17:39)

Advice for younger entrepreneurs (25:40)

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LINKS:

E24: Life-Changing Wisdom with Arvid Kahl: From Selling a SaaS Business to Becoming a Creator
E25: How To Turn Your Side Hustle Into a Million Dollar Business
E26: From Training NFL Pros to Joining a Venture Capital Firm: Justin Gordon's Incredible Journey
Jennifer on Twitter
Passionfroot's Website

Next Episode

Newsletter Growth Secrets: Don't Make These Costly Mistakes

E35: Today, I am sharing my learnings growing my newsletter. I'll tell you five key lessons from my journey to getting 3,000 subscribers in just 5 months for the First Class Founders newsletter so that you don't have make costly mistakes.
I'll lay out specific and actionable tips about what to look for while promoting your newsletter, how to spend your money wisely, where to spend your money wisely, and the one thing you need to have in your branding and messaging.
Let's get down to business!

***
SPONSOR:

I love using Riverside.fm to record all guest interviews. Try it out 100% free here and when you're ready, use the code FIRSTCLASS to get 20% off any paid plan.
***
EXCERPTS:
Cross Promotions: "Trying to cross promote your newsletter before reaching 3, 000 subscribers doesn't result in a big uptick in your subscriber numbers."

— Yong-Soo Chung (13:09)Swapping Recommendations: "Swapping recommendations helps your newsletter grow rapidly because you're no longer constrained by the same constraints that applied when you were doing cross promos."

— Yong-Soo Chung (15:28)
***
TOPICS:
[00:05:48] Growing via Twitter ads.
[00:07:19] How to auto-DM your followers.
[00:13:09] Cross-promotions not effective before 3k subscribers.
[00:14:50] Swapping recommendations is magical.
[00:19:24] Beehiiv Boosts: New channel for growth?
[00:24:02] Consistency in voice, branding, and messaging.
[00:29:34] Bonus lesson: Build in public.
***

LINKS:

Episode 22 - Newsletter Success Launch Plan: 4 Effective Strategies to Kickstart Your Newsletter
Episode 23 - Grow Your Newsletter Fast: Secrets to Skyrocketing Your Subscribers
Episode 27 - 10 Powerful Tools to Boost Your Newsletter Growth

First Class Founders: Creators | Solopreneurs | Personal HoldCo - How to Build a Million Dollar Audience with Podcast Legend David Hooper of Big Podcast

Transcript

Yong-Soo Chung [00:00:00]:
The other day, David Hooper was at his local Whole Foods in Nashville, Tennessee, when something curious happened.
David Hooper [00:00:07]:
And one of the things you do after Whole Foods is you sort your stuff. You put the plastic here, the glass here, the compost here. And I finished my meal, and I'm up there trying to sort things, and I don't know what goes what. There's a guy next to mhm me, he doesn't know what goes what. And I looked at him and he looks