Joanne Bolt (Intro)

The power of a podcast extends well beyond plugging in the mind. So if you're ready to learn how it can help you build a big business, then I’m your best friend, Hi, I'm Joanne Bolt and I am obsessed with all things podcasting, and creating an unapologetically big revenue business with it from podcast guesting to podcast hosting and everything in between. We're gonna dive into it all and show you step by awesome step how using a podcast can and will grow your business. So grab a glass of wine and pop your headphones on. Cuz, Girlfriend, happy hour has begun here on the B-Word.

Joanne Bolt 

Hey everyone, welcome back. Today's guest, Kristina Bartold is super amazing human being. She and I are so alike in our thought process, even though we are on a little bit different sides of the marketing spectrum for growing your business. But the thought process is really, really honed in on that you cannot post something a million times and expect it to generate revenue like magic. This is not the staples easy button, folks. You gotta make some effort into it. And you got to build relationships. And that is what this little gem is fantastic at. So, welcome to the show.

 

Kristina Bartold 

Joanne, thanks so much for having me. And I feel like we've got so many mutual friends and connections. So it's like we're already friends and already buddies. And yeah, I'm excited to be here and to chat all things, social podcasting business with you.

 

Joanne Bolt 

You know, it's funny, I feel kind of like when I walked into the digital entrepreneurship world, when I was a little loss, I didn't know anyone I was coming out of real estate where I knew everyone and everyone knew me no matter what brokerage you were at. And then I came into this world. And I was like, oh my god, I'm the new kid at school starting over. And then I kind of found the network that you and I are circling in right now. And it's like joining a podcasting social media type sorority, where it's like, you know, everyone without actually knowing everyone.

 

Kristina Bartold 

Yeah, it's actually so funny. You say that because today, one of my friends online friends, actually, she's in person as well, I guess now, but she did a podcast or introduction for me, like she sent me an email. She's like, you need to have this girl your podcast, like meet Tiffany. And I was like, I've already had Tiffany on my podcast, like, I like, you know, she can come back if she wants. And her episode hasn't even aired yet. But it is so funny. Like, once you're kind of in the community, and you've built some good community you have opportunities to, to kind of connect with people. And yeah, there's so many doors open from you're just being open to building community.

 

Joanne Bolt 

I love that so much. And that kind of leads right into what we're going to talk about, which is building those connections, that community in order to grow your business. So what brought you into the side of it that you're that you are, you know, are the goat in?

 

Kristina Bartold 

Yeah. So our focus at the social stuff that's really around done for you social media, and podcasting, we do some liquid, an Instagram course we do some consulting and coaching, but really focus on done for you. And we kind of got into it naturally, I had another business that my business partner worked in with me. And we kind of went hard there. And we realized that social media was something that everybody needed. And we had built such a great community. And I would sell things like I would be like, Oh, I have this. And then you know, 30 people would buy it off my affiliate link. And I realized that I was starting to get traction, even though I was I would never call myself a micro influencer, I'd never do it. But it would be more about the fact that I really had built a lot of know, like, and trust with people. And so I had done that all online. And so I became obsessed with teaching people how to do that obsessed with teaching people how to build know, like and trust with their audience, whether it's 10 people or 10,000. How do you convert those people, from followers to fans? And so that's kind of how I got into it. So now since then, we've been in business about two and a half years, we have 60 clients, like we're we're kind of full full tilt full scale, but I love the work that we do, because I actually think that so many business owners spend so much time like in the hamster wheel of social media, like posting nonstop 10 times a day being so worried. But really, it's about like building that community. And I think sometimes that's lost on votes.

 

Joanne Bolt 

Yeah, I agree. You know, I used to tell people when I was in real estate, that if you didn't build a community, and you didn't have know, like and trust, you can have all the for sale, signs out in a neighborhood that you want it and people still aren't gonna call you to, you know, have you buy or sell a home with them, they've got to know that you know what you're doing, and you're, you know, trustworthy.

 

Kristina Bartold 

100% Actually, I had a client who came to me a prospective client, they were a real estate agent. And she was like, I really want social media help. And I was like, Have you ever sold a home before? And she was like, No. And I was like, social media is not where I would spend my time right now. Like, where I would spend my time is meeting local people, like I would go and join the Chamber of Commerce, I'd love your money would be very happy to take it. But it's not an integrity for me to take money from you. Because I actually don't think that we're gonna be able to help you the way you need. And it's because some of these businesses, especially if you're hyperlocal, like go and meet people, like it's not all about social media, even though I think social media is such an amazing tool, but you need to be building know, like and trust because otherwise, you could have a million followers and you won't be able to sell a t shirt. So you really, really want to be able to build build those connections.

 

Joanne Bolt 

So how do you guys specifically on the social media front? If it's done for in? Pardon me if I'm going to ask probably what is a dumb question, but I guarantee if I'm thinking it someone else's, too, if it's done for you, but you're supposed to have know, like and trust. How can someone else do my social media for me? Does that make sense? Yeah, totally.

 

Kristina Bartold 

And that's a great question that comes up all the time. So often when I do a discovery call with someone one of the first questions I get is kind of like how are you going to keep my voice in check? Like, you know, I don't want it to sound corporate II I want him to sound like me. And a big piece of what we do at the beginning is learning how you sound you know your language. We try to replicate things that you say But what our clients find that I think is so cool is that when we're focused on making their content and advising on things they should do, the magic starts to happen. Social media stops becoming a chore, and it starts becoming something that you're excited about. Because you're actually like, hey, someone's didn't hear my feed post. And yeah, maybe I need to show up in a reel. And but my reel is fully edited for me in the captions down, and I don't need to worry about it. So I just get to just like, shoot it off. And then it's all done for me. But then you get to show up and stories authentically, you get excited about it. Because I know a lot of business owners do and like a lot of them are feeling analysis paralysis, they go to post something, and they stare at it. Oh, that's not the right color. Oh, that's like, you know, not the right photo? Oh, what do I look like there? Oh, my messaging is not gonna offend somebody? Is that going to be trying to your client? What hashtags should I use, right? Like all of these questions, and it keeps people from doing anything. And so what I'm really passionate about is like, Let's just remove some of those barriers. And this way, when you're showing up in stories, you can show that no, you can build that know like and trust by showing behind the scenes showing your your social proof that you're great at what you do. And let us take care of all the stuff that is causing you all that anguish. And it's different for every client sometimes come to us and they're like, hey, I want to write every single caption because I love writing, but I hate making videos. And then there's clients who are like, I can talk to video all day, but I like can't write a caption to save my life. So we were able to kind of all kind of work together.

 

Joanne Bolt 

I love that you're like the yin to their Yang. 

 

Kristina Bartold 

Totally, I actually had a client say to us, she's like, it's so relaxing, working with you, which was like the highest compliment of all time because like relaxing, like, I don't even find social media relaxing. But the other thing that she said was that it was like we were her business partner. And so that's actually what I'm leaning into is like, almost calling it like a social media business partner, right? It's like we're in it with you. Because honestly, I love our clients, and I want to see them be successful. And I know that when they make more money, we come along with them. So I want them to be, you know, doing the damn thing the way they want to do it. So yeah, it's such a gift to get to work with so many amazing business owners.

 

Joanne Bolt 

Here's what I like about this concept. And I utilize it a lot here at the B word is I actually don't have any employees on my team. I have a bunch of contractors on my team, right. And I do that very strategically and with a lot of intent behind it, because instead of me hiring someone to do my social media, and paying them through, you know, Joanne bolt, Inc, which I could, I would rather go to an agency or a company like you that looks at it like a partnership, and, and have it be dealt with like a partnership, you know, I don't want to done for you where they check in with me once a month. I want someone who I feel like they work for me, but they really don't. And the reason behind that is, you're so keeping your finger on the pulse of what's really happening in your specific lane. And because you have multiple clients, you're really getting to see a good overview of your specific lane, that you're probably doing it better than any one else out there.

 

Kristina Bartold 

100% I totally agree. And like, that's actually something I see happen a lot, where I'll get a client that'll come to us and they're like, had an admin assistant who was doing my social. And I'm like you said that person up for failure, right? They're not a social media manager, they don't care about maybe they do you get the unicorns, but like, they're not gonna care about, you know, what's the latest trend? And how do you optimize it. We know social media platforms, reward early adopters. So that's something we think about for all of our clients that it's like, okay, this new feature came out, who's gonna benefit from that, oh, Anthony is gonna benefit from that, because this is what he sells. And I'm gonna make sure that a blog post is written about that. And we're gonna go ahead and on on that, because when they do well, we do well with them, right. So it's like all of a win. But when you're putting so much pressure on somebody in your team to be everything for you, then I've almost been nothing for you, because they're so overwhelmed by everything they're working on. So we have one full time employee, She's incredible. I'm obsessed with her. But she would tell you the same thing. She's like, I have no idea what I do day in and day out, because I kind of do anything you tell me to do. But we have a million, like, I think we have 20 contractors we work with on our team that feel like they're part of our team. And they work with our clients. And we train them and they're awesome. But it allows them that flexibility to do whatever they want to do as they do it. And like pour into people's businesses and then pour out, which actually, I think a lot of like the younger generation is actually really into,

 

Joanne Bolt 

it's kind of like consulting only they don't think of it that way, which I lean into, because that's what I did straight out of college and it's still my favorite full time job. I think I actually landed in real estate, because I enjoy that consulting aspect of you get to pop in, you get to be really involved and engaged with someone and then you can pop back out and in as necessary into their lives.

 

Kristina Bartold 

Yeah, I love that. And it's so powerful, right? Like, you get to pop in on something that you're so passionate and excited about. Like not one of our social media managers is somebody who is like, oh, like I don't like love Instagram, like these people are sending me information about Instagram or like hey, Christina, I don't know if you saw this YouTube video, but like, there's this new feature coming out and you should try this and I'm like, we feel oh, like I don't even like do any of this stuff. But they are so passionate about it. So it's like so exciting to be a part of.

 

Joanne Bolt  

And I love what Watching this whole industry unfold. You know, I was having a conversation with my dad the other day, he's in his 70s bless him. And a I don't even know how many times I've tried to explain what podcasting is, he just cannot fathom how I actually make money off something that people listen to for free. And I'm tired of explaining it to him. So I just laugh and I'm like, well, just don't worry about it. I'll just get all your money when you die. And that's how we like, laugh about it. Seriously, we do. But, you know, he is super frustrated with me right now. Because we were talking about my two kids go into college. And I'm like, Well, I got one kid. It's definitely hidden, either to engineering school or law school or something like that. And I got one kid that probably won't go to college, let's just be honest. And that's not because she's not smart enough. But she's such a damn creative. That I'm like, no, no, you may go to graphic design type school or something like that. And specifically learn that trade. But girlfriend, you will end up working for a podcast or a social media management, or owning your own, like, you don't need to go to college, necessarily for that. I mean, you need to know how to run a business. But I'm, you know, we can take courses for that. But my dad's like, I don't get this generation, they can just do all kinds of things that you don't have to do six years in college or four years in college board. And I'm like, Amen ain't that great.

 

Kristina Bartold 

Honestly, and like this is not meant to be a humble brag, but I have two master's degrees that I don't use. So it's like, it's like, I went to school, I did all the things. I bought a house, I got married. I like, you know, I went to grad school, I went to grad school again, I had a full time job. I had a pension, I had all of these things. That now I'm like, oh my god, I would never encourage that for my children.

 

Joanne Bolt 

No, like, I wouldn't either. And I think that's why my dad's frustrated because I have two degrees. And I was valedictorian of, you know, the University of Georgia like, Yeah, super, you know, could have done a whole bunch of other stuff. And I then went through real estate and now podcasting. And he's like, neither one of those needs a degree. I'm like, Nope, you don't?

 

Kristina Bartold 

Yeah, but I feel it. I don't know if this is probably like, I don't know if you feel this way to you. But I do feel like although I like never use these things. They weren't a waste of time. Because I feel like I am who I am because of those experience. Oh, no, I do agree with that. For sure. And but I don't think anyone's missing anything. You know what I am like, if someone goes and they spend, I've learned as much in my master's degree as I did living abroad for four months. Like, I like when I look back on my like, my 20s Like, that's what I look back on. I don't think oh, like, Wow, I'm so glad I did so much homework or like, Wow, I'm so glad I lived in Europe for a summer like that was awesome, like, so I think there's all these things that create these experiences. And as business owners, like, you can learn, you can outsource accounting, you can outsource bookkeeping, you can outsource your social, you can outsource your podcasting, but what you need to be good at is your craft. And that's where I think like when you're good at your craft, that's where you can be like, Oh, I actually like, I'm really passionate, we're talking about it, and I want to start a podcast and I need help monetizing it. Because podcast editing isn't cheap. I'll tell you that myself. So it's like really figuring out like, what the ROI is in your business. But it's also like recognizing you have all these worldly experiences that have led you to this point, which, yeah, it's really exciting.

 

Joanne Bolt 

Okay, so completely off topic, but you know, is a fellow Study Abroad person, I have to ask, Where did you study?

 

Kristina Bartold 

Okay, this is not as studied abroad, cool as other people's that, so I just need to name it. I just prepare. So I volunteered for four months in Ukraine. But we would spend at an orphanage. But we would spend like all our weekends like doing stuff. So we went to Paris went to England. And then when I graduated university, I worked at the university for years for seven. And when I graduated, every year, I would go on like a one month Europe trip. So I would go with my parents polish, I would go to Poland, and I would do my little home thing. And I did my Germany thing and then, you know, go to Switzerland. So I've done some Europe. I basically not though, because I really haven't been as like Italy and Croatia, but I'm holding on Where did you go?

 

Joanne Bolt 

Oh, I went to Italy. Oh, girl, huh?

 

Kristina Bartold 

I'm missing out today. 

 

Joanne Bolt 

Oh, you're missing out. Like I've never been to Ukraine. But I will tell you I studied in Italy. I've been back to Italy. My husband worked in London for a while. So we've like done almost all of Europe and I the big vision board for both of us is after the kids, you know, graduate and kind of get established and do their own thing. Because let's be honest, I can work from anywhere a podcast. My husband is a global account manager who works from home he can work from anywhere as long as he has an airport and like neither one of us I think will live stateside once the kids are gone

 

Kristina Bartold 

like well, oh my gosh. Okay, you think you're going back to Italy?

 

Joanne Bolt 

Or we'll probably end up based in London, because that is, I mean, it's easier. It's English speaking. But yeah, I'm like, Oh, can we just spend weekends in Italy? If we're in London, like, oh, yeah, I love it. I love it so much.

 

Kristina Bartold 

But isn't that the incredible part? I think also having a business right is that like, you can work anywhere often. And it's not brick and mortar sorry, our brick and mortar listening friends. But like you can hire someone to run your brick and mortar. But like you can do all of these amazing things. And that's the gift of running a business that often we get so worn down by the like the minutia of like, oh, you know, podcast, I'm spending five hours editing my podcast, I'm spending 10 hours doing this. We're spending 20 hours doing that, and now building the system so that we can like build these dreams that we've been building.

 

Joanne Bolt 

Yeah, I've actually spent the last six or seven weeks really heads down and focusing on how do I implement and put into place the people, the processes and the tools that I need. So that next June, we can maybe spend the entire month in Italy, like we're already there for 11 days, just my husband and I, and I'm like, I would love to fly the kids over for the remainder of the month. And just go ahead and have the whole month in Italy. But I know ahead of time, if that's what I'm going to do. You know, I'd have to bring in people like you who specialize in the social media or pod. Well, I got a podcasting editor, like, I'm bringing in all these pieces to the business so that when I'm gone, I can run the business as easily as possible legitimately from anywhere in the world.

 

Kristina Bartold 

Yeah, I love that. And that's the whole point of working this hard and like doing this, like it's the trade off of a 401 K, or I think that's what you guys call it the states. But for us, it's like pageant, right? Like that's the trade off is you get to, like, do these amazing things. And also, what an amazing opportunity for you to be a role model for your family about what's possible. Yeah, like, that's what I think too is like even I, I've only been an entrepreneur for two and a half years only been like a full time entrepreneur for a year and a half, and even made my husband I'm like, I'd love to be in Phoenix for the whole month of February next year.

 

Joanne Bolt 

Let's do it. I'm down. Or you know, but I'll go to Phoenix. Okay, Phoenix coming. 

 

Kristina Bartold 

But it's like, yeah, and Josh was like, yeah, that's kind of annoying because I have a German Shepherd. But German Shepherd loves grandma. So we're all fine. And like, but why not? Like, why not do this, and this is the time to do it. So we, you know, nothing's promised, and I love this for you. This is gonna be amazing.

 

Joanne Bolt 

I threatened my husband all the time. I'm like, Dude, if we ever you know, if you ever come home and I'm just not here, right? Like, check the passport. If it's gone. I'm in London. If the passport is here, I'm probably in Phoenix like that. Those are my two spots.

 

Kristina Bartold 

Oh my gosh. Okay. Yeah, we'll have to definitely meet up in Phoenix. I love a good Phoenix trip.

 

Joanne Bolt 

Oh, God. Yes. Camelback. Yeah.

 

Kristina Bartold 

Oh, yeah. So good. Honestly, I think if I'm gonna become a blogger, I become like a Scottsdale blogger. I'm obsessed. Like all the things. I do something different every time I'm there. Yeah, I'm just blessed. I'm blessed by it. But it's like, part of what attracts me so much to Phoenix, truthfully, is the entrepreneurial vibe.

 

Joanne Bolt 

I think that's what attracts me so, so much to is just like we said, that group, we're kind of circling in and over connect and in her lap a lot is half the time I look up. I'm like, oh, that person is? Of course they are. They're in Scottsdale. Oh, that person lives up. Yep, Phoenix and I'm like, Dad come and they have the best. I'm sorry. I know. It's hot as Hades, but they have the best whether you love it. This is not hot. I'm from Atlanta, like we do hot. I'm okay with that.

 

Kristina Bartold 

Yeah, I'm Canadian. So it's like, it's, it's a little hotter than I'm comfortable with, even in their winter. Like when it's like not hot. I'm like, ooh, like, spicy over here. But I love I love the energy behind it. And that's actually part of it, too, is like being around like minded people who, you know, help propel your business. I'll think about things in a different way. Like, that's the magic. I love it.

 

Joanne Bolt 

Yeah. All right. So one thing that we always talk to our entrepreneurs about is, of course, their podcast. And you and I were talking before we hit the record button, about your podcasts and how you really recognize that it's a lead generation tool for you. So I'd love for you to dive in with our audience, on just how you're taking your podcast from being just a piece of the business to actually generating revenue.

 

Kristina Bartold 

Mm hmm. Yeah, it's super interesting. So I think about this all the time, because obviously, we offer podcast editing services and stuff. So even when I pitch with people, it's like, I always am like, it's a long game like podcast you like you're not gonna get sponsors on the pop, like, you know, really just being honest with people about that. But really, for me, what's been amazing about it is that the way it's been a lead gen tool is one, the authority building that comes with it. Like, it's been incredible to be able to talk about social media talk about podcasting. And people really, like listen and be excited about it, too. I noticed that my discovery calls are so much more informed. So people come and they've like binge a bunch of podcast episodes they've come in, they're like, hey, like, this is what I live with you on. I like this. I don't like this, like, really good conversations. And the number one hack of why I think podcasting is like a must almost run airline business. I'm like, everyone should do this. Even though I wouldn't have the time to listen to all these podcasts. I'm also like people relaxed on the podcasting, because there's so many good ones is it is the most incredible networking tool, which is actually how I my business runs is that we are 100% on referral, we work like 100% on referral. And that's such a gift. I don't take that for granted. But it's given me an opportunity to meet a whole bunch of other like minded people that not only might need my services, but they might know somebody that needs my services. And so now we've become kind of referral partners, which is such a gift. And the last thing I'll say about this too, which has been amazing was that having a platform like a podcast that you own allows you to bring in people who are also looking for platforms. So if you have someone that you're really excited about So I'll give you an example. Because I think you're familiar with Chris and Laurie harder. Oh, yeah. Yeah. So Chris, like, for example, I had done fast foundations. I knew him from FFM. But like, not like by name, like we knew each other's names about like, I wouldn't like couldn't contact him. Like, there was no, like, whenever I did a roundtable and we had a great conversation at the roundtable, I asked him, I'm like, I'm gonna be in Arizona again in a few weeks, would you be willing to be on my podcast? I'd be happy to rent a studio, I'd cut up the clips for you, like, but totally okay. If not, because, like, I get your energy is like, you know, you're busy, busy man. And he was like, Heck, yes. Like, that's a no brainer. So he came, we did it. I didn't want to close the shorts I did with Keisha, like Laurie and I are trying to find a time to do it like, so it's like, I would never have the opportunity to probably take these people out for coffee, because they're so busy, I would hope they'd say yes, but I know, some of these folks are quite busy, right? So okay, these are mentors that I want to learn from, that's an hour of their time they're giving to me, but it's a great opportunity for me to show up and rise to the occasion in the conversation as well. So they're seeing that I know myself on social referrals have come from all of these sources and stuff, just from me being able to show up. So that's why I think podcasting is such a sleeping thing, where people are like, Oh, you just get a mic and you posted and it's like, you know, for your audience know, that's for your audience, but it's also for you and for your network and for your growth and your referrals, which, which is pretty powerful. 

 

Joanne Bolt 

Yeah, I think when you take that half baked idea of a podcast, and you turn it into an actual strategy, which is what I teach women, yeah, that is when that magic really happens that you're talking about. I mean, because you're right, I reached out, I was listening to powerhouse women podcast, and I thought, Oh, my God, this woman would never talk to me on a normal basis. I reached out to Lindsey Swartz. She was like, Sure, I'll be on your podcast, you know. And then I ended up going to a mastermind with her like that. And then she introduced me to Laurie harder. And some of that, again, some of that same circle that in an everyday world, I would have thought, I don't have the right to be sitting in the room with you much less asking you to come participate with me, but people will say yes, because it is like its own little. Well, I'll say it again. It's its own little sorority. Yeah.

 

Kristina Bartold 

100%. And people want, like, everyone's in this audience building stage right now, I think, like postpone. And actually, that's something I really learned from Chris at the roundtable was, someone had asked him something like, oh, like, who, who's winning right now in business. And he was like, the people who are running in person events, like people were able to get people in, in person. So I've been kind of going all in on in person. And mostly because it's really underserved in my area, like, so I'm really trying to do that. But what has been so amazing about that, is that like, these connections are forming. I'm having people on my podcast I would have never had before. People are asking pitching me to be on my podcast, who I'm like, Oh, my gosh, I've been following you for years. I know you and I would love to write like, but it's because we're all doing this stuff in community. And that's where I think having a platform that you can invite people on is such like, I had somebody who had asked me they're like, I think I'm gonna go on a podcast tour. And I was like, Sure, but what do you have back for these people? Right? What are you gonna give them back as?

 

Joanne Bolt 

Gone are the days unless you're still in your I call it the freshman year of podcasting and business. Gone are the days where you can just say, Oh, I'll promote you on my socials, they need more than that. Yeah, they do. Yeah, 100%, they don't need the growth that way. They need something they need a collaboration, they need to know that maybe it's not a waste of their time, because there'll be an opportunity for a referral partner, or just a good person that they can get to know.

 

Kristina Bartold 

Yeah. And it's like, even I've had it to where I'm, like, reached out to someone like what your download numbers? Yeah. And I'm like, You're not gonna come on and was my cowboy numbers are good. But then I also think it's like, what I do a collaboration with someone who had 80 followers, you know, like, we have to ask the questions, right. And so I think it's really important, like when podcasting like it's really about how you provide that ROI back to your guests to which I know you do a really good job, but like, something I do for my guests, like if you know, not every guest, because this will take up years of my life. But if there's somebody who I'm like, I need this person on my podcast I'm working on so bad. I will try to be like, Okay, can we do this in person, I would love to clip the clips for you. My, my social media team will take your clips, they'll brand them for you. They'll make nice clips for you. That's totally in your branding. Like, that's not like above and beyond, but I want to make it feel like so worth their time to do. And that's what Lindsey said, When I reached out to her. She was like, I'm not in a podcast recording season right now. But like, this was kind of undeniable. I'm like, That was a great ask. And I was like, great. Like, you know, she wanted clips, that's helpful for social because everybody's in the audience building phase.

 

Joanne Bolt 

Yeah. So we've got one of my workshops this weekend here in Atlanta, and I actually reached out to ally Kasasa, who's massively big on Instagram, and she and I started chatting, and I said, Hey, would you mind flying in for this thing? And I'm thinking she's gonna ask me for a $50,000 speaking fee, you know, like, what am I getting myself in with? And she was like, Sure, buy my plane ticket, and I'll be there. And I'm like, This is amazing. You know why? Because a she likes my audience. She likes what we're doing and it also meets her ideal audience, but I've got my entire video crew here for a day and a half. And I'm like, I will give you raw and edited all of it, you can do whatever you want to with it. She's like fantastic this take car care of a PR thing that I made. Yeah, that and that's what you're right. That's where everyone is we're in audience growth. And we need those in person recordings.

 

Kristina Bartold 

100% like even my friend, I had a friend who wanted to do some speaking and she was like, I need a speaker reel. So I was like, I could put on event for you if you want, like, you know, where it's like, you can copy the speaker mind that, like, I don't care, like how we can try to create these things for each other. And like build that is really important. And podcasting is an amazing way to not only like grow that network, but like even today, I had a call with somebody and she, she was a connection of someone I had on my podcast. Like, I never never talked to this person again, after they were my podcast. And she made the connection for me. And this girl came on she was like, she was raving about you. I like need a podcast. I need this, this and this. And I was like, Oh, you're a referral partner? I don't even know I had. Yeah, the best time sometimes. Yeah, I didn't even know like, and we worked on 100% on referrals. So yeah, definitely a huge gift. And I think, yeah, it can be something that's, that's really incredible.

 

Joanne Bolt 

You know, one of the things I love about you, I'm gonna land the plane here for a second is a not only is the social snippet of a social media agency, but because you understand and have your own podcast. So if a podcaster is sending you clips, or talking to you about we need to, you know, have an Instagram page for the podcast, you get how to do social media for that at a different level. Totally. And that's what I mean, like, it's not just about giving me a 32nd audiogram clip, it's what else can we do to to gain a community that is following this podcast? And you as the host?

 

Kristina Bartold 

Yeah. Because there's a lot of things too, that you could do to leverage. So it's not and I'm just to be honest, it's not enough to just post a clip like now in this, and this was something that was really coming up for us with our clients, because people would be like, Oh, my numbers are growing? And I'd be like, yeah, because you're not talking about your podcast. And you're not asking your guests to share. And you're not like, there's these things you have to do repeatedly, because you need to train people on how to receive you. So it's like showing up in stories every single time that I show up in stories about a podcast, I get so many more downloads, because people are interested in what I have to say about it. So even this week, we posted one about AI. And I showed up in stories quickly. And I said, Hey, like Maria and I talked about AI and the way to use AI for social media. It was kind of a crapshoot, like this is kind of what we talked about, it was fine. And so many downloads have come from that story. But it's like, I can't just post things that expect people to download them. Like I need to teach people like how to receive me. And so I think yes, I totally agree, Andrew, and like so much of that came from the fact that like, like we, me and Maria, my business partner, we believed in podcasting so much as a community building tool. And that's really our vibe, it's about community. It's not really about social media, it's not about podcasting. It's about the way that we as entrepreneurs can build our community so that they buy from us. And eventually, even if it takes five years, but yeah, it's like it's such a gift.

 

Joanne Bolt 

Alright, so let me ask you one last question, and then I'll let you go. Because this was one of those things I get asked all the time, and everyone has a different opinion about it. So whenever you say is, you know your opinion, and that's great. But from your perspective, do you need a separate Instagram page or account for your podcast? Because some people have it and some don't. And some of the big ones have it, and some don't. So I'd be curious to hear your thoughts on that.

 

Kristina Bartold 

I don't personally. So I think it's about your capacity, and about your long term vision for the podcast. So one capacity, if you can't post regularly on your own page. Yeah, you're right, then don't Yeah, don't do exactly, no. And the other thing I think, is that people want to listen to podcasts because they want to hear from you. And that's where I think it's really powerful to just use your personal brand. So for me, I don't have one but we post on the social signup page, I cos goes to the Christiana Bertold page. It's all good kind of there. But I don't have capacity to run another page. And also, I know people listen because of me. The same it's the same for you. People listen, because they you they don't listen, because they're like, oh, man, I need to learn about business. Like where should I go? I should try to do like, No, I love Joanne like, this is the value she's provided. I'm going all in they heard you somewhere else, like whatever that looks like. The other thing about it is, it's a yes. If you want to sell your podcast long term. And so I think if you're in a position where you're like, I want to sell my business and my podcast is associated with my business, then I would say yeah, I would do it. So that this way you have more of an asset when it's time to sell. So you have a community that's there, because a lot of people when they sell businesses, I have friends who have done this when they sell businesses, the businesses are so intertwined with their personal brand, that it's like the business isn't worth anything. It's hard to chunk it out. Yeah. So if you're thinking that this is a long term play, and you're like okay, I want to create you know, for example, you know, like a beat like B School this or like whatever B School a bad example because Marie Forleo Yeah. Oh, yeah. You know what I mean? And so, like, then I would say, yeah, like, do your own thing, but honestly, I probably I won't be I don't encourage it for clients just because I don't think people have the time.

 

Joanne Bolt 

Okay, that makes sense. All right, you guys heard it first straight out of Christina's mouth. So, Christina, where would you most like people to connect with you? I know most of us are on all the socials. But we have the one or two we play on the most.

 

Kristina Bartold 

Yeah, so I am certainly most on Instagram. And you can find me at Christina dot Bartow. I spell my name. Okay. So yeah, you could find me there. And I'd love to hear from you about what resonated for you if there's any nuggets that you took away. And I would also love for you to like just hit me up because any kind of drams is now a friend of mine. And yeah, I'm just so grateful to you for inviting me and for for making the connection, the first connection between us because I yeah, I think this will be a long one and lots of opportunities for us to pour into each other.

 

Joanne Bolt 

Fantastic. All right, guys. We'll put everything in the show notes. Until then, build your business, put a microphone on it. We'll see you same time, same place next week.

 

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