Talking The Talk: A Podcast About Podcasting with Courtney Reimer

If your answer is simply "be a podcast," we need to talk. If you treat your podcast as just a feed to be fed with episodes, lather, rinse, repeat, you're missing out all that a podcast can do for you and your mission or business. Your podcast is like a wildly overqualified employee...one that deserves to have an actual job description (or, ideally, several). Because once you know what you're hiring your podcast to do, it can help lighten the load of the decisions and actions the world asks you to make and take you every day.  And if you know what your podcast is supposed to do, it can help you also figure out what it doesn't have to do (cough cough full-on slick video production).  ABOUT THE SHOW Talking the Talk: A Podcast About Podcasting helps entrepreneurs, founders, creators, and business owners create podcasts that work harder than they do to earn their keep. Host Courtney Reimer explores how to build a show that creates trust, builds your business, remains sustainable, and delivers a meaningful return on what you invest into it. ABOUT THE HOST Courtney Reimer is the creator of THE STRATEGIC PODCAST LAUNCH STUDIO, the founder and principal strategist of Sounds Great Strategy,and a former executive at Spotify, Audible, Yahoo!, Discovery, and MTV. She helps entrepreneurs and organizations create podcasts that become their hardest-working business assets. HOW TO CONNECT WITH COURTNEY Follow on Instagram: @soundsgreatcourtney Connect on LinkedIn: Courtney Reimer Subscribe to her weekly-ish newsletter on burnout-proof podcasting: Sounds Great on Paper Email Courtney: [email protected] THE STRATEGIC PODCAST LAUNCH STUDIO  opens Monday, September 28, and there is one spot left. This six-week, done-with-you experience is for people who are ready to stop talking about their podcast idea and actually build it...with a thoughtful strategy underneath so it has a fighting chance of earning its keep. If you want to figure out what jobs your podcast should be doing for you and build a show ridiculously well-qualified to do them, visit SoundsGreatStrategy.com/Studio to learn more about it and grab that last spot!  

There are a thousand things on your plate as an entrepreneur (and human in the year 2026): Clients to serve, new ideas to chase, business to support them, and the all-elusive "visibilty" that fuels all of it. Somewhere in there, you're supposed to find time for life outside of all of the above.  The last thing you need is another hungry content mouth to keep feeding. Rather than being a bottomless pit that does little more than populate a feed like this, your podcast needs a job. Ideally several. In short: your podcast needs to earn its keep. No one knows this better than Sam Hoey Nelson. She's a creative strategist, writer, entrepreneur, mom, autism advocate, founder of Storytime LA, creator of the Kitchen Table Method, and host of Powermomma. With so many different pieces of her life and work competing for her attention, she's figured out how to make the podcast not just work for her, but harder than her.  In this episode, Courtney and Sam talk about turning a podcast into a discovery call you don't have to schedule. They dig into how the show can build trust with potential clients, spark new ideas and offers, and help the right people find you before you ever get on a call. We discuss: What a podcast can do before you ever get on a sales call Why giving people a sense of your personality can be more valuable than giving them more information  How personal stories can create professional trust Why AI can create more room for the creative work only you can do How to build a sustainable show through seasons, breaks, and better boundaries Why letting yourself screw up is part of learning how to podcast ABOUT THE GUEST Samantha Hoey Nelson is the founder of Storytime LA, a creative strategy agency helping women, founders, creators, and purpose-led teams turn lived experience into clear messaging, offers, content, and brands. She's also the creator of the Kitchen Table Method, a story-to-strategy framework, and host of The PowerMomma Podcast, where she explores motherhood, identity, ambition, and becoming. Connect On LinkedIn: Samantha Hoey Nelson Website: Storytime LA ABOUT THE SHOW Talking the Talk: A Podcast About Podcasting helps entrepreneurs, founders, creators, and business owners build podcasts that work harder than they do. Host Courtney Reimer explore how to build a show that creates trust, builds your business, remains sustainable, and delivers a meaningful return on what you invest into it. ABOUT THE HOST Courtney Reimer is the founder of Sounds Great Strategy and a former executive at Spotify, Audible, Yahoo!, Discovery, and MTV. She helps entrepreneurs and organizations create podcasts that become their hardest-working business assets. HOW TO CONNECT WITH COURTNEY Follow on Instagram: @soundsgreatcourtney Connect on LinkedIn: Courtney Reimer Subscribe to her weekly-ish newsletter on burnout-proof podcasting: Sounds Great on Paper To book your free Podcast Clarity Call with Courtney, visit SoundsGreatStrategy.com.

We all know podcasts are a great way to build a brand. But what if we flipped that idea around? What if your podcast wasn't just a way to promote what you're building, but a way to help figure out what you're building in the first place? That's what happened for Bill Groner when he launched the Positive Connection Initiative. Initially, the podcast was a way to establish credibility and create a body of work while the organization itself was still taking shape. But then the podcast ended up doing something Bill didn't anticipate– it started shaping the organization itself. In this episode, Courtney and Bill discuss what happens when you stop thinking of your podcast as simply a content channel and start treating it as a sandbox for your ideas. They talk about using conversations to test and refine new ideas, building a body of work that can become something bigger, and the unexpected ways a podcast can influence what you create next. Topics include: Why the podcast comes before the book How a podcast can help you establish credibility when you're launching something new What happens when you use your podcast as a proving ground for ideas you haven't fully figured out yet How podcasts can "show" expertise, better than simply "telling" people you're an expert What is "Return on Thinking" and how can your podcast inform the direction of your business   ABOUT THE GUEST Bill Groner spent 35 years in the courtroom before becoming fascinated by a different kind of practice: understanding what helps people connect, communicate, and thrive. That interest led him to co-found the Positive Connection Initiative, a nonprofit focused on human connection and wellbeing. He now explores these questions on his podcast, The Connection Effect: With Bill Groner,  through conversations with scientists, philosophers, and other thought leaders. Learn more at: https://connection.net/ ABOUT THE SHOW Talking the Talk: A Podcast About Podcasting helps entrepreneurs, founders, creators, and business owners build podcasts that work harder than they do. Host Courtney Reimer explore how to build a show that creates trust, builds your business, remains sustainable, and delivers a meaningful return on what you invest into it. ABOUT THE HOST Courtney Reimer is the founder of Sounds Great Strategy and a former executive at Spotify, Audible, Yahoo!, Discovery, and MTV. She helps entrepreneurs and organizations create podcasts that become their hardest-working business assets. HOW TO CONNECT WITH COURTNEY Follow on Instagram: @soundsgreatcourtney Connect on LinkedIn: Courtney Reimer Subscribe to her weekly-ish newsletter on burnout-proof podcasting: Sounds Great on Paper To book your free Podcast Clarity Call with Courtney, visit SoundsGreatStrategy.com.  

The most important return on your podcast investment shows up long before anyone writes you a check. In this voice note episode, Courtney shares why her obsession with podcast ROI may have something to do with her experience overseeing content development for the Meghan Markle and Prince Harry at Spotify and what a multimillion-dollar podcast deal taught her about the danger of expecting financial returns too soon. Because podcasting is a long game, and sometimes the early ROI is simply a signal from another human that tells you: keep going. Seemingly negligible returns (an idea resonating with a stranger, a relationship beginning, a potential client tuning in, someone validating the thing you're building) can be what keeps you in the game long enough for the financial ROI to follow.  ABOUT THE SHOW Talking the Talk: A Podcast About Podcasting helps entrepreneurs, founders, creators, and business owners create podcasts that work harder than they do to earn their keep. Host Courtney Reimer explores how to build a show that creates trust, builds your business, remains sustainable, and delivers a meaningful return on what you invest into it. ABOUT THE HOST Courtney Reimer is the founder and principal strategist of Sounds Great Strategy and a former executive at Spotify, Audible, Yahoo!, Discovery, and MTV. She helps entrepreneurs and organizations create podcasts that become their hardest-working business assets. HOW TO CONNECT WITH COURTNEY Follow on Instagram: @soundsgreatcourtney Connect on LinkedIn: Courtney Reimer Subscribe to her weekly-ish newsletter on burnout-proof podcasting: Sounds Great on Paper Email Courtney: [email protected] The Strategic Podcast Launch Studio begins the week of September 14th, and it's the final cohort planned for 2026. If you're thinking about starting a podcast and want to co-create it with Courtney and a small, intentionally curated group, visit SoundsGreatStrategy.com/Studio to learn more and apply.  

If you're a busy person exhausted by the demands of work and life, this news should come as a relief: your podcast doesn't have to be a whole production. We've collectively convinced ourselves that a "real" podcast requires a beautiful set, multiple cameras, expensive equipment, and enough branded merch to clothe and house a small village. While we're distracted with the branding and presentation of it all, we can end up spending so much energy (and money) on the production that we forget the actual thing that makes a podcast valuable: the conversations that happen inside it.  In this episode, Jess Milanes and Courtney make the case for a simpler kind of podcast—one that serves the goals of the person behind the mic, not some irrelevant downloads number. Both on her own show and via her company, KNWN, Jess has produced and created countless podcast episodes. She's seen firsthand how much value a podcast can create that has nothing to do with its audience size. It can put you in conversation with potential clients, establish your expertise within a niche, and create the kind of relationships that keep paying dividends long after an episode is published. Topics include Why audio is still a perfectly good place to start (and why you can always add video later) How podcasting can build relationships and generate clients long before you have a big audience Why a broader audience isn't necessarily a better audience Why showing up as yourself is part of the strategy How podcasts can help you build authority Why being "useful" to your audience of potential clients matters more than working hard If you've been putting off your podcast because the whole thing feels bigger and more expensive than it needs to be, this episode offers a useful reframe. Your podcast doesn't have to reach everyone or look like a Netflix production. Sometimes the magic is much simpler: giving the right people a chance to get to know you well enough that they want to keep the conversation going. ABOUT THE GUEST Jess Milanes is a podcast strategist and producer who helps founders and business owners use podcasting to build authority, relationships, and their businesses. She's passionate about creating podcasts that are strategic, sustainable, and actually fit the lives and goals of the people making them. Learn more at: KNWN.com Connect on LinkedIn: Jess Milanes  ABOUT THE SHOW Talking the Talk: A Podcast About Podcasting helps entrepreneurs, founders, creators, and business owners create podcasts that work harder than they do to earn their keep.  Host Courtney Reimer explore how to build a show that creates trust, builds your business, remains sustainable, and delivers a meaningful return on what you invest into it. ABOUT THE HOST Courtney Reimer is the founder and principal strategist of Sounds Great Strategy and a former executive at Spotify, Audible, Yahoo!, Discovery, and MTV. She helps entrepreneurs and organizations create podcasts that become their hardest-working business assets. HOW TO CONNECT WITH COURTNEY Follow on Instagram: @soundsgreatcourtney Connect on LinkedIn: Courtney Reimer Subscribe to her weekly-ish newsletter on burnout-proof podcasting: Sounds Great on Paper To book your free Podcast Clarity Call with Courtney, visit SoundsGreatStrategy.com

A funny thing happened on the way to recording this week's episode: I nearly didn't. Between work, family, travel, and life generally life-ing, I found myself on the verge of becoming exactly the kind of podfade statistic I spend so much time warning others about. So instead of skipping a week—or forcing myself through an elaborate production—I took my own advice. This episode is an experiment in easy mode podcasting. It's also my first attempt at something I've been talking about for months: making my podcast work even harder by repurposing…my own podcast episode into another podcast episode. (Yes, it's a little snake-eating-its-tail.) If you've ever felt guilty for not publishing every Tuesday, wondered whether "consistency is key" is more of a threat than a helpful tip, or needed permission to build a podcast around your actual life instead of rearranging your life around your podcast, this one's for you.  Topics include: Why I almost skipped publishing this week—and why I didn't The real reason so many podcasts fade out before episode 10 Why "always-on" publishing advice wasn't designed for most business owners How to make your podcast work harder by repurposing it—even within the podcast itself Why reliable beats relentless when it comes to sustainable podcasting Easy-mode formats that help you keep showing up without burning out What I mean by "Return on Thinking" (ROT) and why I'm trying to make it a thing If you're building a podcast to grow your business, establish your expertise, or create a body of work that compounds over time, this episode is your permission slip to stop chasing hustle-culture podcast advice and start building something you can actually sustain.  ABOUT THE SHOW Talking the Talk: A Podcast About Podcasting helps entrepreneurs, founders, creators, and business owners build podcasts that work harder than they do. Host Courtney Reimer explores how to build a show that creates trust, builds your business, remains sustainable, and delivers a meaningful return on what you invest into it.  ABOUT THE HOST Courtney Reimer is the founder of Sounds Great Strategy and a former executive at Spotify, Audible, Yahoo!, Discovery, and MTV. She helps people and organizations create podcasts that become their hardest-working business assets.  HOW TO CONNECT & WORK WITH COURTNEY Instagram: @soundsgreatcourtney LinkedIn: Courtney Reimer Weekly-ish newsletter: Sounds Great on Paper
 Thinking about a podcast? Want to get Courtney's take? Book your free Podcast Clarity Call at SoundsGreatStrategy.com. 

"Be consistent." We get this advice for everything from our strength training routine to business-building practices, and, of course: podcast strategy. Publish every week, on the same day, at the same time, from now until eternity til death do us part. But what if we've misunderstood what consistency actually means? What if "be consistent" is actually counterproductive advice if the goal is sustaining a podcast that delivers meaningful returns? We dissect this well-meaning advice with Julie Fischer, host of the Nine to Thrive podcast, whose thoughtful, every-other-week publishing cadence has helped her build a show she's sustained for nearly three years. Rather than chasing an arbitrarily demanding schedule, Julie designed a podcast around her actual life, energy, and capacity—and that simple decision has made all the difference.  We discuss: What people get wrong about consistency Why knowing your capacity is one of the most important podcast decisions you'll make How podcasting can be a service to the people you want to service, as well as a magnet for clients Why "baby steps" outperform ambitious content plans Helpful advice for folks hoping to land a guest spot on a podcast like Julie's If you've ever worried that you don't have enough time, enough energy, or enough capacity to keep a podcast going, this conversation offers a refreshing alternative to the hustle-culture-centric advice that dominates so much of the podcasting world. ABOUT THE GUEST Julie Fischer is the host of the Nine to Thrive podcast and a coach who works at the intersection of work, life, and well-being. Through coaching, speaking, and her podcast, she helps people rethink the relationship between achievement, purpose, and well-being, offering practical tools for building lives that feel both successful and sustainable. Learn more at: www.juliefischercoaching.com ABOUT THE SHOW Talking the Talk: A Podcast About Podcasting helps entrepreneurs, founders, creators, and business owners build podcasts that work harder than they do. Host Courtney Reimer explore how to build a show that creates trust, builds your business, remains sustainable, and delivers a meaningful return on what you invest into it. ABOUT THE HOST Courtney Reimer is the founder of Sounds Great Strategy and a former executive at Spotify, Audible, Yahoo!, Discovery, and MTV. She helps entrepreneurs and organizations create podcasts that become their hardest-working business assets. HOW TO CONNECT WITH COURTNEY Follow on Instagram: @soundsgreatcourtney Connect on LinkedIn: Courtney Reimer Subscribe to her weekly-ish newsletter on burnout-proof podcasting: Sounds Great on Paper To book your free Podcast Clarity Call with Courtney, visit SoundsGreatStrategy.com.

Discoverability. It's one of those words that suddenly becomes part of your daily vocabulary the minute you start a podcast. Then, before long, you're drowning in advice about SEO, AEO, YouTube, keywords, metadata, transcripts, video, social clips…and wondering whether your podcast can ever keep up. To help us separate signal from noise, I invited someone who literally teaches this stuff. Anika Jackson is a professor at USC Annenberg, host of the globally ranked Your Brand Amplified podcast, and someone who spends far more time thinking about podcast discoverability than most of us ever will. We get into the weeds on SEO, Answer Engine Optimization (AEO), AI search, YouTube, podcast metadata, and all the technical pieces that help people find your work. But somewhere along the way, the conversation takes an interesting turn... The most important optimization metric of all, according to Anika, has nothing to do with dashboards, rankings, or download numbers—and everything to do with the humans your podcast attracts. We discuss: Whether podcast SEO actually exists (and how it's changing) What AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) means for podcasters How AI search is reshaping discoverability Which metadata fields are worth your time—and which many podcasters ignore Why YouTube isn't quite the same game as Spotify or Apple Podcasts The surprising role Pinterest can play for certain podcasts Why guest selection may be your most underrated growth strategy How to think differently about clips, downloads, and social media The metric Anika cares about more than downloads Why entrepreneur podcasters should optimize differently than creator-economy shows If you've been wondering how much of today's podcast growth advice actually applies to entrepreneurs, consultants, founders, and thought leaders—not people chasing millions of downloads—this conversation should leave you with both a few practical next steps and a healthy sense of relief. ABOUT THE GUEST Anika Jackson teaches the future of media and podcasting at USC Annenberg and hosts the globally ranked Your Brand Amplified® podcast. She helps entrepreneurs build stronger brands through strategy, podcasting, and AI, holds an MBA specializing in artificial intelligence and machine learning, has served as a startup advisor and Webby Awards judge, and spends a lot more time thinking about podcast discoverability than the rest of us. Learn more at: https://yourbrandamplified.com  ABOUT THE SHOW Talking the Talk: A Podcast About Podcasting helps entrepreneurs, founders, creators, and business owners build podcasts that earn their keep. Host Courtney Reimer explores what makes podcasts worth creating—not just how to launch one, but how to build a show that creates trust, opens doors, strengthens your business, and remains sustainable for the long haul. ABOUT THE HOST Courtney Reimer is the founder of Sounds Great Strategy and a former executive at Spotify Studios, Audible, Yahoo!, Discovery, and MTV. She helps entrepreneurs and organizations create podcasts that become their hardest-working business assets. HOW TO CONNECT WITH COURTNEY Instagram: @soundsgreatpodcasts LinkedIn: Courtney Reimer Weekly newsletter: Sounds Great on Paper Book your free Podcast Clarity Call with Courtney, and learn more at SoundsGreatStrategy.com

You work hard. Your podcast should work harder. Even if it means doing double duty on an episode--because if you do it right, it will do quadruple duty for you. I recorded this episode twice. The first recording disappeared into the technical-gremlin abyss and I had already done the mental math: this episode was worth more than the additional time it would take to recreate it. That calculation sits at the center of my approach to podcasting: it's not a time-sucking deliverable you continually feed because the content calendar says so. It can and should be one of the hardest-working, highest-ROI assets in your business because it generates ideas and leads, sharpens your thinking and delivery of your message, strengthens and develops relationships, creates pportunities by giving the rest of your content ecosystem somewhere to begin. In this solo episode, I puts my own advice to the test. Even though I had to invest a little more time than I intended to, I ultimately went with an easy-mode version of this episode, and I'm glad I did.  Sometimes walking the walk means talking the talk AND letting the podcast do more of your work.

You log onto LinkedIn and everyone is *delving* into a pool of AI slop that *quietly* reads like a DiGirornio frozen pizza ad--it's not their delivery, it's the sameness of it all. Then you stumble over to a podcast like this one, and feel seen by the realness, the stutters, and the general imperfectness of something that only an actual human voice can bring.  It's an established fact the podcasting wins by a mile when it comes to building trust with an audience. But what happens when AI enters the chat and brings all of its pet phrases with it? What do we lose when we win back some time by outsourcing some of our work to our LLM of choice?  In this episode, two word-nerd podcasters talk it out. They discuss: How AI "tells" are becoming easier to spot Why AI is eroding trust with audiences Where podcasts have an edge over other content channels–and how AI is threatening to erode it The difference between using AI as a tool and outsourcing your thinking Why AI abstention may not be an option for solo business owners Accessibility, AI voices, and where technology creates opportunity Where/how/when to disclose your use of AI And whether AI will ever be indistinguishable from humans If you've been wondering if it's possible to embrace AI without sacrificing the very thing people come to you for, this episode is for you. About Emily Aborn Emily Aborn is a copywriter, entrepreneur, and host of the Small Business Casual podcast. For more than a decade, she's helped entrepreneurs find the words that sound unmistakably like them by bringing personality, clarity, and humanity to how they show up for their clients. Listen to Small Business Casual wherever you get your podcasts. About Talking the Talk Talking the Talk is a podcast about podcasting: for entrepreneurs, creators, and business owners who want to build podcasts that earn their keep. Each week, host Courtney Reimer shares hot takes, practical podcast strategy, honest conversations with creators, and lessons learned from developing shows for everyone from first-time founders to Fortune 500 brands. Connect with Courtney Want to find out how to build a podcast that works harder than you do? Schedule a complimentary Podcast Clarity Call with Courtney at her website:  https://www.soundsgreatstrategy.com Connect with Courtney: Instagram: @soundsgreatpodcastss LinkedIn: LinkedIn.com/in/CourtneyReimer Newsletter: Sounds Great on Paper ☕ If you'd like to share a cup of coffee with the real human behind this episode, Courtney would certainly appreciate your appreciation--head over to Buy Me a Coffee to say thanks for the realness: BuyMeAcoffee.com/SoundsGreatCourtney

When people say they want to start a podcast to make money, it helps to remember even [INSERT MEGAMILLIONAIRE PODCASTER NAME HERE] didn't just roll out of bed one day, sit down in front of a mic, and start rolling in the cash. But also: there's a middle ground between the hobbyist podcasters seeing little monetary gain from their shows and the ones who are probably sailing on an eleventy-foot yacht as you read this.  That gray area is what this episode is about. Ryan R. Sullivan has launched and produced more than 100 podcasts, many for CPAs, financial advisors, attorneys, and other professionals who expect every business investment—including a podcast—to justify itself. Together, Courtney and Ryan unpack what podcast monetization actually looks like today, why sponsorships aren't the whole story (or always what they're cracked up to be), and how entrepreneurs should think about their podcast as a business asset that earns its keep. We discuss: The four primary ways podcasts make money Direct vs. indirect podcast monetization When sponsorships actually make sense (and when they don't) Why niche audiences often outperform large audiences The benefits of treating your podcast like a business (with its own P&L statement) Why "fun" may be one of the most overlooked ingredients in the recipe for podcast success If you've been wondering whether a podcast can actually pay for itself–or whether it's simply another marketing expense that's hard to quantify–this conversation offers practical yet nuanced guidance on how to get more than you pay for with your podcast. It may even change the way you think about why a podcast is worth starting  in the first place.  ABOUT THE GUEST Ryan R. Sullivan is the host of The Ryan Sullivan Show and founder of Podcast Principles, where he has helped launch and grow more than 100 podcasts. He specializes in helping CPAs, financial advisors, attorneys, and other professionals use podcasting to build authority, grow their businesses, and create meaningful revenue opportunities. Get more of Ryan's wisdom on The Ryan Sullivan Show, and find him everywhere by searching Ryan R. Sullivan (don't forget the R)! ABOUT THE SHOW Talking the Talk: A Podcast About Podcasting is for entrepreneurs, creators, and thought leaders who want to build podcasts that last—and earn their keep. Each week, Courtney Reimer shares practical podcast strategy, behind-the-scenes lessons, and conversations with industry experts to help you create a podcast that's as sustainable as it is impactful. ABOUT THE HOST Courtney Reimer is a podcast strategy and development expert, founder of Sounds Great Strategy, and host of Talking the Talk. After leading podcast strategy and development at Spotify, Audible, MTV, Discovery, and executive producing the award-winning, #1-ranking, Joe-Rogan-toppling Archetypes with Meghan Markle, she now helps founders, entrepreneurs, thought leaders, and organizations build podcasts that earn their keep by creating trust, opening doors, and generating opportunities far beyond downloads. HOW TO CONNECT WITH COURTNEY Instagram: @soundsgreatpodcasts LinkedIn: Courtney Reimer Hot Tips & Hot Takes on Podcasting: Sounds Great on Paper (Courtney's weekly-ish newsletter) Meet w/Courtney: Book a Free Podcast Clarity Call ☕ If you enjoy the show and want to support it (or just buy me a coffee while I edit another episode), you can do that here: BuyMeACoffee.com

We entrepreneurs looooove to talk about our time problems. Which are certainly real. But the bigger problem: starting from scratch with every new business asset we create. Every week, we're faced with a fresh stack of blank pages and the small, medium, and large creative decisions they demand: What should I post? What should I write? Should I finally send that newsletter? Is this workshop worth building? It's no wonder our brains feel fried before we've even created much of anything. In this solo episode, Courtney explores a criminally under-discussed benefit of podcasting: as the place where you get your best return on thinking. A strategically designed podcast dramatically increases the value of every hour you spend developing ideas. One thoughtful conversation becomes a newsletter, multiple social media assets, a client-closing case study, workshop idea, and the seeds of a robust body of work. Topics include: Why we mistake cognitive load problems for time problems--and how podcasting can actually alleviate both Why podcast episodes are actually deep wells of content spinoffs (i.e., every episode breeds a newsletter, a LinkedIn post, an Instagram Reel, and that's just the beginning) How your podcast can become a decision filter that simplifies future content choices Why the best podcasts don't just earn their keep—they 10x your return on thinking. If you've ever wondered whether a podcast is worth the effort—or worried that it will become one more thing on your already overflowing to-do list—this episode offers a different perspective. The right podcast doesn't becomes the place where your best thinking compounds, giving your ideas many places to live, thus exponentially multiplying the return on every hour you spend thinking. ABOUT THE SHOW Talking the Talk is the realest of real talk about podcasting—what works, what doesn't, and what no one tells you before you hit record. Hosted by Courtney Reimer, each episode explores how entrepreneurs, founders, creators, and thought leaders can build podcasts that earn their keep by creating trust, opening doors, and generating opportunities that extend far beyond downloads. ABOUT THE HOST Courtney Reimer is the founder of Sounds Great Creative Podcast Strategy, where she helps founders, entrepreneurs, thought leaders, and brands build podcasts that create visibility, authority, audience connection, and long-term business value. Before founding Sounds Great, Courtney developed and launched award-winning audio content for companies including Spotify, Audible, MTV, and Discovery, including executive producing Archetypes, the Meghan Markle-hosted podcast that famously unseated Joe Rogan at #1. Today, she helps entrepreneurs build podcasts that earn their keep by creating trust, opening doors, and generating opportunities that extend far beyond downloads. CONNECT WITH COURTNEY Follow Courtney for practical podcast strategy, behind-the-scenes insights, and honest conversations about building podcasts that last. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/soundsgreatpodcasts  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/courtneyreimer  ⚡ Subscribe to Sounds Great on Paper for weekly-ish insights on building a podcast—and a business—that earns its keep: https://sounds-great-on-paper.kit.com/profile  🤝 Want to explore whether a podcast is the right strategic fit for your business? Schedule a free Podcast Strategy Clarity Call: https://calendly.com/soundsgreatcourtney/podcast-clarity-w-courtney-of-sounds-great   

Lots of people start podcasts because they have something to say. The ones that earn their keep over the long run start with something bigger: a vision for what the podcast is meant to build, well beyond the content inside of it. In this episode, Courtney talks the talk with Jameelah Calhoun, host of Unpopular Decisions, who approached her podcast unlike anyone Courtney has encountered since starting her podcast strategy business. Before recording a single episode, Jameelah created an actual business plan for her show. Why go to all that trouble for a podcast? Because she knew the podcast itself wasn't the ultimate destination. It was the foundation of something much bigger.. Together, they explore what it looks like to build a podcast as a platform rather than simply another content channel, why strategy can provide stablitiy not rigidity, and how listening to your audience can strengthen your vision without pulling you away from it. They discuss: Why treating your podcast like a business changes the decisions you make from day one The difference between building content and building a platform How Jameelah validated her audience before launching with surveys and research The surprising focus group exercise every podcaster should steal Why solo episodes became one of her highest-performing formats How listening tours can keep creators from drifting away from the audience they set out to serve Why experimentation—not perfection—is the key to finding product-market fit How community, events, newsletters, and other brand extensions can grow naturally from a podcast Why podcasts are often loss leaders before they become opportunity generators If you've ever wondered whether you should simply launch your podcast—or map out a bigger vision first—this conversation is a reminder that the answer is probably: a combination of both.  ABOUT JAMEELAH CALHOUN Jameelah Calhoun is the creator and host of Unpopular Decisions, a podcast exploring the bold life and career choices people make when they choose courage over convention. By day, she is a marketing executive and strategist with leadership experience at companies including Audible and Forter. Through Unpopular Decisions, she's building an ecosystem of conversations, events, and community designed to help people navigate life's biggest turning points with greater courage, optimism, and agency. You can find and follow all of her brilliantly executed outputs at UnpopularDecisions.com. ABOUT THE SHOW Talking the Talk is the realest of real talk about podcasting—what works, what doesn't, and what no one tells you before you hit record. Hosted by Courtney Reimer, each episode explores how entrepreneurs, founders, creators, and thought leaders can build podcasts that earn their keep by creating trust, opening doors, and generating opportunities that extend far beyond downloads. ABOUT THE HOST Courtney Reimer is the founder of Sounds Great Creative Podcast Strategy, where she helps founders, entrepreneurs, thought leaders, and brands build podcasts that create visibility, authority, audience connection, and long-term business value. Before founding Sounds Great, Courtney developed and launched award-winning audio content for companies including Spotify, Audible, MTV, and Discovery, including executive producing Archetypes, the Meghan Markle-hosted podcast that famously unseated Joe Rogan at #1. Today, she helps entrepreneurs build podcasts that earn their keep by creating trust, opening doors, and generating opportunities that extend far beyond downloads. Her philosophy is simple: a podcast shouldn't just be another piece of content—it should become one of the most valuable assets in your business. CONNECT WITH COURTNEY Follow Courtney for practical podcast strategy, behind-the-scenes insights, and honest conversations about building podcasts that last. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/soundsgreatpodcasts  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/courtneyreimer  ⚡ Subscribe to the Sounds Great on Paper newsletter for weekly insights on building a podcast that earns its keep: https://sounds-great-on-paper.kit.com/profile  🤝 Want to work with Courtney? Schedule a free Podcast Strategy Clarity Call: https://calendly.com/soundsgreatcourtney/podcast-clarity-w-courtney-of-sounds-great 

It's easy to believe a podcast is "working" only if the downloads climb quickly, the audience grows fast, or opportunities start showing up right away. But those aren't the metrics that matter most—especially at the beginning of your podcast adventure. In this episode, Courtney talks the talk with Meredith Hudson, founder of Sideline Bags (SLB) and host of Raised by Sports. Meredith launched her podcast just a few months ago, but she's already approaching it with a mindset many experienced podcasters could learn from: one that's less about chasing early wins and more about getting the reps in. Together, they explore why podcasting rewards patience, how entrepreneurs can borrow an athlete's perspective for growth, and why the people who build meaningful podcasts often aren't the ones who launch  with the biggest splash.  We discuss: Why podcast downloads aren't the only (or even the best) measure of early success How podcasting can become a relationship accelerator and credibility builder Why your guests can become one of your greatest distribution channels How niching down makes every podcasting decision easier Why Meredith intentionally designed her show around her audience's limited time Why "good and shipped" beats waiting for perfect If you've been wondering whether your podcast is "working"—or debating whether it's worth starting one at all—this conversation is a reminder that the biggest rewards often go to the people willing to play the long game. Or just to start playing at all. ABOUT MEREDITH HUDSON Meredith Hudson is the founder and CEO of Sideline Bags (SLB), a company creating thoughtfully designed products for female athletes. A former Division I athlete herself, Meredith is also the host of Raised by Sports, a podcast exploring how the lessons learned through sports can shape successful careers, businesses, and lives long after the final whistle. ABOUT THE SHOW Talking the Talk is the realest of real talk about podcasting—what works, what doesn't, and what no one tells you before you hit record. Hosted by podcast strategist Courtney Reimer, each episode explores how entrepreneurs, founders, and creators can build podcasts that earn their keep by creating trust, opening doors, and generating opportunities that extend far beyond downloads. ABOUT THE HOST Courtney Reimer is the founder of Sounds Great Creative Podcast Strategy, where she helps founders, entrepreneurs, thought leaders, and brands build podcasts that create visibility, authority, audience connection, and long-term business value. Before founding Sounds Great, Courtney developed and launched award-winning audio content for companies including Spotify, Audible, MTV, and Discovery, including executive producing Archetypes, the Meghan Markle-hosted podcast that famously unseated Joe Rogan at #1. Today, she helps entrepreneurs build podcasts that earn their keep by creating trust, opening doors, and generating opportunities that extend far beyond downloads. Her philosophy is simple: a podcast shouldn't just be another piece of content—it should become one of the most valuable assets in your business. Follow Courtney: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/soundsgreatpodcasts/  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/courtneyreimer/  ⚡ Subscribe to the Sounds Great on Paper newsletter for hot tips on how to build a podcast that earns its keep: https://sounds-great-on-paper.kit.com/profile  🤝 Want to work with Courtney? Schedule a free podcast strategy clarity call: https://calendly.com/soundsgreatcourtney/podcast-clarity-w-courtney-of-sounds-great