Matt Jones Teaches You to Podcast

Social media has changed everything when it comes to sports media. That’s not news to most people, but I was reminded of it as I scrolled through Twitter recently and came across several links to various podcasts on my timeline.

These days, anyone and everyone can make their voice heard. If not by a daily radio show, then by a podcast that’s centered on anything the host prefers to discuss. For someone that can’t be heard every weekday over the airwaves, a podcast is the perfect place to cut your chops and build a following.

But for the sake of this article, let’s say you do have a daily radio show. Should you still venture in the podcast world? What are the advantages of putting even more on your daily plate by making yourself available on another platform?

One of the many things we try to accomplish at BSM is to make everyone in the industry more informed on certain happenings in the business. But sometimes, we try to challenge the reader to reach outside their comfort zone and try something new. That’s where starting a podcast comes in.

Some of you reading this are very accomplished hosts with a large following in your respective markets. So, if there’s no money immediately attached to a podcast, why would you take on the extra stress of trying to start one from scratch?

To find that answer I went to a source that’s turned his podcast and radio show into big business. The founder of KentuckySportsRadio.com, the largest independent college sports blog in America, Matt Jones, has a radio show with 35 affiliates across the Bluegrass State. In addition to that, The Matt Jones Podcast has become a huge hit and a bonus to his loyal followers. If anyone knows the benefits of giving the listener an additional way to consume your thoughts, it’s certainly Matt.

If you’re a host and thinking that starting a podcast is a good idea, I assure you, Matt’s comments will do more than enough to help you get started.

TM: Let’s start with the obvious question. Why do a podcast if someone already has a successful radio show?

MJ: Well, I originally started my career doing podcasts and got into radio through that. Even as a radio host, I think podcasts really help you connect to your audience in a different way. I think radio is by far the most intimate form of media, but podcasts, in many ways, are even more intimate.

The listeners hear your thoughts, kind of unvarnished, you don’t have to worry about getting in and out of breaks and all that stuff. If you want your listener to know you, which I think is the key to a really successful radio show, I think, honestly, there’s probably nothing you can do that’s more helpful than a podcast.

TM: For instance, let’s say I do a radio show in Lexington, Kentucky where I talk a ton of UK football and basketball. Would my best bet be to center all my discussions on those two topics?

MJ: I think you do the podcast on a topic that’s slightly different than you do on your radio show. For me, my show is two hours of primarily UK sports. My podcast is basically everything else that I care about and the idea is, okay, if you listen to me just because you like UK sports, then you need to listen to the radio show. But if you listen to me because you like Matt Jones, here’s a chance to learn some of the things I think are interesting and cool. It’s almost like a service to hardcore fans. I really like it for that reason. The other thing I do is long form interviews and I found podcasts are the perfect place for that.

TM: What if you’re in a situation to where you have a successful radio show, but also a podcast that’s starting to gain momentum and somehow, you have a really big-name guest that you can only get on one of the platforms? How do you decide which one?

MJ: I always would say, would you get the best out of the guest in a 10-minute form on radio or would you get the best if you have 30 minutes or an hour? If it’s the second, then I’ll do the podcast. For me, it’s just about how long I need to talk to this person to make it good. If you were telling me I got to have John Wall, then okay, I’m probably going to have him on radio, because unless he really wants to open up to me I can get everything I want to get out of him in 15 minutes. But if I’m going to have Lebron James to talk about his entire career, I’m going to want the hour in a podcast form. I also think the podcasts are good for people that are interesting but ones that you have to introduce to your audience. Like, people who are going to take a while to show the audience that this person matters.

TM: Is a good radio show host automatically going to be a good podcast host?

MJ: I think they’re two completely different skill sets. There’s some people who are good at both, but then there are people who are good at one but not the other. I hate to call people out, but there are people out there that are radio hosts and when I listen to their podcasts, they’re just trying to do their radio show on a podcast.

I think that’s a mistake. Then there’s someone like Bill Simmons who I think is the best at sports podcasts, at least, but I don’t think the best at hosting radio shows. But there are people who are good at both. If you are, then I think it’s a good medium for you.

Radio is part about telling a story, but it’s mostly about being entertaining. I think podcasts are about telling a story and are sort of more long form. I tend to think that the smarter the person, the better the podcast. That’s because the podcast is better at going in-depth with on a subject. I can’t think of anyone’s podcast I like that isn’t smart. But there are certain people who I like their radio show but I don’t think are really smart.

TM: I think a lot of people that want to start a podcast run into an issue of not knowing what equipment to use. Let’s say you’re working off a small budget. What would you recommend?

MJ: The most basic equipment is plenty. You can get one set of headphones and one little box and you’ll be fine.

TM: What if you have a big budget and are willing to work with multiple pieces of equipment?

MJ: Then I think you can add editing and things like that. Probably the most well-produced podcasts are your NPR podcasts, or the ones that can add context. For instance, if you talk about a quote, you can add in the quote. If you have that amount of equipment and if you have that amount of talent. In terms of people who are willing to work with you, that’s what I would do.

So I could just say, John Calipari said in the presser yesterday…blank. And then I just insert the audio. I’ll be honest with you, I’d only do that if I was doing what I call a story podcast. Like, the things that are really big time stories. Other than that, I just think it’s a little bit of a waste. All you need to do is talk and if you’re good at it, you’ll be good at it.

TM: I think another pushback for show hosts is knowing they won’t immediately make any money off a podcast. How do you monetize one?

MJ: You have to get a lot of listeners, a lot of listeners for it to be worthwhile in terms of money. It’s hard to make a lot of money off a podcast.

Now, if you have a national platform, like the big time podcasts they make a ton. But if I’m a local radio host, I’m not doing a podcast for money.

I’m doing a podcast to engage with the audience and hold up my connection with them. The secret of KSR, the secret of our success is the audience feels like they know us, they’re our friends, we’re nice to them, they trust us, and podcasts are a big, big part of making that connection. But if you’re just like, I make X amount of money as a radio host and I want to make a little more, I don’t necessarily think that’s a reason to do a podcast.

TM: As hard as someone may work to promote a radio show on social media, do you really have to bust your ass to promote a podcast even harder on social media?

MJ: It depends. I think a lot of it depends on what other platforms you have. Will your radio show allow you to promote your podcast? I’m a big believer in that if you’re going to do it, you should try to own it yourself and not let your radio company own it.

Social media is the best way to get people to listen to your podcast, because you can link it and tell them to subscribe. It’s just one less step. On the radio, it’s hard because someone has to be listening, stop what they’re doing and go to their phone or their computer to subscribe. Whereas on social media, they just have to push a button. I think it’s much easier to build a podcast following if you have a strong social media presence.

TM: If you have three-hour show somewhere and you’re wanting to start a podcast, is it best to be a solo act or have a co-host along with you?

MJ: I think you always need to have a second voice. On my podcast, every show is me with someone different. So I take every single show, I’m either interviewing someone or bringing someone on to talk about an issue. I do not think a good podcast is just talking for 30 minutes. I think that’s really awful. But I do think you need a second voice, but it could the case that a second voice is a co-host or it could be the voice of a guest. I think either of those work.

For me, it’s a guest, but I’ve never found someone because I use my podcast to talk about a zillion different subjects. I’ve never found someone that’s interested in all those subjects, so I just pick a different person on each subject that I’m talking about.

I go from a radio show, which is kind of hyper-narrow, and I use my podcast to expand my world. But I can see a situation to where I was a New York radio host and my world was kind of broad, in terms of being around 8 or 9 teams, but I do a hyper-narrow Nets podcast. I could see that working, it just depends. The key is whatever you do on the podcast, it needs to be different than what you’re doing on the radio show.