Lessons from My First Podfest as an indie podcaster
- Nina Rodriguez
- Feb 2
- 7 min read
As a self-taught, independent podcaster nearly three years into the work, my goal in attending my first-ever Podfest this year was to learn what speakers had to share about growth and scalability, and how creativity in this space can be supported by sustainable business structures.
And to meet fellow podcasters, of course!
Of the five-day schedule, I was only able to attend on Saturday, so I prioritized the monetization, video marketing, business growth, and legal tracks to make the most of the day.
Another goal was sharing these lessons with you.
But first, first impressions
For a conference in its 12th year, Podfest ran as smoothly as one would expect.
As a first-timer, one of the most noteworthy aspects of the experience was that logistics and community building began well before the conference itself, through the Whova app and pre-event Zoom gatherings. This early engagement fostered a sense of connection, familiarity, and orientation, allowing attendees to make the most of their time once on site.
Once there, the conference space centered around a large vendor area, with two main stages set up at the back for the most popular sessions. These areas were sectioned off and partially sound-buffered, but there was still a lot happening and the cacophony was inevitable. The event coordinators seemingly solved for this by offering headphones, allowing attendees to hear speakers directly without missing the conversation. A practical and appreciated workaround, albeit awkward at times.
Other sessions were held in rooms located down two separate hallways branching off from the main space. The result was a lot of back-and-forth movement that made the area feel crowded at times. The flow could have been smoother. One repeat attendee mentioned that previous years were better organized logistically, and I could see how small layout tweaks might make a big difference.
Still, none of this took away from the substance and in-person networking, which is the main thing after all.
Lessons on Building a Podcasting Business
Monetization Track: Making the Podcast Work For You
Alex Sanfilippo of Podmatch opened with How to Earn a Full-Time Income Through Podcasting. One of his takeaways was to:
“Make your content insanely valuable for humans and robots.”
In practice, this means being crystal clear about what you want to be known for, and ensuring everything you post reinforces that. Even personal content.
Alex shared how he posted a photo celebrating his wife and business partner’s birthday, but tied it back to their work in podcasting, as his priority is being known as the podcast guy (paraphrasing here, not his words). Meanwhile, other interests, hobbies, and passions like fitness or foodie activities stay offline. When asked about balancing authenticity with personality-driven content (especially since other presenters emphasized that personality builds intimacy), his answer was reinforced that authenticity is fine, as long as you can link it back to the brand.
This is one of those “it depends” moments. Every creator has to decide how porous the boundary is between personal and public, and what authenticity looks and feels like to them and in relation to their brand. The value here was less about rules and more about intentionality.
Next up was Danielle Desir Corbett, who presented 10 Lessons to Land Podcast Grants (Even If You’ve Never Applied Before), and this was a personal favorite.
Danielle helped reframe podcasters as far more than podcasters. We are producers, journalists, storytellers, authors, community builders, creatives, small business owners, and all the things. Most funding opportunities, she emphasized, are not format-specific, so we should get used to thinking outside the box.
Key takeaways:
Funding includes grants, fellowships, residencies, and accelerators
The beginning of the year is prime grant season
Keep your pipeline full, apply consistently
Don’t apply everywhere; apply where there’s mission and values alignment
Funders support momentum, so clarity matters
Apply to at least one grant per month
One application should never carry all your hopes and dreams
This was a great reminder that opportunities often come in unexpected forms, so thinking of ourselves and our work in broader terms may help us access funding in non-traditional ways.
Then came Michael Osborne of 14th Street Studios with From Indie to Industry: What It Really Takes to Land a Media Deal. Equal parts hilarious and razor-sharp, Michael leaned fully into his “self-proclaimed poorly designed slides” while delivering real substance.
He says there’s no blueprint, but there are patterns:
Dialed-in production (everything should look and sound professional)
Network like crazy: you never know who’s dropping your show into a Slack channel
Sort out IP early (someone will ask who owns the show)
Align your show with industry partners’ editorial priorities
Keep improving, even (and especially) in post-launch
Michael broke down the three essential qualities of every good podcast:
Story
Learning
A hangout space
(Think of “hangout space” as the ecosystem related to your work/podcast where people can engage with your work and offerings, like your private communities, podcast, social media, newsletter, etc…)
And shared his 12 rules for crafting an original show, along with a development process that includes inspiration, deconstruction, experimentation, activation, and solicitation. One notable insight is he noticed it took around 2-3 years of sustained production and growth before each show was acquired (using this term loosely, as I can’t recall the exact term he used for each show transition).
Another key takeaway is that listener feedback matters deeply, to the point that listeners often describe our shows better than we can. He recommended a call-in service asking:
How did you hear about the show?
How do you describe it to friends?
What other shows do you listen to?
Longer or shorter?
What would make it better?
Beyond consistency in release schedules or promotion, Michael named the hardest and most important challenge: emotional consistency. Listeners want to know how they’ll feel before they hit play.
He closed with what he called the indie conundrum: “to host a show, you must believe you have something worthwhile to say, while also knowing that the best version of yourself is often the most ego-less”. Great shows require sandboxes and confidants: editors, producers, collaborators, consultants. No one does this well alone.
Video Track: Growth & Psychology
In the Video Track presented by Riverside, Mark Savant of Mark Savant Media shared “How I Grew My YouTube Channel 25% Month Over Month.” This was less about gear and more about psychology, specifically, how to keep people watching once they’ve already clicked play.
Mark broke down several practical techniques designed to hold attention and reduce drop-off. These included the strategic use of “but” to redirect after a provocative statement, creating contrast that keeps viewers mentally engaged. He also emphasized leveraging open loops with phrases like “we’ll get to that in a moment” or “before we answer that”, which leave a question hanging and encourage viewers to stay until it’s resolved.
Another tactic was using phrases like “but don’t take my word for it,” which gives the audience a sense of agency and lowers resistance by inviting them into the process rather than lecturing them.
Savant also highlighted the effectiveness of establishing a common enemy or shared conflict, such as the familiar iPhone versus Android divide, as a way to activate identity and participation. And he stressed the importance of consistently referencing older videos, particularly through YouTube’s end screens, to guide viewers deeper into your content ecosystem.
For audio-only creators, the takeaway translates easily by referencing past episodes within new ones, particularly at the end of an episode. The idea is to build continuity, reinforce value, and give your audience a clear next step.
Business Panels: Podcasts as Businesses (and Legal Entities)
A panel hosted by LEADR featured Scott Clary of The Social Club / Success Story Podcast and Mara Dorne of The Dorne Region and BILF Podcast (Boss I’d Like to Follow). Scott’s podcast is his business, while Mara’s podcast fuels hers by generating leads, recruiting talent, and building authority. At one point, Scott casually mentioned that Mara’s business has generated over $1 billion in sales, reinforcing the idea that podcasts can be powerful, self-sustaining engines when used strategically.
The final session I attended was another LEADR-hosted panel as an AMA with The Podcast Lawyer™ Gordon Firemark, founder of The Podcast Lawyer; Jack Baldini, attorney and owner of Baldini Law, LLC; and Tom Fox, president of the Compliance Podcast Network. They fielded audience questions on trademarks and intellectual property, insurance coverage for podcasts, and the necessity of using clear guest agreements that define rights, usage, and ownership. One of the most timely discussions centered on the inclusion of AI clauses in guest releases, addressing how voices, likenesses, and content can (or cannot) be used in an era where generative AI is rapidly reshaping media.
I made a mental note to incorporate an AI clause in my Guest Release, since I use AI to enhance the audio. Luckily, Gordon Firemark offers a useful template with tailored to podcasters, which you can access for free here. As well as looking into Hiscox business insurance, as suggested to the audience by Mr. Fox. (None of these are personal recommendations or endorsements. Simply sharing what was discussed.)
This session fostered a sense of awareness amongst audience members who typically do not think of this part of podcasting, until they have to.
¡Latinos Presente!
After the sessions wrapped, many of us gathered for an impromptu meetup of Latino podcasters.
We shared the sentiment that Latino voices remain underrepresented at events like these, and how that needs to change. Creators traveled from Puerto Rico, New York, Texas, North Carolina, South Florida and beyond, sharing shows that spanned financial education, business, creative crafts, podcast marketing, Puerto Rican diaspora history (Historican podcast), and grief (hi, Grief and Light). Some were seasoned, while others were still dreaming their podcasts into existence.
We connected as creators, Latinos, and a desire to support one another moving forward.
There was a closing party later that night (which I skipped), but the photos looked fun. Podfest was loud, crowded, energizing, and full of possibility. And for a first-timer, I left tired, inspired, and very clear about what’s next.
That’s exactly what I came for.
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