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 I spoke to Lisa along with Leo Laporte, the husband-and-wife team behind TWiT's podcasting empire and how they can create an audience that is so engaged with the brand they are eager to hear commercials from you.

"When we started we were aiming for only a small group of individuals who were technophiles. Today, we're like, "Where's the technology? !" smiles Lisa Laporte who is Chief Executive Officer of TWiT. "It's totally evolved." The social aspect of podcasting was the reason it was a "logical continuation" of Chief TWiT's goals in life and the main reason Lisa was captivated by new media.

The couple had been working on their own podcasting empire over more than 16 years prior to the outbreak that began to spread in the year 2020. "Those few years were very lonely," Lisa explains. "We were all in small Zoom boxes. However, we have a technical audience that loves and wants to be part of a community." TWiT needed to find a new way to connect to its followers during this isolating time.

Lisa spoke with one of the sponsors for TWiT the tech-training platform ITPro.TV, about how to offer something back to fans. "Simply enough, ITPro.TV permitted its customers to join in and chat online for up to an about an hour after dark. There were times when they played games, and sometimes be just chatting," Lisa continues. "I kept thinking, 'That's what I want to do. I was hoping to allow our fans to have a place to come and hang out.

Lisa confirms that the ability to include a Discord server to the membership offerings officially created "a better experience" that just establishing a new online community. "It was time to offer our community that additional benefit; members had grown tired of locking themselves in their homes." Club TWiT was all set to launch.

From content to cruising The arrival of Club TWiT

Lisa explains that she explains that TWiT team encourages its members to get involved in the organization in the most effective way. They solicit feedback from their shows; they host regularly scheduled Ask Me Anything (AMA) sessions; they host an area where members can come to hang out. This is especially crucial when it came to online communities when the virus was circulating, but it's being translated into real-world situations.

"We will be exhibiting our photography, so I think it'd be fun to tell people"Hey We'll attend this show. Join us for a photography walk and a photo shoot!'" continues Lisa. The team envisions doing numerous more events in person and, indeed, TWiT is hosting a cruise for its 100 members. Leo and Lisa have agreed that, nearly counterintuitively, it's in-person events like this that are really the "fundamental element of what podcasting is about" and also what differentiates it from traditional media.

Lisa and Leo are also using Club TWiT to premiere and test new content; if shows begin getting noticed, it may be included in their premium Club TWiT offering or become an ad-supported program. When this happens, Lisa will approach the host of the show, and advise the hosts to practice ad reads, and include the show in their kit to start approaching sponsors. Every ad needs to be read out by the host of the show so that it appears as an integral and natural element of the show.

Selling your sponsors better than selling them

Creating an advertising approach that benefits both sponsors and people who listen to it is crucial to its success: "Our advertising works because the community trusts our brand. We have the ability to suggest items and services to them as well, and they're willing to help us so they purchase them. If we contract advertisers We thoroughly vet them as a company We also review their ratings," Lisa says. Lisa.

She explains: "We do such a excellent job with our ads-supported part that Club members are constantly saying"Hey, we need to put in ads. Actually, we have a Discord channel specifically for advertisements on our shows!" She adds that the audience requests for them to post an advertisement at least once per month for each show because the listeners are looking for information on where they can purchase the advertised items: "They trust us so they ask, 'You're required to provide us with a feed so that we can hear ads every once a while.'"

As of now, I have to double-check what I'm hearing. Lisa says that TWiT members do make entries into the shows to request the TWiT's advertisements to be linked. "Isn't it hilarious? !" she smiles. She goes on to say: "Our Club TWiT members get the shows for free however, they do write us to say, "Hey, we miss the ads - we'd love to hear the ads!' Therefore, we regularly drop in commercials to thank our sponsors for their support or when we have an exciting new partner. This is how captivating they are."

"Our sponsor says"Can you please send us a courtesy commercial for every ad read? Sales trainees are required to take a look because you've made them watchable since you've helped sell our business better than half of our junior staff I thought that was quite adorable."

The importance of starting small

So how do you create a membership business that people like and trust so much they request to hear your advertisements? "Really have a look at what's out there and consider the way others are operating," Lisa suggests. "Look at others who are that are similar to yours and observe what they're doing before you jump into the fray. Have conversations: call me or talk to someone that has done this."

She advises "just taking your time" to consider different approaches and designs. "Don't bite off more than you're able to chew. If you decide to do 50 things, you'll find you can't do those effectively. Start with a small amount, just as we did: we began with AMAs."

Leo and Lisa discuss how Lisa and Leo explain that the TWiT team has slowly but surely figured how to solve the problem as they continue further down the road. Now that they're getting grips of the process and are beginning to add to their offerings with bonuses information. "I do not want to make promises that are too big but then not deliver," Lisa continues.

Lisa encourages podcasters to take a look closely at all the features they provide with their membership package. "See what is appropriate for what you're trying to do and shop around for the best product. Because the podcast is both video and audio and video, we've got a few peculiarities that are not typical as a podcasting network."

Contributing to the community

"If you're interested in tech then check out our website. We've got a show suitable for all!" she smiles. "We have entry-level shows like the Tech Guy; we have iOS Today, which is entertaining if you've got the iPad or iPhone and are interested in learning how to utilize the devices; and we also have some 'geek shows such as Security Now if you're into security. If you like the show, you can join Club TWiT and download the podcast! Remember to help each other in this community."

Supporting the podcasting community and its wonderfully egalitarian nature has always been a priority for the TWiT team "We will continue to provide gratis content, however it's an excellent opportunity to have this extra thing to the fans who are super. I enjoy having both since everyone with internet access can access our content and don't need to shell out money for them. This is very democratic." Lisa says. Lisa.

She ends: "We have fans in third world nations who have written to say that they heard your podcast. I was a regular at a local electronics store to listen to your podcast and learn a few things. And now I have an opportunity in the field of technology!'"

Perhaps Lisa, Leo, and the team at TWiT have not only witnessed the evolution of technology from being a topic that was reserved for enthusiasts, but also the ubiquitous phenomenon it is nowadays. Maybe they've helped propel the transformation.