I had the amazing opportunity to attend the first This Is How We Podcast event for 2024, held in Cape Town, South Africa. This Is How We Podcast is a podcast event hosted by The Podcast Catalyst. And the visionary behind both of these entities is Sean Loots.
Sean is a veteran podcast creator and all-around audio aficionado from South Africa. I recently interviewed Sean for We Edit Podcasts’ In The Spotlight series. And it was great to hear his insights on the podcasting landscape in South Africa. You can find that post here.
And if you are a podcaster or are in the podcasting space and you want your turn In The Spotlight, reach out to me at jennay@weeditpodcasts.com!
Now, back to my recap.
The heart behind all of the This Is How We Podcast events is to elevate the status of podcast creators in South Africa.
But more than that, it’s to create a collaborative space where all kinds of podcasters can glean the wealth of knowledge from those who have been making podcasts successfully for some time already.
In light of this, the latest This Is How We Podcast event took the form of live interviews with some big names in the South African podcasting scene.
First up, Sean interviewed the Jody and Ross, otherwise known as the Bioscope Brasse! The Brasse are nearing their 100th episode – a huge feat in its own right! But in 2023, the Bioscope Brasse made it onto the Apple Podcasts list of Shows We Love in 2023.
During their interview with Sean, Jody, and Ross shared the ins and outs of their podcasting process. They shared the why and how of their podcasting journey. And they also were really open about the challenges of creating a high-quality podcast.
My biggest takeaways from their interview:
Keep your why simple. Their “why” was free movie tickets!
You have to be passionate about whatever your podcast is about. Jody and Ross are SO passionate about films. Their podcast serves as an outlet for that passion. And it’s what brings their listeners in.
Authenticity is key. Jody and Ross have a genuine friendship. They also aren’t trying to be anyone other than who they are. This is why their audience stays.
Editing is crucial. Ross shared how much time goes into editing down an episode. He shared how careful and thoughtful he has to be during the editing process to ensure that their conversation still sounds natural – and if you’ve ever listened to an episode, you’d actually be surprised at how much time is spent editing. The conversation sounds so natural and easy. But this is the result of editing – and editing with your audience in mind – ensuring that you’re offering them value from start to finish.
And Jody and Ross certainly do this! But I’m not just saying that because I’m a fan of their show. Their stats testify to this. They have a 96% listen rate. 96%! This means that their listeners are listening to literally the entire episode – and only drop off before the closing. If that doesn’t tell you you’re doing something right in the world of podcasting, I don’t know what will!
Part 2
The second live interview of the This Is How We Podcast event featured Francois Retief, COO of iono. Iono.fm offers podcast hosting and radio streaming services with audio ad monetization features.
During his interview, Francois shared an in-depth presentation on how to understand podcast analytics and what to do with the data.
Now, if you ever thought analytics were boring, you need to hear Francois speak! His passion for stats shines through all he shares. And he truly makes the numbers become more than just numbers. The numbers are your audience, and understanding the analytics better helps podcasters better understand their audience. The stats also tell you so much about your listeners! And you can then use this knowledge to better your show.
Francois also shared with fantastic but realistic insight what podcasters need to know when it comes to that all-important topic of podcast monetization.
He gave an honest look at what kind of numbers you should be aiming for if you’re looking to run successful ad campaigns or look for sponsorship. And he also gave practical tips for the type of monetization options on the table for different types of shows.
Perhaps my favorite part of the presentation was what Francois shared on the power and value of audio. This is why we had all gathered together in that room. It’s the power of audio that brought us together. And it was the power of audio that hummed through the air as we all mingled and swapped stories after the interviews.
This podcast event really was an incredible glimpse at what is happening in the podcasting space in South Africa. And it’s so encouraging to see how the love of podcasts and the pull of the medium are taking root and growing exponentially in the country!
But don’t just take my word for it! I connected with some incredibly cool people at the event, and here is what some of them had to say:
Jonathan Warncke
Jonathan has created many podcasts! They include How To Make a Podcast in South Africa and Off the Grid in SA. Jonathan also serves as the managing director of the South African Podcasters Guild. Here is what he had to say about This Is How We Podcast:
“I really appreciated the format of “This is How we Podcast”. The 1-2 punch of relaxed, engaging conversation with the Bioscope Brasse team and the insightful presentation from Francois struck just the right tone for South African podcasting.
We’re on an adventure, we’re having fun, but we’re also looking to the future. We’re looking to grow this industry into a vibrant, multicultural force for change, dialogue, and new employment opportunities for South Africans.
Sean is serving the community with his trademark humor, humility, and warmth. I look forward to the next meetup.”
Krystle Kustanovich
Krystle is a Mental Performance Coach. You can check out her podcast, I Never Thought of It That Way here. And here are Krystle’s thoughts:
“Before going to this event, I thought I was failing as a podcaster.
Turns out I was wrong!!
I’m a baby podcaster. I have:
7 episodes
111 listens
31 subscribers
These numbers usually bother me (they look so little) but [at the event] I learned that I’m exactly on the right track!!!
Stoked to be learning more about this new medium that I find so much joy in!”
Diego Domingo
Diego the Head of Member Affairs for the South African Podcasters Guild. He is also the host and founder of the worshipGear Podcast. This is what Diego had to say about the event:
“I recently attended the This Is How We Podcast event hosted by Sean Loots. It was an incredible event where I got to meet some prominant podcasters in SA, namely the Gen C podcast and Bioscope Brasse. The Bioscope Brasse also had a very interactive and informative chat on how they started which put a lot of things into perspective for me.”
Kate Thompson Davy
Kate is a freelance journalist and sometimes indy podcaster. You can find her journalistic work here. And her podcast “It Happened Here” on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all the others. (Kate promises to start making episodes again soon!) Here are Kate’s thoughts on the event:
“The ‘This Is How We Podcast’ event was great – I really enjoyed the first session which was essentially a live podcast recording with the Bioscope Brasse. I was amazed how articulate and smooth they (and Sean) were, completely off the cuff. I really need to up my game in this department to reduce my editing time. The second session about podcast analytics was also extremely informative, and provided the kind of numbers about our industry that are incredibly hard to find. Thanks to Iono.fm for this transparent and informative presentation. I’m not great at networking, but these events make it easy to learn and meet fellow creators. Looking forward to the next one.”
