Patrick Strevens - Shares Lessons from a 100 Episode Challenge

Hey everyone, Ashley here with RSS.com. Today I'm bringing you Patrick Strevens of North Bank Media Podcast. And I'm so excited to chat with him because he committed to doing 100 podcast episodes within a single year. So we're going to be talking all about what that process was like and how he went through it and all the insights he gained along the way. Hope you enjoy the show.

Well, Patrick, welcome to the show. I'm so excited you could be here today. Could you do us a favor and introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about what it is you do? Sure thing. It's my pleasure. My name is Patrick Strevens. I guess by trade, I'm a video producer,

operator up here in Edmonton, Alberta. But podcasting was sort of a secondary line for me, kind of a hobby, something to do during COVID when there wasn't a lot of video production going on and something I've continued to do as life gets back to normal. It definitely sounds like a familiar story. It seems like a lot of people started doing the podcasting thing right in the height of the pandemic. You know, we were all at home

where we're trying to figure out something to do with our days. And so we all got microphones and it was kind of funny because whenever I got started, it was also in the middle of the pandemic. I actually started my show on April Fool's Day 2020. And I remember whenever I was trying to find a microphone, a lot of places were already sold out because everyone was buying podcasting equipment. Interesting. Well, it's I mean, it's such a you don't need much to do a podcast. That's the beauty of it.

Yes. And that's actually one of my favorite things. It's a great way to like get your message out there without having to, you know, invest a lot into equipment. I mean, while you can, you can get started with just a few things like as long as you have a computer, a Wi-Fi connection, a podcast host, a podcasting mic, you can rock and roll. Absolutely. And use RSS.com for that hosting, we should say, right? I love the plug. That's fantastic. Okay, so so you started, you know, it sounds like just

a couple years ago. Tell me a little bit about how your podcasting journey began and what you went through as you were starting. Sure, I think I think it really kind of occurred like I listened to a lot of podcasts starting about 2017 2018. You know, the big ones, of course, being Joe Rogan, but also some of those comedians that I like, Bill Burr, Theo von guys who would just basically ramble for an hour. And I kind of thought that maybe that's like a meditative thing, you know,

just to be able to speak your mind for an hour could be a healing thing. But, you know, when the social and political climate really ramped up to a very divisive and sort of aggressive place, let's say June, you know, May, June of 2020, you know, after George Floyd and all that, and everybody had an opinion, you know, to have an opinion was was to wade into the battleground, almost and I just, I felt a lot of personal unrest. Because I wasn't

speaking my mind, I wasn't organizing my thoughts. And the podcast kind of was the first step in that of like, okay, I'm going to commit to working on what I think about this world around me, because I think we have to do that in order to be healthy. Absolutely, absolutely. Yeah. So now when you first began, was it just you in the microphone?

Did you have guests on? How did that go? I was pretty committed to doing it with with guests, you know, I, yeah, I did about the first 20 episodes with with a guest and it was a dialogue, you know, gradually, I started working into doing some solo episodes, which were interesting, you know, because again, it's just you in the microphone and dead air is not a good thing or or stumbling over your words is not always a good thing. But, um, no, it was to me, the dialogue is the most important thing.

I can definitely relate to that. Because whenever I first started, I was like, okay, I'm just speaking into a microphone, but I actually committed to starting mine without guests, I didn't want to bring on guests yet, because I wanted to kind of, you know, play with things and figure it out. And it was always like, okay, I'm speaking into the ether. And maybe no one's gonna hear this. Will anyone even care? No, they won't. But it doesn't matter, though,

I don't think it I think yet. Well, what I mean, I'd ask you the same thing that I'm about to say is like, does it matter if anybody hears it? Or is the saying it and getting it out and organizing it the most important part? That's very much the, you know, if a tree falls in the woods and no one's there to hear it, does it make a sound? It is. And we're making a lot of noise. Yeah, and it's actually also liberating, you know, just to just to get your message out

there just to speak your words, speak your truth, say what you got to say. I can understand that, like just you know, who cares if no one hears it, at least you, you took a chance, you said something. Exactly. It's better that it comes out because then you can hear it for yourself and be like, well, that's stupid. I need to work on that, you know? Yeah, that's pretty good. Yeah.

So I'm curious, whenever you began, did you know what your niche was going to be? Or did you just kind of jump in and experiment? I just jumped in, truly, it was, it was, I want to figure out what I think about the world around me. And I need to talk to people to be able to do that. I had a hunch that talking to people who were sort of self starters, like or self employed was kind of a way to go. I know a few entrepreneurs, a lot of like a lot of the filmmaking and video production

community here at Edmonton, they're all entrepreneurs. So there's, I kind of tended in that direction. But I mean, I also talked to, I talked to people that are career people, people who are employed by businesses. So I didn't know the niche and that I'm not going to say I regret that because there's no point, but there was no, there was no rhyme or reason. Actually, there was no plan

beyond just like recording episodes. I think that's actually a good thing though, because it gives you the chance to, if you just start and you just like begin, then you can figure out what it is you even like to talk about. Because, you know, whenever you start with something like this, it's such a diverse medium where you can literally talk about anything. But the problem is a lot of us, you know, if you were to ask anyone like, hey, if you were to start a podcast, what would

it be on? You'd get a lot of I don't knows. And so I think it's actually really cool that you didn't know what you wanted to do. So you just kind of jumped in and went for it. Right. And that's what

I would suggest to anybody who wants to do anything is that you don't, there's that paralysis by analysis thing where it's like, if I just sit, if I want to figure it all out and then do it, it's like, no, you should actually just do it. And then figure it out as you go. Yeah, for me, it was definitely imposter syndrome. Like I did have the analysis paralysis too, but it was also imposter syndrome of the, you know, are people going to find out I'm a fraud? Whoa. Oh, that's interesting.

Like you really didn't have anything to say and you had no business saying it or well, like I knew what I wanted to talk about because like my own personal podcast is all about blogging. And I've been blogging since 2009 and I went pro in 2011, but it was still the, you know, is someone who's more successful than I am going to hear this podcast and be like, well, she doesn't know anything. She's not making six figures, that kind of stuff. Interesting. Yeah, that's a huge part of

it. But again, it's like, well, so what you, you as an individual have something to offer that no one else can, I believe. I like that. I like that a lot. Okay. So one of the things you did say to me

is you said, I began the podcast as a way to figure out what I thought about the world around me and the issues of our time. I wanted to talk to people, entrepreneurs, artists, activists, political hopefuls, friends, and anyone. And you said you did that for a hundred episodes, a hundred episodes in a single calendar year. Tell me about what your process looks like of how you go and you find your guests, how you record your episodes, how you edit your episodes. How does all that work for you?

I guess I'd say I'm blessed or I'm lucky to know a lot of interesting people. I didn't realize that until I started doing this. Like I easily made the list of the first 40 people just in one sitting. Like I, I easily thought of 40 people. I have a couple of friends who did multiple episodes. So it wasn't a hundred different people, I'd say it was maybe whatever, 75, 80 individual people. So that was it. And a lot of people, when you tell them what it is, is like, I just want to sit down

and talk to you there. They're in, they're into it, you know, and going through Zoom on a lot of them, or like a Zoom call is like, it's very easy for people just to sit and talk like this. So there was no barrier that way. And then I think when you put it to them as like, well, you get to promote yourself and the show is kind of about you, I'm the host. That appeals to a lot of people, right? A chance to speak their mind, especially in a culture where everyone's just blabbing all the

time. Give someone a space to blab and they're happy to do it, I found. And then as far as editing, there was very little editing and that was kind of the beauty of the show is like we press record, we talk until we're sick of each other, we press stop, and then that goes up as the episode. Well, I would do an intro at the start after the fact. But that was part of what allowed me to be so efficient was like very little effort. I like that. So minimum effort, maximum results.

Well, minimum effort for sure. Yeah, I don't know the results or whatever, but yeah, let's say.

Well, how much time did all that take you to do 100 episodes? Like from the beginning to the end, if you were to tell me, you know, I from episode number one, how long did all of that take you? Well, I guess I recorded episode one on New Year's Day 2021 and I posted episode 100 on New Year's Eve of 2021. So it was right down the wire. Wow. Yeah, I did. I did because I said it at some point that I was going to do it and then I thought, oh, shit, I shouldn't have said that. Because then

by the end of December, I was like doing episodes every day. And I got into video, doing video episodes maybe in about September. So that adds to the workflow. But we got it done and then I walked away for a while. But yeah, took a year, a true, a year truly. So I bet in that year,

you learned a lot. What were some of the big takeaways of committing to 100 episodes and doing it? What did you learn in that year? Well, I learned a lot for sure. I learned that people for sure will talk if you give them the space to talk and if you just get out of the way. You know, I did 20 episodes, the first 20 episodes thinking about, you know, trying to impress my point of view on things. And then I got into a bit of a tangle up or

a more confrontational episode with a girl who was, I guess you'd say very progressive. Maybe you'd use the word woke. And it's like, I just backed off after that. I was like, I don't have to agree or disagree with anybody. I just need to, we just need to have the conversation. So that was, that was probably the biggest one is like my opinion of right and wrong is not really that important. It's just about letting the guests speak. I mean, if they say something horrific,

then you're going to have to call them on it. But that's what I learned was it was actually, again, minimum effort, just open the door and let them walk through it.

Did you ever have any trouble finding guests or getting someone to commit to speaking with you? Never really had any trouble. I guess I'm having a bit of trouble now because it's March and I've only done three episodes in the last three months. But for the first 100, it was, it was, it flowed like water. It was like this weird thing where it just started picking up speed. And every so often a guest would recommend another person to me. That's when you know, you're on the, on a roll,

right? When people are coming to you and that happened a few times, but no, it was, it was never hard to get people to do it. Well, that's good. Cause a lot of people, they struggle with actually finding guests. And I wonder sometimes if it's because they're trying to niche down just a little too much and they don't know, you know, where to find the people that they're looking for. So where do you find your

guests? Like I know you said, you already knew a lot of, a lot of cool people and you have mentioned that you have had referrals of new people to speak to, but when you're looking for a guest, where do you go? I just go to my, I mean, Instagram is another way to get people to speak to me. I just go to my, I mean, Instagram is another big one. Like I would say, you know, of all the guests

I've had, I know most of them personally, probably three quarters or more. Like so, and it's the same thing as like, there's no secret and I'm no business giant, but there's no secret to business really beyond personal connection. Right? So, you know, we're sometimes in this digital landscape, we're kind of separated from one another, but to me, the key has always been personal connection on a real, like a real human connection. So, but beyond that Instagram social media is huge.

Just reach out and ask, you know, because the worst thing someone could say is no. Hopefully they could say something else, I guess, but really it's, it's just having the confidence to believe that your show is worth having someone on. And if all else fails, just have one of your stupid friends on it. They probably owe you to a favor.

I love that. So where do you promote your show? Like, how do you, how do you go about telling people, Hey, these new episodes are out, come listen to me. I really don't do a whole lot of that. And I'm, I guess that was part of the a hundred episodes in a year. There wasn't much time to promote them. It was just about doing them. But I've, I've slowly started to build out the Instagram page. So it's North Bank media podcast on

Instagram. So I'm starting to post reels clips, episode notes there. Beyond that, that's about it. Like I want to get onto LinkedIn eventually, but there's not a whole lot of promotion going on.

Do you have any regrets with your podcast? Oh boy. Well, I don't know if I have any regrets. I mean, there's definitely things that I've said that probably weren't, weren't the smartest things, but that's part, but that's also part of the thing is like you commit to doing it. You say that you put it out there. Now you have to stand by it or else do you have to apologize for it? I don't think I have any regrets. I think I

wish maybe I could have kept it rolling. Like, as I said, I've only done the three EPS since, since March, since January. But I don't have any regrets. I mean, it's, it's to me, it's a lifetime pursuit, right? Right now things are busy. So I'm not doing it. If things slow down in the summer,

then I'll start doing it more regularly. Well, so speaking of which, it sounds like, you know, your podcast is, is almost more of a hobby. Are you doing anything to monetize it or you do you have like a day job and then the podcast is just for fun? I think that's more accurate. It's, it's just a hobby in some ways. It's, it's, it's like an education. You know, you learn how to talk to people, you learn how social media works and what

it likes. You learn what people will do and not do. To me, it could, and what I'm trying to get it to is a place where, you know, it gets me in the door with somebody, let's say an entrepreneur. And then we talk for an hour, I provide them this content and then there's maybe a soft sell at the end where I say, you know, my business is video production. Do you require that sort of thing? And that has actually worked a handful of times in the past with certain guests where they

say, oh, I need an ad. I need a, I need to do some video. So, uh, it's not directly monetized, but it's sort of like, uh, I don't know, like, uh, I don't know what you'd say. It gets me in the door with people that make decisions. So you're starting to like build the relationships and network with people. And as you kind of just chat with them and get to know them, it's that, like you said, a soft sell. I like that.

Yeah, that's exactly it. That's, I would recommend that more than, I mean, I don't know, do you monetize your podcast? Because to me, it's like no one, no Bluetooth or whoever is not going to sell ads on my podcast. I only get 12 views on some episodes, but, but at present with my personal podcast, no, I don't have any monetization, but I do mention several times, you know, that I'm, that I'm a blogger and that I'm a ghost blogger. And I tell people about my website and things

like that. But, um, for my personal podcast, no, right now there's, there's no monetization. I have hopes that maybe one day I'll come up with something. But I think for right now, it's, it's kind of like what you're doing is, is just still like trying to have the conversation and still learn. And that's why I'm so excited to be, to, to be hosting this podcast for rss.com is

as I'm learning, I'm getting to teach others what I'm learning. And I think that's what's so awesome about this is it's, it's where we're teaching others what we're learning and continuing the conversations, continuing to evolve. And it's just, it's a whole lot of fun. That's a whole lot of fun. Right. There's no, there's really maybe nothing else we can do beyond just keep teasing out the ideas infinitely. Right. It's certainly better than not doing it. Well, um, I'm curious whenever

you're about to have a conversation with someone, do you have a script or like a certain line of questioning that you, that you have ready to go, or is it more that you just kind of let the conversation evolve as it, as it naturally will? Yeah, it's, it's, it's, it's depends on the guest, I guess. If, um, when I first started, I tried to do with no script and it was, there were some

miserable moments of just like running out of things to say after 15 minutes. Uh, I definitely got better at going without a script, um, as time went, but there were certain guests, like, you know, some, some musicians who have a bit of a following and don't want their brand to just get stepped on where I would do some work, uh, as far as emailing them questions, where we're going to go. So I would

say it was a mix of both. I would, I don't love heavily scripted conversations, you know, like, like radio interviews where you can tell the guy is just thinking of the next question and not like what he says is not going to depend on what the guest says. Um, yeah, those publicist approved questions. Exactly right. So that'd be, I mean, not to give recommendations, but it was about letting the conversation evolve naturally, but also maybe having some bullet points where if we

got stopped, we could, we knew we had somewhere to go. Now with your, uh, podcast list of guests,

do you have like a dream list of who you would really love to talk to? I mean, I've, I love talking to musicians, I guess, because I'm like a hobbyist musician. I have had a few pretty, you know, decently successful musicians. I guess, I don't know, someone like, I don't know. I don't know. I don't know if I have a dream list of people I want to talk to. I definitely do. That's why I ask. Okay. Well, you, you give me your top three,

maybe that'll... Well, I actually got to interview one of them already and that was Kate Erickson of Entrepreneurs on Fire. I was so excited to talk to her, but, um, for my personal podcast, I want to talk to Natalie Sisson. I want to talk to Denise Duffield Thomas and I really want to talk to Ruth Sukup. Those are my top three, like big people that I really want to have on the Bluggy Friends Show. Interesting. Could it happen or is it like, I'm sure it could happen, right?

I don't know. I think it would be a matter of, um, I know one of the things that, that people say is you need to catch people when they're in promotion mode because they're more likely to say yes, because they're trying to get on every podcast that they possibly can. So I'm, I'm kind of like

watching their calendars and seeing what they're promoting and, and all that good stuff. So I think that's kind of a good piece of advice is if you, if you do have a guest that you really want to get on your show, see when it is that they're actually trying to, to get their name out there or remind people who they are, because if they have a promo calendar, like let's say they have a course that's

coming up, um, that's going to be the best time because they're already in launch mode. They're already prepared to be on camera or be on, you know, audio and talk about something big that's happening in their lives. That's interesting. That's a great, that's a great tip. Yeah. Those people, they don't want to talk all the time, but then they really need to talk when they're,

when they're trying to, yeah, like you say, re-engage the audience. Exactly. It's kind of like, um, you know, uh, anytime a celebrity has a movie that's about to come out, what do they do? They go on a press tour because that's when they have to remind people, Hey, I'm still here. I still exist. I'm relevant. I'm relevant. I like that. Yeah. Yeah. I kind of got that idea of, um, of, of like watching people's calendars from John Lee Dumas, who's also from entrepreneurs on fire.

Um, he was talking about that at podcast movement, which is, um, we're, we're recording this in March and podcast movement is coming up in a couple of weeks, but, um, but yeah, there's just so many things that, that I never would have thought of before, uh, before starting the podcast that like, yeah, if you just start watching someone's calendar and seeing, Hey, they're about to have a launch, they might be more willing to talk to you, even if you're a smaller podcaster.

For sure. And that's one shift I've made in my podcast is like, I'm clipping short reels and doing more social media content. So they might give that to them. Yes. Right. It's like, here's a bunch of free, you know, maybe you're, maybe you don't want to invest an hour listening to this person, but here's three minutes of this person talking about their business. To me, that's

should be invaluable for an entrepreneur. Yes. And that's actually one of the things we're doing with the rss.com podcast is, um, we're starting to do what's called quick hits where we'll have the 35 minute, you know, 45 minute episode, but then we also release like three to five minute clips that can not only be repurposed on social media, but if someone's just, you know, on the go and they just want to hear those golden nuggets that are like the best pieces of each episode,

you can find those too. Absolutely. I, because as much as people have the appetite for the long form stuff is like, they also don't, or also they, it's a different world. It's like, if we can give it to somebody on their Instagram feed, you might get them and look for it. Yes. And I have to tell you

one of my dirty little secrets when it comes to, uh, listening to podcasts is I always use the pod catcher that has the ability to speed up the time of the episode. So if it's like a 45 minute episode, I'll do it at like a 1.5 times speed so that it can be done in 30 minutes and I can get back to whatever it was doing. Right. Just, right. Just, yeah. Cram it down and move on. I'd say,

yep. It's just one of those weird, uh, cork things that I do. I do it with YouTube videos too. If I'm like trying to learn something, I always look and see like, can I, can I get this done a little bit faster so I can get the content and then get back to, you know, what I need to do. Interesting. I'm going to have to try that out. It's, I'm kind of addicted to it though. And it's bad because like, then when people are talking in real time, I'm like, can you talk a little faster? That's

hilarious. Yeah. Which is probably not good. Well, you could say a lot of things about YouTube, maybe not being so good, but whatever. Yeah. But it's, Hey, I mean, I, I've learned a lot on

YouTube. I mean, I learned how to change my own, um, my lights on my car, like, you know, my headlights, like that kind of stuff. It's kind of wild how literally anything you could ever want to know you can find online. Your exact make and model of car. Sometimes the headlights on that thing. Yeah. And that's exactly what it was. Like I just Google exactly what you're looking for. And, and that's kind of one of the cool things about podcasting too, is that, you know, because people

are talking about anything and everything, you never know what you're going to find. And, and once you do find it, you can be opened up to like a whole realm of possibilities. And I think that's one of the things that's so cool about this medium is not only are people finally getting their messages out there, but they're, they're, they're teaching people things that they didn't even know existed. Absolutely. I had a guy on my podcast, maybe you should have him on your show. His name

is Clayton Cutary. He's out in Pittsburgh and he does a podcast about consciousness. So things like psychedelics, meditation, all that sort of stuff. What I learned talking to him was like mind blowing. It wasn't stuff that I didn't know, but I just, I didn't understand it as well. And then you talk to him and it's just like, but as he found his niche first and then went for it.

That's awesome. I absolutely love that. So now with the, with your podcast, what do you see for the future of it and maybe even like the near future and beyond? Yeah, good question. Well, like I said to you, like the first hundred episodes, it was just a mishmash. Some of it was good. So it was bad that a lot of the visual branding was pretty, pretty corny on my part. I had a friend finally tell me, he's like, you gotta, it's looks like, it doesn't look great. It looks a little

cheesy. It's like, okay, so I changed the branding. We went to this side of blue and orange, a little sleeker. And now I'm really focusing on talking to entrepreneurs, people who are building people, not just entrepreneurs, but creatives, artists, you know, people who are building a legacy, people who are building something bigger than themselves. And then I want the podcast to be of use to them because I've got what I need out of this podcast already. Now I want to turn around

and in some insane way, think that I can maybe offer something to other people. It's just a chance to express their thoughts and then have those thoughts packaged and used to promote themselves. So that's the shift I think is making this useful to the guest for a change. That's awesome though. I think it's really cool though, that you kind of just started as it was, you know, just, I'm going to just talk about stuff. And then it evolved into, well, and now I'm not

just talking about just stuff. I'm talking about something with a, what's almost like a mission and a purpose. And the further you go, I mean, who knows what could happen in a year or two years or, you know, five years down the road. Exactly. You don't know who you might get introduced to and who you might then be able to say, Hey, I've got a podcast. That's not a joke. It's less of a joke than it was two years ago. Would you like to come on it? You know what I mean? So you have to

be ready. I would say build your show now and be ready for when the door opens to somebody big.

I like that. I like that a lot. So I think there's been a lot of really good advice in this. And so where can people find your podcast and where can they find you online? For sure. So my podcast is called the North Bank Media Podcast. I'm on YouTube, I'm on Spotify, Google, Amazon, all those sorts of things. Definitely find us on Instagram, maybe first at North Bank Media Podcast. And yeah, let's see. Let's just leave it at that. You don't want to find me online. There's nothing.

There is. There is. But if you keep it to the podcast, you can find me as well. I've done some photography, videography, that sort of thing. But yeah, it's pretty much everywhere. It's easy to find. That's not the person. That's awesome. All right. Well, now I got to ask you the one question I ask everyone before I let them go. What is one question I didn't ask you really wish I had? Oh, boy. What is one question? I don't know. There's that dead air we're trying to work around.

I don't know. I guess maybe the name of the podcast, because it's a stupid name, truthfully. So I live up here in Edmonton and the North Saskatchewan River runs right through Edmonton. And I grew up on the North Bank of that river. And the North Bank of that river is where I did a lot of conversations and things as I grew up with people. So it was the place where I did the same thing that I do now that I'm podcasting. And North Bank Media was supposed to be my brand,

my video production brand. It hasn't quite gotten there yet. But I thought that this would be a way to create content for North Bank Media. Because then you see the name, it's like, well, I have no idea what this podcast is. Yeah. So maybe that's one. I'm not going to say regret, but that's one thing that we're working on is making that brand synonymous with conversation and dialogue. So I love that, though. I think it's I think it sounds really cool.

Hey, I appreciate that. It's yeah, it's not bad. It's not bad. I'm working with it. That's awesome. Well, I want to tell you, I really appreciate everything you shared with me here today. I feel like I got a lot of good golden nuggets. I took a bunch of notes while we were chatting because I mean, there's just the conversation, just the way that it evolved with, you know, I didn't know what you were going to say and you didn't know what I was going to say.

And and but it was still educational and it was still about connection. And I think that's what's so important. So, podcasters, if you're listening to this, I hope that you'll just be inspired to just start, start, just start. That's the best way to put it. Because if you just start, then you can kind of figure out what it is you like, what you don't. And just start reaching out to people, see who wants to talk to you. You never know. You could get a yes. You could get a yes. That's

absolutely right. Don't ever forget that as an individual, you have something to offer the world that no one else can. So you have to, through podcasting, maybe you could find it for sure. Oh, that is so good. Great way to finish this off. Well, thank you again for being here, Patrick. And I hope you have a great thing. Thanks, Ashley. Thanks for reaching out. Well, my fellow podcasters, I hope you enjoyed all the insights that Patrick had to share with us.

To learn more about how to launch and grow your podcast, head over to rss.com backslash blog. You can get started for free with your first episode on us. Thanks for tuning in.