Speaking and Communicating Podcast

This podcast focuses on improving your communication skills both professionally and personally

>> Robert Sandleila: Welcome back to the speaking and communicating podcast. I am your host, Roberta Nlela. If you are looking to improve your communication skills, both professionally and personally, this is the podcast you should be tuning into. Communication and soft skills are crucial for your career growth and leadership development. Now, in this exciting month of May, we have an amazing lineup of guests for you. On Mondays, our special guests will be helping us with our inner communication. On Wednesdays, we have public speaking experts helping us with becoming better public speakers. And on Fridays, our, uh, guests will be showing us how to reach global audiences. So stay tuned, share these episodes with those who will benefit from them and log on to Apple and Spotify and leave us a rating and a review.

Alicia Galari runs a podcast management agency based in North Carolina

Now let's get communicating.

>> Robert Sandleila: Now let's get communicating with Alicia Galari, all the way from North Carolina. Oh, I think the food is really good over there. She runs a podcast management agency. Talk about a perfect fit for not only our show, but for any listeners who are thinking of starting their podcast. And she's here to talk to us about her manufacturing background and how she uses the principles from that in order to help her clients in her agency. And before I go any further, please help me welcome her to the show. Hi, Alicia.

>> Alicia Galari: Hi. Thank you so much for having me. I am so excited to chat with you today.

>> Robert Sandleila: I am excited that you are here. Welcome to the show. Tell us a little bit about yourself.

>> Alicia Galari: Yeah. So, I am Alicia Giladi. Obviously. I run a full service podcast management agency called Galadi Media. I am a mom of two. I have what I very affectionately call my house hussy. My husband, who is a homeschooling dad. I could not do it. I'm the breadwinner. I love what I do, and that's kind of always been our dynamic, which I really love. And it also allows us to show our boys something a little different than the typical male female gender roles within the house. So that's always really exciting. And then I actually, uh, started my career. This is going to be so silly. If you're not from the New Jersey area, you'll be like, wait, what? So I grew up in New York, moved down to New Jersey when I was eleven, and then grew up there. Ended up meeting my husband at a local community college, and I was pumping gas at a wawa. Yes, that is a job, actually pumping the gas for people in New Jersey.

>> Robert Sandleila: I am south african. When I first came here, I said, so who's gonna pump your gas? My friend's car. I said, I have never touched a gas pump. I've never changed my own oil or water. I've never pumped my own tires. Who does that? They say, no, in America, you do it yourself. I say, I could never survive driving my own car here. I have never done any of that. I don't even know how my tires feel when I touch them. So in New Jersey, they do the south african model.

>> Alicia Galari: I don't know if it's still a thing, but I mean, that you're looking at 2013, 2014, it was illegal to pump your own gas. Like, we could get in trouble, the person could get in trouble. Straight up illegal. And they were only one of two states that actually had gas attendance. So that was really interesting. And so I was pumping gas and have tended to be in a more male dominated industry, as you'll hear through my story. I'm pumping gas outside in the elements, and I'm networking with people, and I am an introvert, but I need a better job than this. I'm asking people what they do for their jobs. I'm asking them if anybody's hiring. I am. Connecting. Ended up connecting with the head of us production for a production company where they worked with specialty gases, and these gases were mixed to create the microchips within phones. Crazy stuff. Ended up connecting with him and putting his name down on a application, not realizing that he was really high up in the company. And so they were like, oh, well, we'll give this girl, uh, a try. Let's see. Ended up going into manufacturing, working my butt off, moving up within the company to the point where they were like, well, we don't want to lose you, and I know you want to move south, so let's relocate you to our facility in North Carolina. So they paid for everything. And at that point, I was seven months pregnant with my second kid, so I'd had the first one within the company did the whole, like, six weeks of maternity leave and then back to work, because I really love working, and I'm not really the stay at home mom type, which was a really interesting discovery. And then being able to move down to North Carolina, like I said, they paid for everything. Relocated me, and then I was with the company for about three more years from. From there and moved my way up from working out in the would, say field, but that's not exactly right. It was like a cylinder field. It's just like an area filled with cylinders. Think your, uh, oxygen tanks and things like that, but, like, ten times bigger working out there, moving these things, and then all the way up through production planning, which I loved. Not only did it allow me to create a plan, act on that plan, communicate the plan with the customer service as well as the plant, but also got me to be able to walk around the plant and say, this is what I need this, and kind of set that expectation with the guys working in the facility because it was a very, and is a very male dominated industry. And like, setting that level of respect not only as a woman, but a mixed woman was really interesting. And being able to be like, no, I know my stuff. This is what I expect from you. This is what needs to happen. Fast forward. I was driving 1 hour to, uh, my work, then an hour back home every morning and every night. And with little ones. Yes, my husband was home with them, so I didn't have to worry about stressing of like, they're in daycare or they're getting home from school or what's happening. But I didn't get to see them very often. It was like the living for the weekends, uh, almost. And yes, while I loved my job, I wanted to be closer to home, so I didn't have so much of a commute and ended up finding a job that was closer. Even though I'd been with that company for seven years, I was like, I think I need something different. And ended up finding a more inventory analyst position. So desk job found out really quickly. I did not like that very much, but moved to this analyst position, was able to be home more, and then Covid happened. Now, between all of this, I was still doing some side hustle stuff. I had created and produced my own two podcasts at that point. One was about inventory and supply chain stuff, which I was like, oh, uh, man, I'm already doing that with my day job. I don't want to do this podcast anymore. That has since pod faded. I had another one with my sister where we talked through cults and why people joined cults since we had grown up in one, and like, trying to figure that out and navigate that. And so I created and produced those two podcasts and with my background in manufacturing and processes and creating from creating full sops based on a process, because the materials that we were working with were life and death. Like, really, I don't think that people realize, like, when you're working in a manufacturing plant, most of those things can kill you if you're not handling them correctly. Not that I was scared to go to work every day, but there was that underlying thing of like, I have a life insurance, I have everything I need, that if anything happens to me, my kids are fine. My husband's fine, and he can take care of them if he needs to, because there was always that possibility that something could happen. And, yes, podcasting does not have, you know, the life and death or anything like that, but those processes I was able to take and create from.

You went with the flow of where the universe was taking you

All right, here's the front, the start of that process. Here's the end of that process and create that. Moving in to podcasting was really fun and also allowed me to hire a lot quicker than maybe someone who had never created sops before. So Covid happened. I ended up losing my job, uh, due to layoffs, this new position. And I was like, oh, man, I probably should have stayed at this other one where nobody got laid off. But I think it was kind of the universe telling me, now is the time, kind of kicking me off the proverbial edge and letting me know that now's the time to take advantage of this thing that I want to do. So that is my story.

>> Robert Sandleila: And you went with the nudge. You went with the flow of where the universe was taking you.

When did you first realize you loved podcasts? All podcasting

Uh, when did you first realize you loved podcasts? All podcasting?

>> Alicia Galari: Yeah. So I started listening to podcasts back in 2015 when I had started commuting with my kid. I realized, like, man, the radio plays the same, uh, three or four songs over and over and over again, and it's so annoying. And I am a lifelong learner. Like, I took a while while getting pregnant and working full time, getting my associate's degree, and then getting my bachelor's after that, while still working full time, being a mom, becoming a mom a second time. I love learning. And when I discovered podcasting, the first podcast that I ever listened to was stuff you should know. And I remember going into my work and telling my boss at this manufacturing plant, I mean, podcasting was like, what? No, nobody knows what podcasting is. And I was like, oh, my goodness, I listened to the craziest podcast today. Did you know that? And then I just went off on all these things that I learned, and I was so excited. And of course, he's like, okay, Alicia. But I was just like, this is so cool. And so every day, I would just listen to new episodes, and I ended up finding the entrepreneur space via, uh, podcasts, which was really cool and also changed my life, obviously. But then when I would say in 2018, when I started my first podcast, I was like, look, I'm going to do this. I think this is a great way to create content. And yes, it was, but I don't think that I was ready yet. To actually have a podcast on that topic, because, yes, while I knew a lot of things about it, I wasn't really passionate about it. So it was more about, here's the things that you should do, here's the things you need to do. But it wasn't like the excitement that I have when I talk about podcasting. I mean, if you listen to anything, I get super excited about podcasting, and that comes across in my voice. So that was kind of when I discovered, I'm going to give this a shot and see how it is. You know, it's interesting because I never thought I would be a podcaster. When I was younger, I, uh, sang in choir. I would lead music in church. I would do all these things. When I was 18, I went away to Bible college, and I got really sick, and it completely changed the baritone, my voice from like a, ah, soprano to a baritone. When I went from singing in the choir, it was soprano. The first year of bible college, and then the second year, it was me singing with the guys. And I remember just how devastating that was for me because it completely changed everything about me and everything I had kind of known about myself up to that point. And then, of course, working in manufacturing with guys who can be jerks with some of the things they say. I had a guy tell me, oh, Alicia, you have one of those voices that just makes me want to punch you in the face. And I was just like, what, rude much?

>> Robert Sandleila: Actually say that out loud, right?

>> Alicia Galari: And my boss was like, you can't say that to people. Like, what's wrong with you? Also, like, that can be internalized, especially after what I had gone through. And so it never really occurred to me of, like, podcast thing is going to be the thing that you're going to do with your voice that you really don't really like. Um, it's been really interesting, uh, quite a journey of, okay, release. I have great information. This is the best way for me to express it, and I'm going to do that thing.

>> Robert Sandleila: Seems like you keep having this repeated theme of the universe is nudging you a certain direction. So it did that with your voice this time. Time.

When you started your first podcast, you didn't think anyone would listen

And what happened when you started podcasting? Did you just immediately know, this is what I want to talk about. This is my m target audiences, and this is what my dream or my long term goal for the podcast is.

>> Alicia Galari: So for that first podcast, it was m more about using my marketing degree, knowing how to do that market research, discover who my audience would be, and then what the topics they would need to know were. And so I did that, uh, research upfront, which also allows me to kind of get out of my own head of no, the data says this, that's where the direction we're going to go. So that really helped. And then when I started the podcast with my sister, I actually didn't think that anyone would listen. So this was after my mom had passed away, she died of an overdose. And we were like, why did she join the cult in the first place? We couldn't ask her at that point. And so it was kind of more therapeutic in processing our grief and our childhood traumas and like all of that stuff. And so using podcasting in that way, it wasn't really so much about who our listeners were, it was about us working through our own things. And I really loved that as a way to not only just process trauma, but also realizing that there were other people who were sliding into our DM's.

>> Robert Sandleila: And saying, oh, Phil, the same things. Yes.

>> Alicia Galari: Yeah. And so that really helped me be able to see, like, it doesn't matter. Anything that anyone has said in the past, uh, if my message is going to reach the right people, then that's what really matters. It doesn't matter that I don't like my own voice. Cool. I can hire out the editing because I don't want to hear myself talk, you know, like there are ways around it that are very possible. I can run it through a transcription service and say, what in the world did I say in this episode? You know, like, there are tons of things that you can do if you're someone who's like, I don't want to hear my own voice, but I know that what I have to say is impactful and really just being able to stand on your own 2ft and say, this is what I'm going to say. That really helps a lot.

>> Robert Sandleila: Mhm.

You started the podcast management agency COVID in early 2020

And what got you starting the podcast management agency? And what do you actually do there for your clients?

>> Alicia Galari: Yeah, so early 2020, before COVID kind of hit the states, I had said, okay, I'm going to move into podcast management because I love podcasting, I love to talk about it. At that point, I wasn't really planning on launching my own podcast about it, but rather doing the work for people who were maybe feeling frustrated with all of the effort that it takes to create a podcast. So I was able to take everything that I had learned from the previous five years of creating blogs, doing social media, creating podcasts, and I'm very multi passionate and so I want someone to just hand me raw audio and let me run with it because I will have so much fun. And so that's what I knew I wanted, and that was kind of my decision. Okay, early 2020, that's what I'm going to do. Proverbial allege happened in April. And then from there, I reached out to my network of, uh, Facebook friends, which had already built up to be some entrepreneurs and things like that, and said, hey, this happened. Does anybody want to launch a podcast? Obviously, this is going to be extremely discounted because I'm testing this out to see if this is even something I want to do. Launched two podcasts that summer and said, oh, yes, this is definitely something I want to do. So we do everything from launching the podcast and for our launches specifically, we actually handle everything. We do not do half of the services for launches. That is something that we have found really works best for the results that we get for our clients. So we do the market research, which I think is one thing that is missed so much when it comes to podcasts. And I think that helps with my marketing degree and, like, knowing all of that, doing that podcast market research, what are other people doing? How can you differentiate your podcast and the things that you're saying and how you're saying them from other people in the industry? Are other people podcasting about what you're podcasting? What are some of those topics that are really popular? Looking at who your ideal listener is, doing all that research upfront, while it is boring, I get it. Uh, it can help you be able to sustain a podcast. Because 90% of podcasters actually stop at about 25 episodes. They don't make it to that 25 episode mark, which is really devastating, right. For someone who loves podcasts, do they.

>> Robert Sandleila: Stop because the numbers are not coming or they run out of content? Why do they stop? Have you been able to find out what the reason behind stopping is?

>> Alicia Galari: So it's usually a few things, both of what you said, where either they've run out of content, they don't know what to do, they have not created a workflow, which is where my background in manufacturing really helps, where it's like, step by step, here's everything you need to do, from idea to marketing, get it out there. And so we have resources for that, which is really great to be able to keep people consistently showing up for their show. That fear, honestly, of, I don't know that what I have to say is important because the numbers are low. But the thing is, if you are getting 35 downloads within your first seven days of an episode, going live, you're already in the top 50% of podcasts. That's it. You just need 35 people to listen to your podcast within that first seven days, and you're already doing better than half of the podcasters out there. People don't realize that number. They think, oh, I didn't get thousands.

>> Robert Sandleila: Of downloads this month, or why not Joe Rogan numbers?

>> Alicia Galari: I know, I know, and you know, but the thing is, like, while people want Joe Rogan numbers, and I hear this all the time, like, but Joe Rogan? Yes, yes. And I mean, Joe Rogan was a household name in the nineties with fear factor. He has been on the scene, and he was doing his podcast for years, um, years before Spotify gave him a million dollar deal. It's going to take some time, right? And so also noting, this is a good example. So I have a client, a year ago, she had a 3000 downloads, and she was excited and also sad. And I was like, well, what's going on? What's happening here? And she said, well, you know, so and so just hit a million. And I'm feeling, how long has she.

>> Robert Sandleila: Been doing her podcast to hit 100,000?

>> Alicia Galari: She had been doing her podcast for four years, the same amount of time as this other person. And I said, listen, your podcast is a subset of her audience. Your listeners are a subset, a very select group. So in the case of this, she talks about boundaries, but from the point of a twelve step program, right, a, uh, specific group of people are interested in the twelve step program. They're the ones who are, feel like wanting boundaries. They want to talk about the twelve step program, whereas there are other people who maybe want to talk about boundaries or want to talk about things, but maybe they don't really want to see it from the lens of twelve steps. So those are not her ideal listeners. This other podcast that she was comparing it to was all the adult children, like adult children about alcohol, adult children of drug addicts, adult children of et cetera. That is a way bigger net of, um, people who are going to be interested in this podcast. And so she was comparing apples to oranges at that point, right?

>> Robert Sandleila: But which also begs the question, if anybody's listening and they think, okay, so somebody's got a hundred thousand downloads. Somebody's got a million downloads. Does the million downloads podcast make more money? Does it?

>> Alicia Galari: So I wouldn't even say doesn't make more money. Does it achieve the lifestyle that that person has set out to want? Right? And so my client, who's able to get clients from her podcast to fulfill a full time income, not have to produce her podcast because we handle it. And then this other person who is doing everything from a to z to manage her podcast and has sponsors, and so she's not even getting clients for herself. She's doing sponsors, which at that point, those types of numbers, you're looking at anywhere from 500 to maybe a episode. Yeah, she might be getting that, but with all the effort that she's putting in, and if her numbers drop, then that makes her sponsorships drop. Like, there's so many nuances to it. Whereas this client is able to have nine clients. Right. Like, one of my clients has nine clients working through boundaries, doing something that she loves, and not having to stress about her podcast and using that as a funnel to bring in the types of people she wants to work with and the money that she wants to make. Okay, that's great. But also, I think this is a really important part to kind of drive home, is they're both successful.

>> Robert Sandleila: Yes.

>> Alicia Galari: Goes back to, what are their goals for their podcast? Is it to get sponsors? Cool. You're doing that. Awesome.

>> Robert Sandleila: Yeah. Uh, is it?

>> Alicia Galari: You get clients. Cool. You're doing that. That's awesome. Both of those. No matter which, what the numbers are saying, it doesn't matter because you're achieving your goals, which is why I focus really heavily on what are your goals. Let's help you achieve those.

>> Robert Sandleila: Like you said, podcast management agency. And you do all of that.

Are your clients individuals, professionals, or businesses

Are your clients individuals, professionals, or businesses?

>> Alicia Galari: A variety. So, we have worked with nonprofits. We have worked with investment firms. We've worked with agencies. We have some startup marketing agency, podcast clients. There were two women that I love to highlight. They have since stopped podcasting, but they had a business where they were teaching women to create website designing companies. So women in stEm, like, that was such a subset. They were getting maybe 100, 150 downloads per episode and were able to sell out their group programs because they were so niche, so careful about who they were talking to, what they were talking about, and they were achieving their goals. Right. So, like, it doesn't matter if you're the nonprofit who's looking for more visibility for your nonprofit or the small business, going back to those goals. And that's why I love what we do, because, yes, we provide the production and the marketing and all that stuff, but there's so much behind the strategy that we talk about. And all of our clients get strategy, whether they're at, uh, editing only or full service, it doesn't matter. You're getting Alicia. And so like, going back to those goals and then, okay, how are we achieving those goals? That is what's important.

One of the things that I recommend is talk about your services

>> Robert Sandleila: And each time you've spoken about the coaching, how do you tailor make your podcast content to include the coaching or to be able to attract coaching clients based on them listening to your podcast?

>> Alicia Galari: Yeah. So there are a few different ways that I recommend people do this. If you're a podcaster and you're like, look, I want my listeners to turn into clients. How do I do that? One of the things that I recommend is talk about your services. So many people don't do this thing. And I remember talking to someone when I first was starting into this space. I was maybe six months in. She's like, I want to get clients. And I was like, do you ever talk about what you do for your clients? You ever talk about your services? And she was like, uh, no. Then do it. Come on. They're not going to know if you don't tell them. So tell them. Tell them how that you work with clients and if that feels salesy or it feels gross, I get it. That's okay. Use storytelling. So, in the case of what I have just expressed, I have not only told you the successes that our clients have had, the struggles that they were maybe going through, it allows your listeners to see themselves in that light of, oh, yeah, I'm feeling myself comparing myself to other people, and maybe I need Alicia to give me a kick in the butt. I have shared these stories that they're not salesy stories. I'm not saying buy my programs, pay me money. I'm giving you value. So these are ways that you can express how you work with people without it feeling gross and salesy. Right. And then also letting people know that, okay, after you're done listening to this episode, where to go next? So often we miss that. Yes, we talk about how we can work with us. We talk about these stories, but we don't say go here. Give your audience an action to take after the episode. In this case, I mentioned, we have the free workflow. We also have a free podcast launch roadmap. Like, there's so many places that I can send them of, uh, all right, send them to download this freebie to get access to this free thing, or that I can then nurture them via, uh, email. Or maybe I tell them to send me a DM ways that I can connect with these listeners on a deeper level. That is how you're going to take your listeners and turn them into leads.

>> Robert Sandleila: Which is very much what most podcasters are looking for, as you said, but sometimes we don't actually say, I think I've been guilty of that, too, especially when I started mentioned that, hey, I coach on the communication skills, the public speaking, the software. Sometimes we have this subconscious fear of, I don't want to sound salesy, and then they're going to write that on my ratings.

>> Alicia Galari: I know. Yes, Alicia.

>> Robert Sandleila: Ah.

Any last words of wisdom for anyone thinking of launching a podcast

Any last words of wisdom for anyone thinking of launching a podcast? How to monetize it, how to use it to attract clients, all the stuff we've spoken about today.

>> Alicia Galari: This might seem kind of silly, but I actually don't think that everyone should have a podcast. Obviously, I make my money from people having podcasts, but I have sat in with potential clients and said, look, you're not ready. I'm sorry, not sorry. You're not ready to have a podcast yet. And usually what indicates that for me is that they're not clear on their message. Which, if I go back to pre Alicia, where she had that first podcast, not really enjoying the topic, or being able to articulate it in a way that can turn those listeners into leads. Right? Or create that entertainment or that excitement via that second podcast with my sister. So you're not really sure who your audience is or who those potential listeners are. Maybe you're not clear on your message yet, or maybe you're new in business or new into transferring these skills to your podcast. I think that it's really important that you get on other people's podcasts to help you hone in on those articulating skills. Hire Roberta to help you articulate skills.

>> Robert Sandleila: Please do. I'm, um, here.

>> Alicia Galari: Like, do things that going to help you be able to express yourself in a way that's really good, because there is nothing worse than listening to a podcast where someone is really sad or does not care about the topic. Like, it's boring. We want to make sure that what you're expressing is exciting and entertaining, and also can take your audience from where they are and transform their lives into something better. So that is what I would say. Not everybody should have a podcast, but, uh, if you do go that route, definitely create a strategy, do that market research upfront. I cannot express how important that is.

>> Robert Sandleila: And if you don't know how to do the market research.

>> Alicia Galari: Hi, Alicia.

>> Robert Sandleila: Uh, Galadi.

>> Alicia Galari: Yeah, we do that for people. That is actually what our favorite part is of that launch, is to do that market research that we can go in with clear expectations, but also it allows our clients to feel really good about. Oh, there's a need for me in this market, which is always really exciting.

>> Robert Sandleila: Mhm. So you can fill the gap for sure.

Alicia Galari is the owner of Gallery Media, a podcast management agency

Words of wisdom from Alicia Galari, the North Carolina based podcast management agency, founder and founder of Gallery Media. Thank you so much. You see how you talk about excitement and how when you have a podcast you should pick. That's exactly how you are.

>> Alicia Galari: Um, yes, I get very excited about this topic.

>> Robert Sandleila: It literally jumped off the screen. This has been so enjoyable. Alicia, thank you.

>> Alicia Galari: Yes, thank you for having me. I really appreciate it.

>> Robert Sandleila: My pleasure. And before you go, where can we find you if we are looking for your services and a way to connect.

>> Alicia Galari: With you, yes, you can go to glottimedia.com. everything is there, I promise. Resources, guides, blog posts, YouTube videos, the works. We've got everything, including two podcasts. So lots of stuff over there for you.

>> Robert Sandleila: Galadimedia.com Alicia Galadi, thank you very much for being on the show today.

>> Alicia Galari: Yes, thank you.

>> Robert Sandleila: My pleasure.