Sometimes when I meet with potential clients, they say, Wow, I’ve heard you on your podcast and you sound just like yourself. And then they talk about how they want their podcast to sound and they’re worried that they don’t have the same pep and energy that I do. So they have a bit of hesitation when they start their own. However, my question to you would be, Then what is your brand? Because how I produce and create my podcast is based on a vision or brand that I had in mind. But what is a brand then? Usually, with that I ask, What are your values and the emotions that you want to convey? A personal brand, what your podcast can be, showcases your authority, talent and expertise within your marketplace or your industry. It’s for how you want people to see you. What is your audience’s impression of you or the perception of your work? What do you want your listener to feel? That’s always my number one question. A brand is a feeling and so is your podcast. Brands tell a story and when you tell that story with your own voice, it creates a strong emotional connection to your listener. That’s what your podcast is doing for you. Through your voice, they get to know you as a person versus only, say, reading up on what it is that you do. So think about it, which brands in your day-to-day life are you more drawn to and why?
Before the pandemic, I used to host international students, and when they arrive, I usually take them to the supermarket or grocery store and just let them know what was available and help get some of the supplies they need. Now, I remember this one student. She said, Oh, I didn’t pack any shampoo with me. I need to get some shampoo. And so when we went to the aisle, she was gobsmacked. She was so confused, she didn’t know what to do. And I was wondering, what’s going on here? So what is the cultural difference? What’s happening? What are you thinking about? What is going on? And she said, Too many choices. She couldn’t pick because in Japan, where she’s from, there is a very limited selection. There are a few bottles, you pick and choose your scent and off you go. But in Canada, in North America, there were shelves and shelves and almost an entire aisle dedicated to personal care products. So not just shampoo, but there was conditioner and there were all these things and she didn’t know which was which and she was very, very confused. And so I said, well, back home in Japan, you would pick based on scent. So let’s kind of go with that. And then she realized, well, there’s a lot of flower scents. Now, what do I do? So I told her which bottle speaks to her, which brand speaks to her because for me I didn’t have a preference. I actually preferred no scent, so it didn’t matter which when she chose because they essentially all did the same thing. So think about this in terms of your podcast. What differentiates between you and another podcast? What makes you unique and what is that story that you want to tell? So for my student, she picked a bottle of shampoo that had the scent that she liked and a feeling that conveyed what she was hoping to get out of her shampoo. So if your podcast is like a bottle of shampoo in a supermarket, how do you stand out? It’s with your brand. Your brand encompasses not only the feelings you want to convey, but you do this through the audio and visuals as well. So let’s talk audio first.
In your podcast, audio is key. It is the number one thing you should be focusing on, and I like to call this audio branding. When I worked in radio, this could have been called a sting or a jingle, which is a mnemonic sound, also known in the advertising industry as a sonic logo or a sound logo. So when people heard this sting or jingle, they knew which brand it was associated with. So take for example these sounds, what feelings come up for you when you heard them? Did they sound familiar? And if they did, do you know the brand? What reaction did that conjure up when you heard those sounds? Sound plays a huge part in branding and especially on podcasts when it’s mostly audio. Oh, and if some of those sounds are like an earworm right now and you’re like, What is it? I can’t quite pinpoint where I’ve heard those from. The answer to your questions. Those sound logos are 20th Century Fox, Intel, and Disney. For your audio branding, in podcasting, this usually comes into play with music you choose to start or end your show with. This sets the stage and mood for how you want your listener to feel. Picking music isn’t about what you like, but what will suit the listener when they listen to your show. Do you want them to be empowered, be thought-provoking, relaxed, calm? Music plays to your heartstrings and it’s vital to the brand you want to create. It’s the same for your voice. Again, at the beginning of this episode, when I talk to potential clients and they’re like, Wow, you’re so full of energy, your voice. I mean, I can also play it down and I can have more of a relaxed tone, making my pacing a little slower. But I wanted my podcast to feel energizing and empowering, and for you to know that podcasting is fun. And so that’s my personality and that’s what I bring to my podcast. So what will you bring to yours? That’s the little unknown thing about audio branding for podcasting, it really is about the pacing, so not just about your voice, but the music and everything that encompasses your show. How fast or slow will your show be overall? If you want to convey that energy, like for me and my show, then maybe things will be fast and quick. You’ll speak a little quicker, have transitions, overlay a lot more. But if you want to set that mood for, say, a meditation podcast, a sleeping podcast, you speak slower, more, define and let the music play out. Just still a little bit longer. For my solo episodes, like this one you’re listening to now, I also like to add music to transition from one thought to another. It’s used to lay the foundation of emotions I want the listener to have and to subconsciously let them know that a new thought is being transitioned here. This is part of my sound design. It’s part of my audio branding for my podcast. I use music to convey messages to you. Okay, not in a creepy stalkery kind of way, but to let your brain know that something’s going to shift and change. Don’t worry, I’m not here to reprogram your brain or anything. These are just subtle ways that audio is integrated into shows as well, like TV shows and movies. It’s just all subconscious and happening in the background. And when the job is done right, you don’t even know it’s happening. It’s all part of the audio branding, subtle connections from your ears to your brain, making an emotional connection with your listeners.
Okay, so we talked about sound, but what about your eyes to your brain? Because we live in such a visual world. So your artwork or logos, also known as a podcast cover art, is what people think about when it comes to visual branding. And on podcasting, that is no different. Similar to your audio brand, your visual brand needs to have the same main question: How do you want your listener to feel? Visuals can provide movement, energy and emotion as well. A podcast cover art with dark colours can signal a serious topic such as a True Crime podcast. This cover art is like judging a book by its cover, and although as a kid you were probably told not to do that, don’t ever judge a book by its cover. It does happen a lot in podcasting when potential listeners are looking to see if your show jives with them. So visuals are usually the first time someone comes across your podcast. So it’s valuable to highlight what’s important to the listener here with your visual brand.
As part of my personal brand, at the very beginning stages of creating my podcast, the one you’re listening to now, I wanted you to have fun to be energized, empowered and uplifted to start or grow your own podcast or take your existing podcast to the next level. So for the audio brand, I chose music that conveyed these feelings as I talked about earlier. I also edit the show so it’s more snappy and did the best I could when I created my visuals and launched my podcast. And like most podcasters, probably like you, you bootstrapped everything, creating practically everything yourself. So with my background in radio, it wasn’t much of a problem for me for the audio branding side, but the visual branding side, well, I liked what I did. Actually, I think graphic design was going to be my fallback if this whole radio career thing wasn’t going to work, but it did. So I never really honed my graphic design skills, but I had fun with it when I launched my podcast. So the cover art that I created was never something I was truly proud of, what I envisioned the brand of my podcast to be on the visual side. I knew eventually I would get some professional help on the visuals. So know that whatever you choose to do today, you can change in the future. Your artwork, music, heck, even the name of your podcast, that can all change. Nothing is written in stone. Play with the ideas that you have right now and run with it, then tweak along the way when the time is right. So alluding to the fact that I knew I was going to get professional help one of these days to do my visuals, that’s what I did, finally. For the past year, I’ve been working with a talented, local designer who’s been supporting some of my podcast launch clients in creating visual brands for their podcast and finally, I knew it was my turn. With Emily Johnston of Artio Design Co, we worked together to establish my new visual brand, which you will now see on the podcast. Nothing on the audio side will change because I was really happy with what I have now, but I wanted my visuals to align with what I have on my show. So she was able to incorporate my audio branding with my new visual brand. What I love is the energy and the movement in my new visuals, which are a new cover art and social media templates as well. So you can check those out on my Instagram page at Organized Sound Productions. You know, when I do update because I’m kind of more of an Instagram poster, not that that’s bad or anything. There’s no one way to do social media, but that’s, I think that’s another episode for another day anyway. As I tell you and my clients, how do I want my listeners to feel? That’s what I ran with when I started this visual redesign with Emily.
So let me know, what do you feel about this new visual rebrand? Send me some feedback. You can email me visiblevoicepodcast@gmail.com or leave a message on my website with the “Send Voicemail” purple button on the screen. I’d love for you to let me know what you think of the new artwork or if you are working on your own and would like some tips on how to uplevel your own show and your artwork, send me a message. I’d love to hear from you.
