Candice Coppola (00:08.758)

Desiree, welcome to the show.

Desiree (00:11.046)

Thank you so much, Candice. I'm so excited to be here today.

Candice Coppola (00:14.53)

I cannot wait to sit down and talk to you about your journey as a podcaster and to learn more about your template shop to inspire our listeners to maybe launch their own podcast or consider monetizing, um, different things for digital products and start their own shop. But you and I have known each other for a long time. I feel like 2020.

Desiree (00:33.101)

I think.

I guess I feel like it was 2019 or 2020. I maybe discovered you in 2019 and then it was like right into beginning of 2020 when I was like, I need to, I was like, it's a new year. Maybe let's like get some help. And I'm so thankful that the universe helped me find you.

Candice Coppola (00:44.575)

Yeah.

Candice Coppola (00:55.75)

Oh my God, likewise, we're like kindred spirits. Um, Desiree and I have been working together for four years at the very least, maybe a little bit longer, four years and a couple of months. You've been in my mastermind for four years. She moved in and she's never leaving. No, I kid. Um, I can't.

Desiree (01:08.918)

Yes, this is the beginning. Yeah, exactly. I'm a lifer.

Candice Coppola (01:15.718)

You are a lifer. It's been such a joy to serve you over the last four years. And what's been even more joyful is watching how your business has grown, watching how you've evolved as a wedding pro, as a planner, and also how you've been able to really diversify your business and create different avenues for you to generate money, but also to meet people, to network, to build your brand. And you do it all so well. I have to say you make it look really easy and I know it's not.

But if you follow Desiree online, ask the planner as her podcast, if you follow her online, she's just makes it all look so, so very easy to manage a business and a team and a podcast and a template shop and all the other crazy shit she does. And I know it's not easy.

Desiree (02:00.855)

I would say the same exact thing though for you Candice, I feel like you make it looks I feel like a lot all of us in the in the mastermind are like when I grow up, I want to be like Candice

Candice Coppola (02:05.602)

Thanks.

Candice Coppola (02:12.615)

I literally had a nervous breakdown before this podcast interview, which is so funny. I was like, Jason, I feel so overwhelmed. I just have so much stuff to do. And so that just goes to show you that we all make it look really great, but doesn't mean it's always easy. Every day.

Desiree (02:25.448)

Exactly, which is a great thing to be talking about today.

Candice Coppola (02:29.83)

Yeah. So that's one of the topics I want to pick your brain about is how you're able to manage all these things. And so I wanted to have you on the show to talk about starting a podcast in the wedding industry for the clients that you serve for couples. I think there's something interesting about that because I don't, maybe I'm naive, but I don't feel like there's a ton of podcasts around that topic. So there's this open opportunity.

And I also feel like somebody might want to start a podcast, but they feel like, I don't want to talk about business or like, I want to talk about the work I do for people and I don't want to talk about business. And so I would love to know what inspired you to start your podcast Ask the Planner.

Desiree (03:13.874)

So the year was 2019, which is a while ago, and I'm a big fan of Gary Vaynerchuk. And at that time, he was really encouraging his whole audience voice first. You need to diversify, think about, you know, like, and I was always, what can I do that's different that is on the cusp, whatever. And he was encouraging people to do voice first, which means basically podcasting, guys. If you don't know what voice, it's like, you know,

voice activated everything. So back then I said, I'm gonna launch an Alexa flash briefing, which were basically like little micro daily episodes. So basically like you would go, I would go down to the kitchen and I would be like, Alexa, play me my flash briefing. And usually most people would do news clips. Like here's the news clip of like, from CNN or something. So I made them for wedding planning tips. And...

It was super fun, but it didn't really get me... It was hard to create a community around a news briefing, basically. I did like 200 tips. It was like a lot. I got a lot of downloads. I was the first wedding vendor doing Alexa flash briefings. I was excited about that. But you can't really connect with people in that format.

Candice Coppola (04:22.429)

Yeah.

Desiree (04:40.462)

while it was cool, it wasn't really generating anything. I didn't have a community. So a year later, I decided I'm gonna move into more of a longer form podcasting, like a more traditional podcasting. But at that point, I'd had a lot of experience, editing, recording, et cetera. So I had a really good flow, but I was ready to connect with my audience, meet people, have a community, and that's where it all started.

Candice Coppola (05:09.426)

Oh my God, this is such a great story. And I remember those Alexa flash briefings. And when you told me I do these Alexa flash briefings, I was like, that's really awesome and like weird and cool. What even is that? And I love that you thought to do it and had the courage to be like, Hey, I'm going to try this. It's, it's funny how Gary Vaynerchuk like, like them or leave them. I'm sort of in the middle. There are things that I think he says that are super very brilliant. And I love that he has created a community and he's also owns it. Like he's in it. He is.

Desiree (05:19.058)

What is that?

Candice Coppola (05:39.32)

like a fake or a fraud or somebody who's going to get canceled because they stole from a bunch of creators or something. He's very genuine. And he was onto something with that voice-first marketing. I would love to know how has podcasting then helped you grow your wedding planning business? And was Gary Vaynerchuk right? Was like that voice-first suggestion, do you feel like looking back now, so many years after you started, do you see...

any growth in your planning business from podcasting.

Desiree (06:12.342)

I feel like, you know, podcasting has really exploded since then. I feel like so many people now are like, oh, I think I should start a podcast or maybe, you know, there's just there's a lot more podcasts out there in general and more and much more diversity than back then. I agree with what you said earlier, which is I still think that the wedding planning or wedding podcasting genre is still very small.

Candice Coppola (06:26.836)

Yeah.

Desiree (06:41.262)

And so there is opportunity, I think, depending on what you want to accomplish and what your voice is to come into that space. There's a couple of wedding planning focused ones and there's also some wedding industry ones. So I feel like it's, I think he was right in that the voice first, it's interesting because people way back when the radio was invented, everyone listened to the radio and then it kind of like dropped off. And now with podcasting.

I felt like back then it was kind of like a wild west and now people there's it's I just listen to podcasts all the time now like I don't listen to music that much I really should I but I just I like the learning I like the entertainment you know so I feel like he was right about the voice first as far as helping me grow my community. It really has helped with going my community beyond my local area. I find that people will it's

Candice Coppola (07:13.344)

Yeah.

Candice Coppola (07:17.601)

Yeah.

Candice Coppola (07:26.466)

Mm-hmm.

Desiree (07:40.366)

I'm still I'm not super famous. But it's really cool when someone in even like in my city like Rochester will be like, Oh, yeah, I listened to your podcast. And I'm so excited to meet you. And I'm like, I have a fan. Like it's people that I don't know. I've gotten emails from people in Australia that were like, I've been planning my wedding for the net last nine months. And I've been listening to you. And she was like, she said,

Candice Coppola (07:51.751)

Aww. Yeah.

Desiree (08:05.462)

I travel really far for work, so I have to plan. I have to download your episodes in advance, and then I listen to them because I don't have internet while I'm traveling. It's really, really rewarding to know that you're helping people. I love our clients, but we only have eight to 10 weddings a year, so that community is very small as far as the people that you feel like you're helping. With a podcast in our template shop...

Candice Coppola (08:13.57)

Hmm.

Candice Coppola (08:25.022)

Right. Mm hmm.

Desiree (08:32.99)

it's a lot bigger and I feel like the reach is bigger. So in that sense, I do feel like the community has really grown and I've been able to meet people or there are people that have been introduced to me because of the podcast that otherwise wouldn't have been.

Candice Coppola (08:42.397)

Right.

Candice Coppola (08:46.342)

I agree. I think, too, with voice first marketing or using your voice as a marketing tool, it feels way more accessible for you to be able to start there, especially if video scares you or you don't want to record videos. It feels difficult. There's a lot of work involved in that. What's nice about voice first marketing is it's pretty easy to sit down and share your opinion on something, your expertise, your experience, as is evident by the 200 Alexa.

briefings that you recorded when you said you had like 200 of them. That's an enormous number. I mean, that's a lot of work and also a lot of things to have to discuss. I'm curious if your podcast, if you have any specific examples for someone listening of how your podcast might have generated leads or bookings, because I know there are some people who are thinking, well, okay, does it make money or does it just cost money? Like, how can we draw a line between your show and maybe a client that you book?

Desiree (09:45.294)

I think that's a really great point. So to quantify, I could not say that we have directly gotten a lead or a booking from the podcast. But the podcast and the wedding, our wedding planning company Verve are very different audiences. So Verve is a higher end, we plan luxury weddings. People usually that are using our services don't have the time to listen to the podcast.

Candice Coppola (09:51.583)

Mm.

Desiree (10:15.138)

And so they're not necessarily going to be, we're not gonna get people that listen to the podcast and then book us. Also, we typically plan events in Northeast, in New York. So the podcast reach is so much wider. We have people in California and other countries. So they're probably not gonna book us. Also, I think because we focus on wedding planning tips and how to do your wedding and how, this is the processes that I do and et cetera, et cetera.

Candice Coppola (10:33.687)

Mmm.

Desiree (10:42.854)

That's what they're there for. With the flash briefings, I felt like it was very shallow. It would be like two minutes, here you go. Here's a little tidbit, but it didn't get deeper into the actual planning of the wedding with the podcast. A lot of the feedback that I've gotten is while it's great to get to know me, there's not like the fluff of I'm just talking about a random pop topic. It's actual stuff that's going to help them with their actual wedding planning, which

Candice Coppola (11:12.185)

Right

Desiree (11:13.338)

Um, well, because that's what I'm helping them with. They're may not gonna, they're not gonna hire me probably to come out and do their wedding in California because that's, they're not the same type of client exactly. And I do have clients though. They're like, Oh yeah, I listened to that episode. It's great. You know, but I don't, I don't think they're like listening to every single one it's, you know, they're picking and choosing ones that they feel like would be interesting to them or they're like on vacation and you know, yes, I'll listen to Desiree cause

Candice Coppola (11:24.486)

Customer, right? Yeah, yeah.

Desiree (11:42.214)

know, what else, you know, whatever. Exactly.

Candice Coppola (11:42.35)

It's yeah. What else am I going to do besides playing my wedding with Desiree 24 seven? But no, you raise an interesting point, which is like, and I appreciate the honesty because sometimes people think, oh, I'll launch a podcast and that will help to generate leads. And that's not always the case. I mean, it depends on the type of show you have, the topic you have, if it's geared towards local clientele, which is very interesting to do, is a cool podcast, you know, theme or a great way to build a local audience.

But if you're looking to launch a podcast and grow more of a national or international audience, then maybe it's not something that generates leads. But in your case, it helps to build that brand awareness or even present another opportunity, which brings up your digital shop. And this is something that so many people ask me about how to start a digital shop and, oh, I want to create a digital shop. And my first question around this is, was it easy for you to make or?

Did it take time? Like, yeah, just tell me about your, yeah, all the things regarding your template job. Is it a big topic people want to know about how to get started? Does it even do anything? Is it truly passive? So tell me about it. OK.

Desiree (12:43.599)

all the things.

Desiree (12:57.678)

Right. So I love the digital template shop because I love to create. And so as far as building, I mean, you need a website, you have the whole e-commerce thing, which I don't do. You know, as a planner, we have like big chunks of checks that come in. With the template shop, it's smaller revenue a little bit at a time. So I thought, I think it was

It made sense to me of the process of putting together the shop, but it's also a big undertaking because you need a place to house it, the whole e-commerce aspect, which we didn't do before. What products are you going to have making those products? What is that customer service experience like when they buy the product? I don't have to deal with packaging an item and then shipping it and going to the store.

But I wanted the experience of when you purchase something from us to be actually helpful. So I made videos, when you purchase this, here's the email sequence that you get, here's the delivery of the product, here is a quick welcome video to show you how to make the product. I didn't want you just to get it and be like, okay, now what do I do? So depending on how robust you want it to be, it was fun for me.

Candice Coppola (14:12.417)

Right.

Desiree (14:22.458)

but it might not be fun for everybody. So like it's work, but it's fun work.

Candice Coppola (14:24.774)

That's a good point, actually, because you yeah, that's a good point.

Desiree (14:33.01)

I'm trying to think if there's anything else that I wanted to say about the template shop. Did I answer all the questions?

Candice Coppola (14:38.198)

I feel like you did. Yeah. But also, yeah. So we'll let Haley know that we just edit this little part out. You're definitely, yeah. Go ahead.

Desiree (14:45.742)

Yeah. Oh, can I do it? Yes. Can I do one thing? I have something else. Going back to your question though about is it passive income? I feel like the whole myth of passive income, yes, you make money when you're sleeping, but there still takes effort to actually get to that point. Like, you know, we have the website where all of the products live.

You still have to do the copywriting for all those items. Maybe the copy isn't great. So like we're still looking at, you know, the conversion rate. So, you know, people get on the list, they sign up, they get an email. It's like, here's a, you know, a coupon code. Did they actually go to the shop? Are they purchasing? Why aren't they purchasing if they're not purchasing? You know, so thinking through those things and then getting the traffic to the shop is...

something that we're still working on. I think the shop is doing well as far as expectations go. The traffic to our main website, you know, like for our wedding planning is much higher than the template shop. We link, we definitely write blog posts that are going to get people to go to the template shop. And we have podcast episodes that mention products in the template shop. But that's all active work that we have to do. It's not like...

Candice Coppola (16:09.611)

Right?

Desiree (16:09.738)

I can just sit back and not do anything to promote the shop because you're still having to get eyeballs to the shop and then getting them to convert. So

Candice Coppola (16:18.81)

It's so true. And that's an interesting. So there's an interesting story here because what Desiree did was she launched her podcast and then saw a need or an opportunity to create products for her listeners. So while her listeners weren't her clients and maybe wouldn't hire her company to plan their wedding or design their wedding, she could fulfill a need by not just giving them advice for free on the podcast, but also giving them the opportunity to purchase.

a template, something that they could use in their wedding that would have Desiree's touch to it that would help them as if she were planning an aspect of their wedding or guiding them in some way. So it just goes to show you how a podcast can lead to even more opportunities. And if you build the right audience or the right community, you can then potentially launch a digital shop or some type of e-commerce side hustle.

You know, I get asked so often by like photographers who want to launch a preset shop or templates for this or that, and building an audience on a podcast. And then creating your shop is a great way to kind of link both together.

Desiree (17:30.454)

Exactly. I agree with that completely.

Candice Coppola (17:32.746)

Yeah. What about brand partnerships? Because this is something too I think people are curious about. You know, we listen to podcasts and we hear ads and sponsorship. And I know that a podcast can open opportunities for brand sponsorships. So what does that look like? Is there an opportunity for someone who's launching a podcast in the wedding industry to partner with brands and have them sponsor episodes?

Desiree (18:07.682)

I didn't hear the end of your question. I don't know if it's my internet or your internet. Did it tell you that I was having an issue with internet?

Candice Coppola (18:14.934)

It you're definitely your internet is definitely slow. Yeah, that's OK. I was basically asking if there's an opportunity for brand partnerships to sponsor episodes. That was the question.

Desiree (18:19.136)

Okay, I'm gonna lie.

Desiree (18:24.814)

Yeah, yeah. Okay, that's why I figured. Okay, tell me if it gets messed up and then I can definitely like re-answer this. Sorry. Okay. Yes. So that is something that we are definitely trying to dig into this year. I have high goals, big goals for brand partnerships for the podcast. But you know, the podcast has been around for four seasons now. This is it. We're in our fourth season. So I think it does take time.

to get to the point where brands are going to be excited and want to partner with you. For example, we have a partnership with Proven Skin Care. I was excited about this because I really want to promote products to our audience that I'm truly excited about. You can go in so many different directions when it comes to the brand partnerships that you want to align yourself with.

I think it also takes time because I feel like a lot of people think, oh, I'm going to have brand deals from the beginning. You have to seek those out, whether it's an affiliate link, whether it's a referral, whether it's commission or whatever. I think brands are excited to partner with influencers or podcasters, et cetera, but they also want to know that they're going to get their money back from that partnership. And they don't want...

I've heard other podcasts where they're like, you know, we or even with people that are wanting to come on to a podcast, I want to see that you have longevity with your podcast, you're not just going to start a podcast and be five episodes in and then be like, okay, I'm done. This is too much work. You know, I think they're gonna want to see that you're established. But I think for those that are really excited and want to go into this arena, I think there's definitely opportunities.

Candice Coppola (20:06.946)

Mm-hmm.

Desiree (20:17.866)

And I think just being creative with the brands you want to align with, that you want to share with your audience. I think there is definitely opportunity. I think it's just may not be as quick as some might hope. And I also think one last thing is that it takes time to pitch all those brands and to research them. That's one thing that, you know, I had mentioned that we're trying to dig into. But

Candice Coppola (20:31.871)

Yeah, or they, yeah.

Desiree (20:43.598)

you know, as a wedding industry person, you have clients that you're serving, you have HR things that you're doing, you have payroll, you have finance, you have accounting, you have all these other hats marketing that you're doing. And then you're also adding on the aspect of pitching brands, following up with the brands, finding the brands. And I really feel like part of it is a numbers game because you have to cast a wide net. I think it's important to be intentional with it and be smart with who you're reaching out to and really show them that

It's a good fit for X reason. And this is why you're reaching out to them. And they're not just a cold, you know, hey, so and so, because we get all those DMs all the time. You're like, no, you're not real. But I think that's also something that people have to think about that we're still learning. You know, how many times do I have to pitch and we find the contact for the brand, reach out to them, follow up with them in order to actually get something and money into the door from that partnership.

Candice Coppola (21:21.39)

Mm-hmm.

Candice Coppola (21:40.526)

Yeah, partnerships are an interesting, they're an interesting part of being a podcaster. I think people do overestimate how many brands will be willing to partner with you. And you're right, you should establish some credibility as a podcaster first with your show, build an audience, have consistency there, build your brand voice over on the podcast. And as you build a community, brands will wanna be connected to that community.

being invited in your community to share. And if you're a wedding pro, depending on the topics you're talking to your audience about, there may be tools you recommend or tools you use if you're a Be to Beak podcast that you can reach out and discuss a partnership with. When I started my show, I just used my referral code for HoneyBook as my sponsor. And so anybody who signed up for HoneyBook using my code, I obviously would receive.

compensation for that, but they didn't pay me to have an ad on my show. And that worked really well for me. And also I felt like having an ad or two made my show legit. Like I felt like, I love that. My next question for you is about balancing time and like the lift level of having a podcast and a template shop.

Desiree (22:48.102)

I was like, well, Candice is doing this. I'm going to do it too.

Candice Coppola (23:02.046)

You've been able to probably fold this into your workflows and figure out a cadence, which is why we're going to ask you this, but how do you balance your podcasting and the time you need for your digital shop with your work as a wedding planner, planning luxury events, leading a team?

You know, that in and of itself is very much a full-time job and is all consuming and also overwhelming, even with the limited number of clients you take. I mean, 12 full-service weddings is a lot of work. That's the heaviest lift ever. So how are you balancing and what strategies do you use for time management across like these, let's say these three big buckets in your business?

Desiree (23:45.042)

Right. I think that is definitely something that I'm always trying to work on is that balance and it changes with the seasons, you know, depending on if we're in the execution phase of our business or if we're more in the planning phase of our business. But you know, it's hard when you are a business owner because you're wearing so many different hats. So the first thing is being disciplined on how I spend my time with each division of a company. You know, I try to as much as possible have

Candice Coppola (23:50.871)

Mm-hmm.

Desiree (24:14.586)

days and blocks of time in my schedule that I'm focusing on something so there's a regular rhythm which could change depending on if we're busy in the busier season versus if I'm in the office and not in the office. But for example, I try to do all my marketing, my content creation, et cetera on Monday. It's like my marketing Monday. So I try to do it like that. And then that's also when I'll sneak in stuff for the podcast or record episodes for the podcast or...

work on the template shop. It's like that creative part of my mind is working that day. Um, and then on other days I will, you know, work on the client work, et cetera. I think having that kind of schedule where it's regular and more routine, which I know I'm always getting off of and trying to get back on, um, I think is helpful. I also have help. You know, we have part, we have part-time staff that help with our planning clients. I have Kara who was.

who I know I think helps with your work, but she used to be my Pinterest manager and then she was my blog. She helped me with my blog posts and now she helps me with the podcast and she writes scripts for my podcast and she helps with guest outreach. And we also like to kind of brainstorm about the marketing efforts that we're putting in for the template shop and the podcast together. So I have a team, we also have VA's that help track our metrics. So there's...

Candice Coppola (25:14.253)

Yeah.

Candice Coppola (25:22.338)

Mm-hmm.

Candice Coppola (25:30.715)

Mm-hmm.

Desiree (25:39.562)

Even though it looks like it's me, there's definitely still people helping me on the background to make sure that things get done. And I recognized really hard last year that if I want to grow and do all the things that I want to do, I can't be the one that's doing everything. So I was, I called it the bottleneck. I was the bottleneck. You know, things are not getting done because I was trying to do everything. So really trying to lean into.

Candice Coppola (25:59.579)

Mm-hmm.

Desiree (26:08.518)

delegation, having processes, et cetera, as a business owner so that things can get done without me having to do everything. I think has also been important to, which has taken me time to get there as well.

Candice Coppola (26:19.75)

Yeah. Well, that's a good point that I think we should linger on for a second is it's, we're looking at your journey now several years into podcasting and having also launched your template shop, I think almost maybe two years ago.

Desiree (26:35.995)

Yeah.

Candice Coppola (26:37.054)

So you have, and you also have a team and that hasn't grown overnight. It's been a slow acquiring of team members and hiring. And then also, for instance, Cara, transitions between different roles as you might need her to be helping you. All that to say is you, when you started your podcast, it was you and 200 Alexa, Alexa flash briefings. And you were in Canva, you know, sending me mockups of your podcast cover art,

Desiree (27:01.728)

right

Candice Coppola (27:06.968)

Do you like this and which one do you like best? I mean, you were doing it like everyone else. You were, it was also COVID, so you had a little time outside of trying to manage your clients, you know, weddings falling apart. Right, and your kids homeschooling, you were in the middle of the thick of it all, but you were creating it just like everyone does, on your own, DIYing, figuring it out as you went. Encouragement for anybody listening who's like, I want a business or a podcast like Desiree's.

Desiree (27:17.87)

Right, right. Things took a pause.

Candice Coppola (27:37.294)

Good, that you can see that what's possible and just know like we all start in our office, in our sweatpants, trying to figure it out with our first really bad microphone, recording our first episode, thinking the sound of our voice is disgusting. That's where we all start.

Desiree (27:58.338)

Yeah, I totally agree. And I think I liked learning that process of, you know, because now I feel like now that I'm getting, you know, more into reels and video, etc. Because I had that background where I self trained myself on how to edit how to record, I think it makes you a better podcaster because you know what that process is like, you're able to have that journey. And I definitely have learned from like my earlier episodes.

auditory tics that I would do and I would you know getting better I you know, I think has going through that whole process Knowing all the different hats and the steps that you're supposed to do has really been helpful. And yeah, I you know when I started I Had an idea of what I wanted to do But that has definitely morphed and changed and grown since the beginning and that's I think totally okay, and I think

once you get into it, the hardest thing is just taking that first step and then sticking with it. I think having that consistency and that discipline to keep going, I think, has been very, very helpful. But yeah, I completely agree.

Candice Coppola (29:06.202)

Oh, yeah. And you are very disciplined. You are Desiree. It's a disciplined Desiree. She is, like, when she sets her mind to something, that shit is getting done. It is getting done. I love that about you. I would love for us to sort of end our interview with some next steps for listeners who want to start a podcast this year.

Desiree (29:17.286)

at some point, but yes.

Candice Coppola (29:32.554)

And I feel like you are so great at thinking through processes. As a wedding planner, this is like sort of in your DNA of thinking through the planning mode of how to create things. And so I would love for you to share some tips for anyone listening who is. Like, okay, I want to start my own podcast. What are some of the first steps that they need to take to get the ball rolling?

Desiree (29:58.054)

I'm so glad you asked because I think, you know, I could talk about this forever. So I'm gonna try to keep it succinct. I do have a freebie that you can download, which kind of summarizes all of this, which you can get. I don't know if you, do you want me to say it now or link, say it, like you'll just link it? What do you wanna do? Okay, I'll just read that again. Okay, I'm so glad you asked because I could talk about this forever. But luckily I put together a freebie and you can link to it in the show notes. That kind of walks you through this, but.

Candice Coppola (30:14.454)

I'll link it. Yeah, I'll link it.

Desiree (30:26.446)

where we'll go through step by step the high level of the things that you want to think about. So first and foremost, define your goals and purpose for the podcast, which obviously is perfect because we're on your podcast talking about the power and your purpose. But it's so true, Candice did not ask me to do that. It's so true because it really, once you know the purpose of what you're doing, you're

Candice Coppola (30:30.51)

Mm-hmm.

Candice Coppola (30:43.145)

Hehe hehehe

Desiree (30:56.526)

Um, hold on. I just got that. Yes.

Candice Coppola (30:59.03)

The meaning behind things. Once you understand, yeah, the purpose, the meaning behind things.

Desiree (31:04.642)

Yeah, it will really I think help guide you as you grow the podcast as you figure how you want to market it etc. But even thinking through, you know, what kind of audience do you want to have with this podcast? What do you want to do with this podcast in the future? Do you want to monetize with brand deals? Do you want to write a book and you have an audience that you sell it to? How much also how much time do you have to actually devote to this podcast? You know, I don't think we mentioned it before, but we have

seasons for the podcast because we're recording and interviewing, you know, in the fall to spring season and then in the summer we're executing our events. So I don't have as much time, but you know, we take, you know, we end that season and then we come back. And that's also nice because then, you know, towards the end of the season, like, what have I not talked about? I feel like I've talked about everything. And then you go through wedding execution and then you're like, oh, there's so many things now I forgot to talk about. We can now dig into for the next season. So...

Candice Coppola (31:55.72)

Mm-hmm. Hehehehehehe.

Desiree (32:02.938)

So that's important. How often do you want to publish an episode? Do you want to do just audio? I think, like you said, definitely great to start with just audio. And then the seasons, like I mentioned, how many episodes do you want in a season? Typically we do around 30, but there's some episodes, some podcasts that have fewer than that. So I think just thinking through what you have the capacity for and what you really want to, what your intentions are behind starting the podcast will really help inform.

Candice Coppola (32:29.907)

Mm-hmm.

Desiree (32:32.122)

your next steps. So, okay. So that's figuring all that out, your purpose. And then the next thing I would say is to map out your first several episodes. So you kind of have an idea of like the arc of that first season. What are you going to be trying to do with that season? When I launched my podcast, I launched with four episodes that were ready for people to binge. And then I had four in the queue that would come out every week.

following that. So I wanted people to be able to, one, it's good for your stats because you have like a lot of people, a lot more downloads than if you just have one. But I think, you know, with the way we are now, you hear one, you're like, wait, I want more. I have to wait another week. So I think if people are new to you and you're launching, having kind of that regularity is going to be very, very helpful and gives you that momentum as you grow your audience. So mapping that out. Next.

I would talk about choosing and thinking about your podcast equipment and the recording space. Like you said, we all start somewhere. When you're listening to a podcast, the most important thing is your audio. We've all heard tweaks. You've all heard an interview that isn't great because their audio is kind of whatever, and

Candice Coppola (33:38.972)

Mm-hmm

Candice Coppola (33:45.571)

Mm-hmm.

Desiree (33:58.014)

have the best audio that you can afford in this place where you're starting the podcast. So definitely thinking about your space, whether it's a closet because it's lots of clothes and it's very soundproof, getting a microphone, which we have different options for microphones, or whether you're recording in your car. Figuring that out, listening to it, are you satisfied with how it sounds? Thinking through that. And then

Next, I would think about kind of related to this is the recording platform. So you have your mic, you have a space of where you're going to record, and then now you need a way to record. So if you're just doing solo, you can, there's platforms like audacity, where if you're a windows user, there's garage band for Apple users, those are both free, that's what I use, um, to start. And it's great because it's a pretty.

Candice Coppola (34:33.212)

Mm-hmm.

Desiree (34:54.974)

easy. I thought it was kind of intuitive. I definitely watched tutorials on YouTube on how to use these platforms, but you learn. So you have the recording platform if you want to use, if you want to do interviews, there's other platforms like Zencastr, which I know you are not Zencastr Riverside, which I know you and I both use and we love. So thinking through that. So we have your space, your podcast, Mike, we have the platform.

Candice Coppola (35:11.67)

Mm-hmm.

Desiree (35:23.162)

And then after you record, you need a way to edit. So whether it's you editing, you hire an editor, I did it from the beginning and then I taught a VA how to do it. And then we finally got an editor to do that for us. Your music, you know, all that, putting that stuff together. And then the final step before promoting it is the podcast platform. So now you have your, you recorded it, you have the file, you've put together the file and now you need a home.

for the podcast that will then they basically have a signal that will send it out to places like Apple, Spotify, etc. We use Buzzsprout. I don't know what you use, Candace. Oh, yeah. Okay. Yeah.

Candice Coppola (36:02.954)

I use Libsyn, which is the oldest one that's been around for a long time. They're all pretty good, honestly. I think they're all very similar these days, all have the same merits.

Desiree (36:09.499)

Yeah.

Desiree (36:13.218)

Yeah, I think they're all very similar. Pricing is very similar. Yeah, don't go down that rabbit hole because I feel like I went down like so many rabbit holes. I'm like, which is the best one? But yeah, and then definitely the last step would definitely be to promote it. You definitely want to make sure you have a plan because you put in all this work to promote this thing that you have put all of this time into. So that's a very high level, which lots of steps underneath, but that's a very high level, I think.

Candice Coppola (36:28.142)

Mm-hmm.

Candice Coppola (36:39.715)

Yeah, no, it's a great, it's great to just kind of see, okay, these are the things that I need to focus on and think about. Did you purchase a course when you started your podcast? I did. I got Pat Flynn's Power Up podcasting course. He has some, by the way, he has some great videos on YouTube of how to get started and you might be able to piecemeal a strategy together through that. But did you purchase a course or did you just kind of like figure it out?

Desiree (36:57.914)

Mm-hmm.

Desiree (37:05.238)

I don't think I did because when I started it was based on the flash briefing. So it was a little bit, I mean, I definitely read articles about, you know, what to do when you start a podcast, but I don't think I actually did a course because they already had some of that, the mic, the recording, you know, I had an idea that probably would be very helpful. So definitely check out that pet flame course.

Candice Coppola (37:10.603)

Mm-hmm.

Candice Coppola (37:21.878)

Right.

Candice Coppola (37:26.682)

Yeah, I honestly, you know, I think sometimes purchasing a course or something like this is great because it just holds you accountable to get it done. You put some skin in the game, you put some money into it, and then you really, you should have everything. There should be no excuse unless the course is terrible, but you have everything at your disposal to then be able to learn what you need to do, make sense of it, and get your podcast launched. And sometimes we just need a little hand holding like that. I purchased a course for my YouTube channel.

don't recommend that course. I liked that with Pat Flynn, but not with the YouTube course. It was the biggest chaotic mess I have ever purchased. It was, have you ever bought a course, and you log in, and there's like 200 videos, and you're thinking, what in the actual F did I just buy?

Desiree (38:04.28)

Ugh.

Desiree (38:10.827)

Oh, God.

I used to be on a big course purchasing spree and now I feel like I just mostly do you. But I have purchased some courses. But yeah, no, it's like, I definitely agree if you can find a good one because it really, like you say, will keep you accountable because you have some skin in the game and it will walk you through it and you don't feel like... Because sometimes I think some creators like us, people that are creative, want to do all the things and having that process.

Candice Coppola (38:18.494)

Yeah. Good.

Candice Coppola (38:26.641)

Mm-hmm.

Candice Coppola (38:31.781)

Mm-hmm.

Candice Coppola (38:42.557)

Mm-hmm

Desiree (38:42.79)

to follow, I think is definitely going to help with reducing the overwhelm of knowing this is what I do first. This is what I do next. So yeah.

Candice Coppola (38:47.65)

For sure. Yep. Yeah, for sure. But regardless of that, Desiree has been so generous to put all of this in something you can download. I mean, this isn't, she doesn't even have anything teeing up. She's not launching a podcast course. I'm at least that, at least that I don't know about. So she literally is doing this from the very depths of her heart to make sure that you have all of the things that we've talked about today in something that you can easily just download and get started with.

Desiree (39:05.257)

Hmm.

Candice Coppola (39:16.882)

And so I will link that in the show notes. And while you're over looking at that amazing free download, make sure to just check Desiree out, check out her podcast, check out her digital shop. You know, you see folks on podcasts and it's always nice to then follow up and see, well, what does this actually look like that they were talking about? What does the podcast look like? What does the digital shop look like? What's Desiree selling? What's she talking about? I find it to be so inspiring. Desiree.

I would love for you to share where our listeners can keep up with you. What social media do you prefer? Where can they connect with you if they want to chat further?

Desiree (39:52.406)

Awesome. Well, Candice, I've had an amazing time on this episode with you. And I'm so honored that you invited me to be on the show. So thank you so much. Oh my gosh. Um, yeah. So where I, my preferred method of social media is Instagram for sure. Um, so the podcast is at ask the planner podcast. And, um, if you want to learn more about like my wedding planning business, it's verve event co, um, the website. So our website is

Candice Coppola (39:59.303)

Oh, of course.

Candice Coppola (40:08.095)

Mm-hmm.

Desiree (40:21.894)

podcast.verb eventco.com or no, I said sorry, hold on now again for the website for the podcast is askt and You can find us all the show notes all of our episodes all that everywhere you listen to your favorite podcast So Spotify Apple all the places

Candice Coppola (40:40.606)

Yay. I will link all of this, of course, so you can easily find it by just going to my website and you'll be able to click over and connect with Desiree. Desiree, thank you so much for coming on the show and sharing your journey. It's been so inspiring to watch as your coach, as your friend, to just watch your business evolve over these last several years. And I just, I can't wait to see what you've got up your sleeve.

this year because I'm imagining you've got some things up your sleeve.

Desiree (41:12.162)

Well, I did learn from you. I just need to focus and execute because before I found you, I was just trying to do everything. So yes, I'm very excited for all the new year energy, even though, you know, where we are. I'm just so excited. So thank you so much, Candice, for all your support.

Candice Coppola (41:19.091)

Yeah.

Candice Coppola (41:26.842)

Yeah. Oh, it's been my pleasure.