Tim Ferris' Podcasting Secrets Revealed

There’s a cliché saying, “Success leaves clues.” It may be cringy, but it’s also true. Tim Ferris is one of the most successful podcasters on the planet and often the first name that comes to mind when people think about podcasters. What would you pay for an opportunity to pick his brain on all things podcasting? If you’re like me, the answer is a lot. Well, I have good news for you. Someone did this for us, and I’ve summarized it all for you. Tim recently appeared on an episode of My First Million and shared his secrets and advice for aspiring podcasters.

We summarized the key points in this newsletter to save you time, but if you want to check out the full episode, we have also linked it below!

Let’s get Nutty.

In Today’s Email

• Tim Ferris’ Advice for Podcasters

• HIT & MISS of the Week

• How to be featured in future Newsletters

Tim Ferris’ Advice for Podcasters

Tim dropped a ton of gems, but these were the major lessons

• Give Your Guest an “On Ramp” - Tim was asked what makes for a perfect start to a podcast, and his answer was the conversation before you start. He prioritizes this over everything, even if it cuts into the length of the interview. He attributes much of his success to this approach and here’s a list of things to get right

  1. Put the guest at ease. Let them know it is your job to make them look good, anything can be edited out and they are more than welcome to pause or restart stories. Tim also recommends mentioning that you will keep an eye out for anything they may want to remove (e.g. their child’s name). This shows your expertise and that you are on the guest’s side.

  2. After you have eased them into conversation mode, tee them up for success. Ask what success would look like to them. “What would make you look back on this in 6 months and make you very happy you came on?” After outlining a plan for success, then ask them for some of their “greatest hits,” what are stories, anecdotes or studies that really stick with people? Then, figure out a question or a prompt to allow them to tell that story (you can also ask them for one). Using this early gives the guest a win by making them look good right away. This also benefits you as leading with a proven story increases the chances of listeners sticking around.

  3. Now that you have primed the episode for success, the final step before getting into it is telling the guest where you are likely to start the conversation to confirm with them that it is a good spot. This allows them to be prepared when you press record and also avoid the disaster situation of you leading with something you found on the internet that isn’t true.

• Start Strong - When Tim starts an interview, he quickly goes to a question that came from a profound amount of research and one he is confident they haven’t been asked in other interviews. This is extra impactful for those who have already been on many different podcasts to get them off autopilot and more involved in the current conversation.

• Create Freely - Tim advises creating freely and following your curiosities and interests. He says when you create for “the audience,” it can shape you into creating content that doesn’t leave you fulfilled, and all the while, you are guessing what people want when, in reality, they don’t even really know. If you want to be in the game for a long time, you have to be interested in what you are doing, so follow your own interests.

I’m a long-time listener of Tim’s podcast and have read multiple of his books. He is a crazy person (in the best way possible) when it comes to testing things and optimizing work. Start implementing these tips into your workflow ASAP. If interested, the Full episode can be found here.

HIT & MISS of the Week

HIT

Why it HIT

• This is Charisma on Commands podcast. They had amazing success growing their channel by using celebrities in their thumbnails and as the vehicle for delivering lessons on charisma. This is a modernized version of that approach through leveraging influencers as they are modern-day celebrities

• The thumbnail and video are leveraging the existing influence of 2 large creators (Sneako & Dr.K) and plays off of their online personas very well. Sneako is known largely for his brash attitude and Dr.K is respected for nearly the opposite. The pairing itself is interesting and the title amplifies it further by using a concept and facial expressions (in the thumbnail)

• I recommend watching at least the beginning of this video (click the photo above). This is a great example of an effective intro. Right away the viewer is re assured they will get the value they clicked for, but its not given away. The viewer still needs to watch to get the answers. Fantastic hook/intro. On YouTube, if you can get someone to stay around a minute, they are likely staying for the whole video so this stuff really matters

The major lesson from this HIT is modernizing proven concepts. This happens all over social media and often starts new trends. Study older content from traditional to break down the why behind its original success and then modernize the strategy with currently relevant topics, figures and themes. It may be the very thing that makes your show pop.

MISS

Why it MISSED

• The title is complicated for no additional benefit. This episode had one clear and obvious hook point that all of the packaging should have been centred around. “The Only Man With 4 Billion Dollar Companies”.

• For the thumbnail design, I would have doubled down on the primary hook point. Leave the visuals of the companies for social proof (but rearrange for optimal space usage), remove the host as they aren’t the hook point and also add some copy to open a loop, something along the lines of “My Approach to Business” or “My Exact Strategy”. Readjusting this design allows you to communicate more by making everything bigger and only focusing on elements that will make people feel compelled to click,

• Don’t be shocked if they adjust the packaging for this episode. The subject matter is too rare and interesting to not be pulling more views.

This is a prime example of how important packaging is. They are a business show that interviewed someone who has achieved something entirely unique and universally desired by their ideal listener. This episode is doing relatively well but what made it a MISS was the missed opportunity.

Also, if you would like us to monitor your content and give you feedback in the HIT & MISS of the week, reply with the name of your show and the link to it on YouTube!

Happy Podcasting.

See you next week.

-Ben