How to Create A Podcast That People Will Listen to and Love w/Khudania Ajay

Today's guest is an accomplished media consultant , podcast host , independent journalist based in New Delhi , india , Ajay . Thanks for taking the time and coming to talk with us today on Tools of the Podcast Trade .

As an individual , I am what I am , as you can see , I'm very open , very straightforward , and that reflects in what I do , and naturally I am like this . So this helps me into podcasting , into content , and I'm very happy that podcasting has come at the right time . When this whole mainstream media was a lot of changes were happening .

I could utilize the same skills to bring A lot of value to you know , not only others , but also to myself , and I see that I can do much more with that old-school journalism , that sort of thing . I can refine it and put it into podcasting that way .

So I believe that , individually , I'd like to add value as much as to you know , others , as much as to myself , and that is what I am doing at the moment with the KJ Masterclass life .

The only advantage if you have from a broadcast background is that you know how to put things together at a much more quicker pace . So that is one thing . You can get to put a lot of thoughts together . You know , in a small bit of time that one , if you have refined it , it will help you . That Second part is you will be aware of a bit of technology .

But now suddenly a lot of technology has changed , you know , and if someone is from the broadcast background does not mean that they have been in front of the camera . Most of the people are behind the camera . Like I was not in front of the camera , but I utilized the editorial understanding of things , of the knowledge of a few things , and brought it here .

What actually matters is , you know , is that what is the time type of learning that you had been having ? You know , having all through the years , and that is going to help you frame the questions what is podcasting ? Podcasting , anyone can do . Anyone can have a mic , anyone can have all that equipment .

The only difference that can create is the type of questions you can ask to bring out the value that you want for your audience . And as time goes by , more and more people will have less time and want the value immediately from even podcasts , and that is where you know this whole thing is coming . Very helpful to me . That's what I can say .

Even if it's a drab subject , even if you are talking about a spirituality , try to keep it a bit vibrant . You know many shows I see very , very good shows , you know . But when you start and that is the beginning , first two minutes , three minutes you must create an atmosphere . That is where people want to stay with you and that is very important .

And then you know , get the guest , then , you know , flourish after that . Yeah , first it is up to you how do you introduce the show to your audience to keep that vibrancy , bring a bit of energy ? There are several ways of doing that . You teach . I'm sure a lot of other guests must be sharing that on the show . So that is one part .

The second part is make the whole process simple . One of the big feedbacks that I keep getting from my guest is that they find this whole process easy . Do not create barriers . If you want to create filters , that is fine , but filters should not turn out into barriers . Keep the process as simple , easy .

Your potential guests , your guests , will love you for that . Many times , you see , barriers are even for a person like me . Several guests who come to my show , they ask me to appear on their show .

Like in your case , I did not face any barrier at all and that is why this is one of the few shows that I am coming in , because I did not feel several shows , even if they invite me , I open any of the things that I find it is a barrier and that takes a lot of time . It is not going to help . So that is what I want to say .

Second thing is invest in yourself . Try to ask questions . Don't try to become intelligent suddenly . It will not happen . Don't try to suddenly try to ask intelligent questions . Try to gel with the , with what the guest is trying to say . Ask their expertise , try to think about it . Ask like a curious person , as a new person who wants to learn from that guest .

So how will you ask ? What will you ask ? If you look at it like that , you will find that there are so many things you yourself want to learn from the guest , and that is what a lot of the audience would want to learn from the guest . To do that , that curiosity will make you ask good questions , learn and do a bit of reading the more you read .

Even if it is so , what helps me most is the simple list of papers that I have studied , read long back . Sometimes those become as reference points and it helps you make that whole conversation very , very informative for me . I am not the master in my show , kj Masterclass Life . It is the master who is someone else .

And one more important thing when you ask about journalism is that you see , in journalism you have the process where there is a lot of , you know , positive filters , not the negative gatekeeping , but the right side type of editorial understanding of things . There are people .

When you have the mic in your hands , you don't only have the power of the mic , whichever side you are , but it is also a huge responsibility . You may not take yourself sick seriously , but others who may be listening to you will take it seriously . So give your platform to people who have a voice . They want to say something but don't endorse it .

And if you are endorsing something , do it with a caveat . And that is where what I bring from journalism is the sense of balance . Let not that platform of yours become somebody's hunting ground . Bring that balance into , because the person he or she may be speaking about , he or she is not there on that show and one sided will not be a very good affair .

People do not have all the good experience , all guests will not have good experience in the right to make that show about balance , make it objective for people and make it accuracy . That is what you know . I try to bring it from journalism Many a times .

You know , in my personal life I know about things , but if I'm talking on air I will have a sense of doubt . Then I will try to caveat it If I understand it correctly , correct me if I am wrong . You know , so that somebody who is listening to it later on we'll know that this is not the final truth .

You know nowadays what is happening once it creates a chain reaction . They think you are very knowledgeable . If they may have the impression , then that should . If you take it that way is you will always be coming out much more . You know with a credit , a creditable person , and your show will rise with time .

You know people will want to come on to your show . This is what I can say .

But I'm going to push you some more and using one of your own question as a seasoned podcast host what are the key elements to believe , to believe and make your podcast truly successful ? So let me rephrase that what are the key elements you need to be believe as a podcaster , to make your podcast truly engaging and successful ?

What is it that you want from what you are doing If you want to make it a successful podcast in terms of spreading knowledge

? You have it as a power , and then you need to be patient with yourself . Be patient with with the way you are doing things , Learn along the way , Keep on making that . I do it almost every day . I'll tell you and and you know . So many things are so obvious that after two years of podcasting , you realize this was such an obvious thing .

Why didn't I think of it ? It will not happen . It is the way our brains work . This is the way it will happen . So be kind to yourself , be patient with yourself . That is one part , so success will come . Now you also know , in podcasting , monetization is a big challenge .

You know different sort of people industries using differently . Politicians are using differently . You as a podcaster can use it differently . So define that for yourself . If you have not , then enjoy that process . I look forward to all the interviews . Most of the time , you know , be yourself . Don't try to be someone .

See , I am not applying too much of my brain . If I do that , I will not be true to myself . I will not be able to be true to who I am . So be yourself and you will find your way . Trust me . I have seen a bit of life . You will find your way . That is one part . Now engaging part I've already said about make it a bit of you know . Make it .

Keep that vibrancy . Don't try too hard . But there are simple tips you can certainly do about that . There are . There is a bit of a music you can play . There are so many places where there is available free music is available . You just put a sting to it , put some music and ensure that it is it is gelling with you , like you put a timer countdown .

That is also very good , so that your guest is like that . Secondly , use some phrases you know which are , which will connect you to the guest immediately , make them smile and you know that will be the . That will be a very good part for you , because if a guest immediately gets into the , into the flow of the show , that is very good .

And third thing is that it is very important because you can , that smiling face will quickly become a thumbnail . You will not have to search for a good thumbnail . You know , through the show , as soon as your guest smiles , you know that becomes a quick thumbnail . There are many tools you can use to quickly make a thumbnail and put it out .

You know if you are going live on YouTube or any other platform . So all these three tools you can utilize . If there is any question , I'm always always , you know open to such things . Write to me , connect with me on LinkedIn , ask me anywhere . I will answer . So those are a few things .

You will immediately find that with a lot of hard , without a lot of hard work , you know , but with intelligent work , you will make your show very vibrant , very , very engaging . And then , if you put your definition of success and engaging together , you will start making money also . But you have to be patient . What you want out of it ?

But it will certainly refine you as a human being , as an individual , as a professional , as somebody . You know you will come out very chiseled and it will . It will reflect in the way you will be talking to your clients in the office or anywhere else . I have learned so much .

You know , and , and , and I feel that if I had started earlier on , I would have , you know , got much more benefit . But it is good , it is very good . And now I know that you know going forward , I've got something in my hand which will be always there . This skills will always remain with me .

So the earlier you start , the the faster you will grow , the better you will go , and it will be . This skill will certainly be needed for a long , long time .

You don't get by line , so you use those initials so that everyone knows okay , this was the , this is the copy you have edited , this is the copy . So within the system , people know even a few people from outside . So that is there .

But one big thing people don't know is in India , in Hindi , especially in a , especially in the eastern part of our country , we use KJ or Kaj as actually work . So my podcast is most about work . So I put all these things together . And who is the master ? Even though it is about my name or the work related , the masters are my guests .

So together , you know it , it makes a much more sense for for me to put all those things together and it is about the masters which I bring for , especially , you know , young professionals , in fact , for people who are starting out in entrepreneurship , in business , who have , who are looking for solutions , and this is where you know a lot of these people are

who are coming on to the show . They may not be the biggest name . I don't want big names . That is why I don't search for obviously they are welcome , but I don't intentionally search for big names . I search for people who are solving problems for themselves . Those are the people you know people want to learn from . Those are because you have done it recently .

You are doing it each day , every day , and that is bringing a lot of value . People are looking and I'm seeing that happening . I keep on getting that feedback and that is such a heartening thing . You know that .

Okay , this thing I may not have a huge , huge following , but at least this is bringing a lot of you know value to that , to whatever you are doing . So KJ Masterclass is about value .

It is about you know value in business , it is about value in career and that is why there is a lot of talk about leadership , and it is a value in terms of transformation , either in terms of personal transformation or in terms of financial transformation , and that is why I try to put all that content that helps in any of these you know things , so that

people are where people get what they want , and KJ Masterclass comes in a lot of searches whenever they are searching for something that can alleviate whatever pain they are facing in their lives .

And in case you want to search for more of KJ masterclass content , though , I'm there on several social media platforms , but for more you can always look at either YouTube , because then you will immediately get all that , or you can also look at KJ masterclass live . I have a LinkedIn page also there . I'm also quite active .

Anything on LinkedIn , anything on YouTube , gets the first priority Rest . I'm also there in terms of Facebook , instagram and obviously , all the audio platforms are there . We are very much there . There is very vibrant and I'm sure a lot of people do listen to it , and that's very nice .

But sometimes , you know , since my show is most about video initially , it takes a bit of a time to put all the things you know after optimizing in terms of you know , show notes and all . That's why I put I'm able to put it only after some time on Spotify and , through that , on Apple and hundreds of other platforms .

So best is YouTube , linkedin and this I'm always available . Search for me . I will be available for anything that you need at any point in time .

So you and I are both on the Podmatch platform and Alex of San Felipe came out with a report the other day about the , about active podcasters , and I want to tie this in with leadership , because a lot of us , when we start podcasts , we have we have a purpose , we have a reason , we have a why we wanted to start podcasting , and it was because we wanted

to lead lead a group of people , or niche , if you will , or avatar . We wanted to lead them in what we know . Right , but it seems like most podcasts just start and just do that , just fizzle out .

And I you mentioned also finance and I'm going to ask you a question what are some of the ways that new podcasters can finance , can , can get the money to keep going , because I'm suspecting that that's one of the reasons why they fail , you know , to keep going .

So , to provide leadership and to and to come up with the money to keep providing that leadership , could you give us some tips ?

And it will exist , it will keep on growing , but it will grow in a very different manner

. To make it viable for podcasters especially , you know , for podcast hosts , it has to change in a bit different manner . For example , if you ask me a general podcaster , how will he become successful ? Because he has to put a lot of time and energy into that . And so how is podcasting supporting and who are in the podcasting industry ?

So podcasting industry is there Apart from the host . You see , it is the , it is the guests , it is the podcast agencies , it is the PR agencies and it is a whole lot of other people related to it . Who is the one who is adding value to a podcast host ? Slide ? It will give you that answer .

The only thing I don't know about , you know , podmatch LXN team . They are the ones who are actually adding value to a podcast host slide . That is why I take my guests from Podmatch . I don't try to take from anywhere else . As of today , I keep on getting many , many requests from everywhere , from podcast agencies and from everyone .

There are several reasons I don't take Rarely . I take from those places Minds and mark my words and play it as many a times . The Podmatch way is the only way for podcast industry to not only move forward , to also survive . If it does not happen , we will see a lot of churning . That will keep on happening . It is already happening .

That is why you will see a lot of these creating platforms are trying to get creators and trying to tell listen , we are thinking about you .

For example , you see , if a marketing agency guy comes on my podcast , or if a person who is spending , you know , 5000 dollars on a book tour and they are spending money everywhere else but are not able to contribute anything to a podcast host I am not talking about in terms of you know , but make his or her life easy .

I would rather have people who are simple guests but who are very involved with this whole process .

You have to be careful who is here to also sit across the table on equal footing and then talk about . So you have to be also very careful in terms of a host . Create a value for yourself . Do not endorse people who are there to only take , take , take . Then do not promote them later on .

You will regret it and you will be facing , when you face , all these problems . You will be all alone . If people who are making money out of what you are doing for them , let them contribute in terms of sponsorship , in terms of presenting your shows , in terms of aiding you in whatever way , you can't just say , oh listen , I was on a book tour .

I am a simple book writer . I have spent $100,000 and given to any agency . I cannot do anything . But can you please , you know , on priority , because my book launch is next week , can you give me priority response . I want to talk to my book . Don't do that , yeah yeah , that is you have to be very clear about it , yeah , if you don't do it .

As I said again , I repeat , the pod match way is the only way for the podcasting industry to move forward . If it does not happen , you will continue to have what paid good people . Why will they come and spend their time ? Not to make millions for you , but also to make you know their life easy .

Creation and good content creation is almost like a full time job , even if you make it look like you are doing as a side hustle , but actually it is not .

right off the bat . So , yeah , thank you for mentioning that . All right , so what is RJ grateful for today ?

There are so many things to be grateful for . I don't know how to thank almighty or anything , or even the glass of water you know that I'm able to drink . Without the God's permission , you will not be able to have one next step or a nanosecond forward , and that is where I don't have to be extra grateful for anything .

If grateful should become a part of your life and the more you understand life , the more you will understand a tree a tree related with fruits will always bow in that gratitude , you know , and people who will be empty vessels , they will always keep on making that noise . We need to keep that distinction in life .

Some people will always see the glass empty , half glass empties . Some people will always see a half glass or even a little bit of glass with water . As a lot of you know , with a lot of gratitude , I have seen a bit of life and with that experience I can say it is . This whole living itself is such a big blessing if we see it the right way .