Podcasting has become increasingly popular due to its convenience and accessibility. The practice involves making digital audio files that can be downloaded or streamed over the internet on a variety of digital devices, including smartphones, tablets, and computers, and can be accessed through a variety of apps and platforms such as Spotify, YouTube, TuneIn, Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Pandora, and Stitcher, to mention a few.
Podcasts are produced by individuals or small teams covering a wide range of topics, including news, interviews, entertainment, education, discussions, storytelling, and more —typically available as a series, new installments of which can be received by subscribers automatically.
With access to the necessary equipment and software, anyone can do a podcast. Tobi Ojekunle, an engineer in the energy and sustainability industry —born and raised in Ibadan, Nigeria, and currently residing in Germany hosts a thought-provoking podcast he calls Mirror Talk, where he interviews thought leaders to gain insights and shares this knowledge with the rest of the world.
In my interview with Ojekunle, we discussed his podcast’s inspiration, production process, the evolution of the podcasting industry, the challenges faced, and his podcast promotion strategies. This is what he had to say:
You’re an engineer in the energy and sustainability industry, what inspired you to start a podcast?
I have a strong passion for self-improvement, personal development, and having deep soulful conversations with people from all walks of life and this is actually what inspired me to start the Mirror Talk Podcast.
How do you come up with the topic for each episode of your podcast?
The topic for each episode of Mirror Talk comes mainly from the area of expertise of our guests. We carry out thorough research to find out the best way our guests could impact our listeners positively. Some topics are also inspired by feedback from our listeners and inspirations from life experiences.
What is your typical production process for an episode of your podcast like?
Our production process starts out with setting out a date and time for the podcast interview, we then go into the process of research to ensure that the conversation is consciously tailored to positively impact our listeners. After the podcast conversation, we save the vital information in our database and plan for the release date. Before the release date, we edit the audio and video files to the best quality that we can and at the same time place the listeners into consideration. After the podcast episode has been released, we share it with the podcast episode guest and share it on all social media platforms including on our Mirror Talk website.
What are some of the memorable moments or episodes from your podcast?
Every episode from our podcast has memorable moments. One of those moments would be when a guest was able to unravel her past and our conversation was able to assist her to reflect on the lessons from her life experiences. This led to us learning more about alignment and the importance of taking intentional pauses or breaks to reflect on life. Another memorable moment would be in the episode we had with Katie Hess in which she compared the flowers we find attractive to a mirror that reflects who we are or how we are feeling at the moment.
How do you see the podcasting industry evolving in the future?
In the future, the podcasting industry will evolve into the most relevant part of the media world bringing innovations, unfiltered messages, and shining light on various important perspectives in every aspect of life.
How has podcasting as a medium evolved since you started?
Podcasting has slowly evolved into a force to reckon with. Big media platforms like Spotify are buying and sponsoring podcasts. Several platforms now offer subscription-only services to support podcasts making a living from what they love to do best.
How do you see your podcast fitting into and impacting your industry or niche?
The Mirror Talk podcast is impacting the industry by encouraging and introducing new perspectives in the self-improvement and personal development industry. We are enabling people to share their stories and use their experiences to change the world.
How do you promote your podcast and grow your audience?
We promote Mirror Talk through social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook. We share our content on all platforms like YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and all major podcast platforms.
What are some of the challenges you have faced while creating and growing your podcast and how you overcame them?
Some of the challenges faced while creating the podcast at the beginning was getting guests to speak on the show but now, we have more than enough guests and have the challenge of organizing and scheduling the podcast interviews.
We overcame the initial challenge by signing up for various podcast exchange services which help podcast hosts meet with suitable podcast guests for their shows.
One challenge we are still facing is reaching a broader audience. We are overcoming that by promoting our content on social media and encouraging our listeners to help us share with their loved ones.
Who are some of the interesting guests you have had on your podcast?
We have had a lot of interesting guests, so it would be unfair to mention a few names. These guests come on the show with the intention to impact the world positively. They are willing to share their stories and give out free tips, tools, and advice on how others could improve their lives. However, one of these is Victoria Volk. In the podcast episode with her, she really got down to the basics and fundamentals of what we can do to move through grief and find spiritual solace. She taught us how we could have a guided heart.
What software and tools do you use for audio editing and mastering?
For audio editing and mastering, we make use of Logic Pro, GarageBand, and Audacity.
How do you ensure the quality and consistency of audio recordings during remote interviews?
We ensure the quality of the audio recording by encouraging our guests to record with a good microphone. We do an audio check before recording and then we make use of tools to enhance the audio recording during post-production. The consistency of our audio recording is ensured by our pool and database of pre-recorded interviews.
Have you ever had to make technical corrections or updates to episodes after they were released? How do you handle such situations?
Yes, it has happened in the past that we had to make technical corrections to podcast episodes due to some errors during post-production. In such a situation, we had to re-edit the raw files, create a different version with the changes required and then replace the already uploaded episode with the new version. This will be updated on all podcast platforms.
What metrics do you use to track the success and impact of your podcast episodes?
We make use of the information about the number of downloads, audience retention, and episode rankings to track the success and impact of our podcast episodes.
Can you discuss any challenges you have faced in incorporating new technologies into your podcast production workflow?
The challenges we have faced are learning about the new technologies; how to use them, their benefits and their shortcomings as well as working with time constraints while having to invest some time to learn how to use the new technologies.
Which tips or advice would you share with someone just starting out in podcasting?
One piece of advice I would give someone just starting out in podcasting would be never to give up. Appreciate the days of little beginnings and learn and improve as you grow.
