Podcast
With a radio background, I was so excited when podcasts became popular. I’ve had two personal podcasts I did for four years – The Heidi Rew Show and Encourage Minute. Currently, I host the monthly Atlanta Voiceover Studio (& Pro-VoiceoverTraining.com) podcast with my husband Mike Stoudt.
The Heidi Rew Show
Compelling stories of female leaders, creators, and innovators— from food to fitness, business to beauty, interior design and more…all in just a 20 minute episode! They will inspire you, help you overcome your own obstacles and guide you on your journey. Check my interview with DoubleMint Twin L.A. Winters, WNBA player Renee Montgomery, Evereve founder Megan Tamte, Atlanta TV Journalist Monica Pearson and more.
Listen Here
Encourage Minute
Whether you run a business, are in the corporate world, in the creative world, have a family or a student, a little encouragement goes a long way and may just be what you need to get through another day. In this podcast, Heidi shares inspirational stories of people who overcame challenges to achieve something great. Get your dose of encouragement each Monday morning. Start your week with the Encourage Minute!
Listen Here
Atlanta Voiceover Studio
(and ProVoiceoverTraining.com)
Podcast
The Atlanta Voiceover Studio and ProVoiceoverTraining.com podcast features interviews with industry professionals (agents, producers, successful VO talent, etc) to give you more insight into the world of VO. Our goal is to EQUIP, INSPIRE and EDUCATE. Hosts, as well as owners of The Atlanta Voiceover Studio, Mike Stoudt and Heidi Rew are full-time VO talent, actors and a real-life married couple. Join them as they uncover some of the keys to navigating a career in voiceover with some of the top VO professionals.
Listen Here
Top podcast tips I’ve learned over the years
Podcast Interview Tips
No affirmative listening
In person, a lot of times people will affirm the speaker by saying, “ah, uh-huh, okay, sure, I see…” This may be great when the conversation is between two people but when it’s being shared by thousands of listeners can be very distracting.
Create outline questions versus specific questions
It’s quite a dance to figure out. You can simply say “hi” to some guests and they’ll launch into a full on rundown of their lives. I believe it’s good to have some structure so you can guide the guest. Too many guardrails will leave the interview feeling rehearsed. When you create a simple outline, that lets the guest know where you’re going but not exactly how you’ll get them there.
Do prep a unique value proposition of the guest
Figure out something of value to your audience the guest can offer. Is your guest an investment expert? Maybe they can offer 3 secrets to getting the most out of an investment? Or top myths that keep people from investing. You’ll want to have authentic conversations with your guest but by identifying at least something of value they can give to your audience, it will ensure you’re giving to your audience.
General Podcast Tips
Make sure the volume is between -12db & -6db
Because people are listening via their phones or computers and usually while doing other things – driving or cleaning – the volume should be a little higher than usual. You don’t want it to clip but higher than usual.
Before Launching – have 3 episodes in the can
The initial launch is really important for the charts, so before you launch have several episodes you can publish right away. This gives people a good amount of content to listen and keep listening to.
Decide on a realistic consistency
The one thing I hear from EVERYONE who has done a podcast is – “It’s a lot more work than I realized.” 100% true. That’s why I transitioned from doing The Heidi Rew Show podcast, an interview format, to the Encourage Minute podcast, a short story format. I knew saving time from researching guests, booking guests, interviewing them, editing, etc would allow me to continue podcasting.
Record the first three episodes and note how much time it took for each. Now figure out how often you can find that time. Once a month? Once a week? If you feel like that may even be too frequent, consider releasing seasons at a time. Maybe you do two seasons a year with just 4 episodes.
Need a Podcast Host/Interviewer?
If you’d prefer not to host your podcast or interview guests, I’d love to help. Maybe you’re a company and need a spokesperson to host your podcast. I can help create questions and guide the show.
Have a podcast and need a voice actor to voice an AD?
I’ve done a lot of podcast ads. I can even help craft the copy, if you need.