Arielle Nissenblatt eats, sleeps, and breathes podcasts.
- Her main job is with a podcast company.
- Her newsletter is all about podcast curation.
- She runs a podcast community on Discord.
She loves podcasts so much that she, along with her co-host Tim Villegas, produce a podcast about podcasts. Well really, about podcast trailers specifically. It’s called Trailer Park.
You might think that this is too niche, but they got 10,000 downloads in just a few weeks. Their outreach process was crucial to achieving that goal. Read on to learn how they did it.
👉 In this issue
Quick Stats
| Hosted by | Arielle Nissenblatt and Tim Villegas |
| Launched | February 2023 |
| Number of Episodes1 | 12 |
| Schedule | Weekly, with Seasons |
| Format | Host/Co-Host |
| Time to Produce One Episode | 10 Hours |
| Recording Tool | Squadcast.fm |
| Podcast Host | Ausha |
What’s Trailer Park About?
Here’s how Arielle describes it:
It’s a podcast that highlights podcast trailers. In each episode, we feature a trailer for a show that took one of the following paths: started off a seasons-long below, was made as a proof of concept, was made just for fun, or is stuck somewhere in the pre-launch phase.
But it’s not just about highlighting the show. Arielle and Tim also talk about what worked well, offer constructive criticism, and say if they’d listen to the show based on the trailer.
As for the goal of the show…back to Arielle:
…help creators master the art of the audio teaser and to expose listeners to their next favorite show or creator.
This is definitely a podcast for podcasters.
So knowing that, let’s dive into the production process.
Finding Trailers
Arielle and Tim’s process for finding subjects…namely trailers to cover…is very similar to what I have set up for Podcast Workflows. Podcasters can submit their trailer, and then they listen to see what’s a good fit. Here are some of the questions they ask:
- Is it interesting?
- Is it complex?
- Can critique without hurting feelings?
Once they do find a trailer they like, they reach out to the creator to get a voice clip to use in the episode.
One important aspect is that, as they say in their own trailer, it doesn’t have to be for a launched or successful podcast. “It can be for a podcast that never got made.”
The only requirement is that there’s a trailer.
This is a great move on their part because it makes the show super-focused, and super-niche:
- Their audience is creators and podcasters who want to create a good teaser for their content…a skill increasingly important in the age of clips and short form video
- Their potential content pool seems vast (over 4 Million podcasts), but they don’t need to spend time sifting through 4 million shows to find a good episode. They’re always looking for one episode — the trailer — and they can start with listener submissions.
Your Takeaway: When you’re starting a podcast, or looking to improve your workflow, go narrow. It will help you focus on the content that matters most.
Notes on the Trailer
Once a trailer gets elevated to the status of episode topic, Arielle and Tim get to work on the episode.
There’s a lot of debate between script, outline, or off the cuff, and on Trailer Park they use bullet points.
I think this makes perfect sense for a host/co-host format where they’re offering critiques of any kind.
A script feels too limiting here because they’re trying to have an insightful conversation, and some of the best points will come up organically.
On the other hand, you don’t want to go in completely cold, fumbling for words and grasping at straws. Bullet points help the two hosts get a heads-up on the general topics, while offering enough flexibility to go off the cuff when needed.
It’s important here that Arielle and Tim have good chemistry (which they do) since they’re playing off each other’s points and adding to an ongoing conversation.
If these were just a single host, a script might be a better way to go to tell a better story. But that’s also an entirely different format where you need to add some dynamic element to the show without another person there to help.
Recording and the Editing Volley
After their notes, Arielle and Tim record together using Squadcast. Using the bullet points, which they create using a template, they run through everything they want to hit in the show.
This includes any promos, recaps of previous episodes, what to expect, sponsors (which they feature prominently, but in my opinion, not intrusively), and of-course, the trailer.
And while they could just call it a day right there, export the recording and call it finished, they spend a bunch of time editing the show.
I’ve seen the statistic that for every 1 hour of finished content, it takes 4 hours of work.
But Trailer Park’s episodes are 9–12 minutes (with the full trailer they’re covering) and it takes 10 hours of work. That’s about 4x longer. Why?
If I were to guess, I’d say the finding and critiquing the podcasts take around 2 hours at absolute most. The combination of Arielle’s encyclopedic knowledge of podcasts and the fact that trailers innately are short means there’s not a huge time commitment there.
Even at 3 minutes, 5 listens = 15 minutes. Then let’s say about 45 to organize thoughts into bullet points2.
My guess is the lion’s share of the production time goes to editing. Here’s how it works, according to Arielle:
Tim handles the initial cuts, then Arielle goes through with a fine tooth comb, hands it back to Tim, and he adds music and [sound effects]. Then, we go through a few more rounds before settling on the final draft.
The edit is important for any podcast, for sure. But when you’re trying to create a show that’s as punchy and informative as the content you’re critiquing, you want to spend a lot of time in the edit to make it rock solid.
For example, in the Crucial Fewsion episode, they move quickly between the recap, promos, actual trailer, and notes, before moving to what to expect next. Without audio cues and proper editing, it would be easy to get lost, or even worse, bored.
Your Takeaway: Editing is more than just removing ums and barking dogs. You can change the feel and pacing of the show. As long as the content is there, editing can greatly enhance your podcast. Just look at what it did for Star Wars.
Publishing and the Call to Action
Once the episode is done, Arielle and Tim upload the episode themselves to Ausha, their podcast host.
For episode notes, Arielle said:
We use a template! We share a bit about the trailer, include links, and make sure to highlight our sponsors prominently. We write them within Ausha.
Here’s what they look like in Pocket Casts:
The use of a template is crucial here, especially since the show had several sponsors and a season-long giveaway.
You can use a simple Google Doc that you make copies of, or use a tool like TextExpander if, like Arielle, you prefer to write directly in the podcast host’s editor.
Another important aspect of a template for notes is the call to action. On the Trailer Park Podcast, the CTA is to submit your trailer.
They make sure to include this link, as well as mention how to do it on the show.
Your call to action should be prominent and obvious. If I had one critique for this show, it would be that there are several CTAs…but that’s not necessarily unique to this podcast3, and they benefit from the main CTA being precisely what the show is about!
Reaching 10,000 Downloads in 10 Episodes or Fewer
One of the most interesting aspects of the Trailer Park show is that even though it’s so niche, it grew pretty quickly! During an interview on the Grow Your Show podcast, it came up that they reached 10,000 downloads in just a few weeks. Let’s look at what is, and what’s not, a factor in that growth.
Video is something more podcasters are recording and releasing. Since Arielle and Tim record with Squadcast, they have the option to record with video, and they do!
However, they’re not doing anything with that video at the moment. Instead, they’re making use of tools like Recast Studio (one of their sponsors) to create audiograms:
They share this content on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn, but social media isn’t where I think the magic happens.
Instead, here’s what Arielle shared about their efforts to promote the show:
Social media, pitching ourselves as guests on other podcasts, writing blog posts for other outlets that link back to the show, pitching our show to podcast newsletters, pitching ourselves to be featured on apps.
You can see there’s a lot of pitching and direct outreach. In-fact, I heard about the show because Arielle, who’s subscribed to my newsletter, asked if I’d mention it to my audience (which I gladly did).
Your Takeaway: Social media shares are fine, but they aren’t a growth strategy. Instead, identify other podcasters, blogs, YouTube channels, and newsletters that align with your show’s mission, and ask them to share it with their audience.
Where They Can Improve
Podcasts are a constant work-in-progress. They should be iterative, and improve based on feedback.
The Trailer Park podcast is no different. When asked, Arielle said, “We could always spend more time on promotion.”
This is almost assuredly true for every podcast…or at least most podcasts. If you, like Arielle and Tim, spend a lot of time creating the content, the last thing you likely want to think about is promotion.
Likely they have the tentpoles in place to be able to do this well:
- They’re recording video, which they can repurpose for Instagram and YouTube
- Their sponsor, and one of the tools at their disposal, is Capsho, which will transcribe episodes and create Twitter threads, LinkedIn posts, and a newsletter draft
- They are helping creators, who are often willing to share content they’re a part of
But going back to their playbook, direct outreach is a fantastic way to promote the show. Talking to the creators in their network, the creators they cover, the tools they cover, and doing podcast swaps are ways to expand their reach.
As they gear up for Season 2, they can make it another big launch — one of the benefits of seasonality — reaching out to previous outlets, as well as new ones for coverage.
As an aside, they also mentioned that they’re behind on publishing some bonus episodes. Another benefit of seasonality is bonuses can drop when they’re ready!
Using The Trailer Park Podcast to Improve Your Podcast Workflow
So, what are the biggest and best takeaways from how Arielle and Tim produce, publish, and promote the Trailer Park podcast?
Pick a Narrow Niche
Go narrow on the niche of your podcast. It will help you focus on the content that matters most. You can always expand or change based on feedback.
Instead of choosing to interview business owners, make your show conversations with solopreneur parents who are building a business around family life.
Your podcast’s mission statement can inform and assist in the direction of your content here, and keep you focused.
Make the Edit a Priority
Editing is more than just removing ums and barking dogs. You can change the feel and pacing of the show.
Arielle and Tim record their conversation, but bring in plenty of other elements, like interstitial music, sound effects, soundbites, and commentary from the podcaster.
If you’re going to spend a lot of time on your podcast, do it here and leverage automation and delegation to do the rest.
What are some small, incremental changes you can make for the next episode of your podcast? Figure out 2–3 things that can turn your show from a meandering conversation to a punchy, attention-grabbing story.
Ask for the Share
Social media isn’t a growth strategy. Direct outreach is a tried and true method for growing your podcast.
Reach out to similarly aligned websites, podcasts, newsletters, and YouTube channels to see if they’re willing to help you promote your show.
You could always do podcast swaps or other trades. That’s why it’s important to find outlets that align with your goals and mission. You could also experiment with paid placement.
Either way, remember that most people aren’t just going to share your podcast. Reaching out and asking for the share can help you grow more quickly.
Offering to create unique content also works well. It’s more work for you, but it allows you to stand out more than just a backlink or mention. You have the opportunity to give a new audience a taste of what they can get from your show.
The simplest way to get started with this is to use Google Sheets, Notion, or my personal favorite, Airtable, to keep a list of people and places to reach out to. Track when you reached out, when you need to follow up, if they accepted, and when your promo, article, or mention went live.
