We’re myth-busting in this episode. One of the common misconceptions we see business owners fall prey to is that the host of their brand’s show should also be the producer. This is not true for the big majority of shows. If you don’t know how to determine who should be hosting and who should be producing your show, listen in.
In this episode Tiff and Christine discuss the differences between how hosts and producers think and how to decide which role is best for you.
“A key piece of running a successful production for the long haul is getting people in the right roles.”
Christine Baird
Topics covered:
- (0:20) Busting the myth that you need to be the host and producer of your show
- (1:30) How producers need to think
- (4:05) How hosts need to think
- (7:20) How to find a producer to delegate to
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Links mentioned:
- Inside Trader Joe’s podcast
- Looking for pro support to build your podcast? Find out more ways to work with us!
- Tiff Tyler
- Christine Baird
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Many thanks to our production team
- Worthfull Media for audio editing
- Mosaico Productions for video effects
- Amela Subašić for artwork
Transcription of this episode:
(auto-generated, please forgive typos)
Christine (00:04):
Welcome to Think Like a Producer podcast. I’m your co-host Christine Baird.
Tiff (00:09):
And I’m your co-host Tiff Tyler. Being in the podcast industry, being in the content creation industry. This is what we learned, and this is how you can get out of your own way and get started.
Christine (00:20):
You name it. We’ve probably done it. This podcast is about bringing all the wisdom to you. Tune in weekly, to learn how to think like a producer.
Tiff (00:33):
I’m gonna wait for my camera to stop shaking, keep touching my desk. Welcome to this episode of think like a producer today. We’re going to have some fun, I think, and talk about what I don’t hear. People talk about a lot, which is knowing your role. Are you better suited as a producer or are you better suited as a host? What we’ve noticed, especially working with a lot of entrepreneurs and small businesses. A lot of people think they have to be both the PR the head producer of the production and the host, but we think that’s a myth and we love to bust it right now. So, um, I’m just going to start off with something I love to quote and I’ve quoted before on the podcast. It’s not an exact quote, but it’s from a book called the E-Myth and it just basically talks about, you know, just that myth of being an entrepreneur, thinking you have to do it all the day to day every day.
Tiff (01:20):
But an entrepreneur is really someone who’s a visionary, someone who’s thinking about the big picture of the business and they need to hire people to do the day-to-day so they can keep thinking about the big vision. That’s kind of how I think of producing and hosting. There’s the day-to-day work that it comes to recording and doing the interviews. And there’s a person that has to keep the big picture and how are we going to grow and do something a little bit different, uh, with the business and the podcasting. And even maybe if you consider yourself a full media company, where are we going next? What are the next five years look like? And that’s just a lot to put on one person to have, to be able to do the day-to-day and the big picture. So, um, we’re going to talk about it, the difference between producing and hosting.
Tiff (02:01):
And as we list out a couple of skillsets here, we’re also just going to wrap it up with giving you some tips on, if you’re looking to hire someone, who’s not your strength. If you’re like, I’m a producer, how do I find my host? We’ll kind of give you some tips at the end of this too. So starting off with the producer role, what gives you like that? I’m a producer. I have these strengths for us. We’re thinking big picture, knowing where the story needs to go, whether that’s the entire podcast season right now, or that’s just this particular episode, what are we, where are we going with this? Who is this really hitting the audience that we’re trying to hit? Is this hitting a new audience that we need to hit? And also the smaller details as well, like managing a team and kind of coming up with, we talked about in the last episode, scripting, right, or ads or the different things that go into the production as a whole, a producer really kind of needs to think on the big picture side, even when they’re a little bit into the day-to-day small details too.
Tiff (03:02):
Um, but they really are the top kind of head overall of the production. I’ve mentioned it multiple times. There’s the pre production production and post-production the scripting, the shooting and the editing really from top to bottom, they need to know what they’re doing and they have to have good people skills too. I think I’ve worked with some interesting people on set who, uh, you know, won’t really remember your name, even if you’ve worked with them for three, four days. And you kind of just are the person that kind of point and tell the, go do things. And I’ve met people who made sure that they know who I am and ask me questions about my life and what I do and what I want to do. And I can feel the caring and everything in there. And so when I got to be up at 2:00 AM to go grab something real quick for them, it’s like, it feels a little less like a hassle because I know this person cares and it’s not just, I’m another cog in the machine.
Tiff (03:49):
And I think any producer I’ve worked with and what I strive to be as a producer is someone who puts the human being first before the show. Um, we get a lot of questions about hiring people, whether it’s free or whether it’s paid. And to me, it’s like, that’s always a very hard question, but overall, do you like the person, do you enjoy working with them a home? Is it somebody that at 3:00 AM when there’s an emergency with the show and you need the call them up because we need to get something done. Are you going to enjoy having that conversation with them or is it going to be a bit of a struggle? I think putting the person before the machine always, always a good idea. So like I said, this is sort of the way producers need to think. Right. And you would think, well, you know, do hosts have to think about that too.
Tiff (04:33):
In my opinion, hostess needs to host the show, focus on the smaller bit. You might think like, you know, well, shouldn’t hosts sort of think about this too. Well, like I said, a lot of people are doing a bit of a combination there. The entrepreneur had the business and the host of the show, they’re the face of the company and that’s a lot to put on their shoulders. So you might be thinking like, well, wouldn’t a host sort of need to be a people person too, and get to know people and yes, but a host has a different way to play that role. So if you notice in your views that you love on podcasts, right? Typically a host is so engaged with the person that they’re interviewing that even if they have a whole list of questions they’re listening so well, that they’re able to really be in the moment and bring things out of people that you probably have never heard before.
Tiff (05:18):
The hard part about podcasting is at least what it seems to be right now is like, everyone’s like everybody has a podcast, you know? So there might be someone who might be one of your favorite entrepreneurs, but they’ve been interviewed 10 times. But what makes the difference between the podcast that you choose to listen to? It’s the host, it’s what they’re bringing out of them, knowing that they’re going to get a story in something that no other host can get out of them. Personally, I like watching some of the entrepreneurs that I’ve worked with. Like, it’s always, it’s an Oscar moment for me whenever there’s like a billionaire who’s like crying on camera. I’m like how in the world did he crack this person open in 20 minutes and get them to be so open and emotionally vulnerable? You know, it’s not about the crying.
Tiff (05:58):
It’s just more about like, you know, it’s like social media. I think everyone knows how to put a shield or a face or whatever, but a good host can really bring out the human in any conversation. A good host also has to be energetic, good at conveying their voice. Good at conveying the message and the particular story. We mentioned the last episode about ads and scripting and different things. Like there’s a difference between how you’re carrying an ad and how you’re carrying an interview. And, um, you know, how you might be carrying something, that’s a bit more narrative in a storytelling. So having someone who can put on these different personalities and voices and being able to really understand the assignment or whatever is right in front of them, that’s really important for a host to have another good thing that some people might overlook when it comes to hosting.
Tiff (06:41):
You have to be able to take direction. Well, like to me, it produces given the direction and a host is taking, uh, taking the direction. And I think that could be one of the biggest struggles when it comes to entrepreneurs, because you’re used to being the boss and calling the shots, but you know, sometimes giving away some of that power and letting yourself really master the hosting side and getting to know people and letting a producer come in and take over those big picture things. You know, you may not be the boss every day. You might be able to let somebody else kind of take the reins and you can sit back and do your job really well. Um, so these are just a couple of differences between a producer and a host. And like I said, we just encourage people. Um, and we’ll talk about this a little bit later towards the end.
Tiff (07:24):
You know, as we talk about our group coaching, we encourage people to have teams and to grow teams and to really think outside the box of you having to do it all. Christine though, I kind of, I laid out a couple of bullet points here for producers and hosts. Um, what would you say for anyone listening right now? Who’s like, oh, I love the producer side. How do I find the host? Or, you know, I’m going to be the host. Hands-off how do I find my producer to take all these things off of my plate? What would you say to them? Hmm,
Christine (07:50):
Such a great question. This is really like, one of my passions is helping creators bring their media productions in house by literally using the talents of their existing team or the people that they know. And so the things I would say is if you’re listening to Tiff and you’re like, whoa, I am definitely a better producer than a host. Like now someone’s explained it to me. I need to find a host for my show for my brand, but that’s kind of weird because I’ve always sort of been the face of my brand. I want you to get creative and really think bigger because branded podcasts are one of like the hottest emerging types of podcasts and branded podcasts are typically associated with like much bigger companies trader Joe’s, you know, like think about like all the companies that have podcasts coming out. And it’s not like the CEO of Trader Joe’s hosts that podcast.
Christine (08:40):
It’s like, I think the chief marketing officer and the chief buyer, they’re awesome at it. They have the personality, like everything. Tiff just talked about. Those two people have, and they were someone else within the company, the CEO wasn’t like, it’s the Trader Joe’s podcast. So it’s me. But obviously most of our community, if you’re listening, you’re probably not the CEO of Trader Joe’s. So let’s talk about looking around at your team, even if it’s a small team and saying like, who on my team already has some of these skills that Tiff just talked about? And if you’re coming up with zero people who do you know, who are in your friendship, circle your peer group, your network, who you really respect and value their perspective and opinion on the topic of your industry. And they may not have any kind of brand or company, but they might be an amazing person to bring in as the host of your show.
Christine (09:31):
This is actually becoming more common. So the idea that you bring in the right host to then be the voice for your company, it doesn’t mean that they have to be an employee of your company, but that’s where some of the coolest collaborations and partnerships are starting to happen. And that way your, your podcast would actually become a branded podcast. So you hire a host and it’s probably someone already in your network that, so just start thinking about that first, I would look at your team, maybe it’s your head of marketing, maybe it’s your head of community. Like if you’ve got an amazing thriving community and you have an awesome head of community, like that person might be awesome to actually host your show. And then, you know, it might very well be like a friend or a peer of yours. Maybe you decide to bring in a cohost who’s really good at hosting.
Christine (10:16):
And your just kind of the quiet co-host because you’re the face of the company, but really you’re letting them do the talking like that could be a great fit. Obviously, Tiff and I co-host of this podcast, it’s technically a worthwhile media production, which is my company, but it’s so obvious that like, Tiff and I are a way better team to co-host this than I would be by myself for so many obvious reasons, including her amazing expertise at video. So even this podcast and an example of something where Worthfull Media, my company could have been like, Christine has to do it. And I’m like, no, I really don’t like, let me bring in a cohost. Like, that’s not actually how the show started, but let’s pretend like that’s how it started. Okay. So now let’s reverse it around. Let’s say, you’re listening to this episode and you’re like, I am so good at being a host.
Christine (11:09):
I’ve got these skills. How do I find a good producer? Because I realize I’ve been producing my own show and I have no business doing that again. Look to your team first. Think about who already has some of these core skills on your team. Maybe it’s your head of operations. Maybe it’s your head of marketing. Maybe it’s your personal assistant. Like these skills can be hiding in a lot of interesting places. So look to your team. First producing can actually become like an awesome skill set for someone in your team to take on and it can even take them on a really cool new trajectory. Um, now again, if you have a really small team, maybe you’re just still building up your team and you’re like, oh, I don’t know everyone’s maxed right now. And I don’t think like the necessarily anyone’s ready for this.
Christine (11:58):
That’s where a lot of people go out and hire a producer, either someone who has the experience from working on another show, or this is oftentimes why people hire an agency. And I’m not saying that because I own an agency I’m saying that because I started as an in-house producer, I learned the skills on the job. And then when I left, I handed off that show to an agency. Like there was a process. I mean, Tiff also became the producer of that show, but like, we kind of started looking at other options, like, how do we bring in support from here, here and here. I’m not saying your first stop should be an agency, but if you’re not ready to hire someone to come in and be your in-house producer, which in my humble opinion is the best option for almost everyone. Eventually then I want you to like take advantage of the resources out there.
Christine (12:48):
Like Worthfull Media is a boutique production agency. There’s many other production agencies. There’s a lot of freelance producers. So just start asking around your network and be like, Hey, does anyone know of a freelance podcast producer who has availability in my network? And if not, you are welcome to explore agencies. Now we wanted to open your minds to this concept. Not because we hear a lot of people talking about it, but because we don’t hear a lot of people talking about it. So this is like a key key piece of running a successful production for the long haul is getting people in the right roles. And this is truly what we spend a lot of time coaching on and our group coaching program, if this is resonating with you and you’re like, wow, I need specific coaching on this. I need to bring someone on my team into the role of host or producer and they need training for sure.
Christine (13:41):
Check out our group coaching program. The link is in the show notes and the listening app or the YouTube video you’re watching. Uh, this is totally what we geek out on in our group coaching program. So know that there are resources available and we would love to give them to you if you are realizing it’s time to get some new training on our team. So that’s it for today. We are so excited to be bringing you this season. We’ll be back next week with a new episode. And until then, I hope you have an awesome week thinking like producer.
Christine (14:17):
Thank you so much for listening to this episode of Think Like a Producer. This has been a Worthfull Media production. Massive thanks to our team who makes the show possible. Worthfull Media for audio editing, Jorge and Veronica from Mosaico Productions for video effects and Amela Subasic for our amazing artwork and graphics.
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