Exclusive: Emily Nagoski on 'Come as You Are'/ Podcast ad conversion rates up / Safe & Sound results out

Plus, SiriusXM Media reclaims top podcast spot in U.S., Harlequin teams up with Audio Up, and podcast event updates

Inside.com Part of   Network December 08, 2022

INTERVIEW: EMILY NAGOSKI ON PODCAST "COME AS YOU ARE" (Part 1)  "Come as You Are" is a new podcast from Madison Wells and Pushkin industries hosted by sex educator and researcher Emily Nagoski. The eight-parter is based on the 2015 New York Times bestseller of the same name, authored by Nagoski.  I had a chance to hear from Emily Nagoski on the podcast, potential listener takeaways, and its relation with the book.  This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.  Shreya Sharma (SS): Why this podcast, and why now? Emily Nagoski (EN): My book "Come As You Are" has been around for a few years now, and I'm really proud of the reach it's had and the ways it has impacted people's lives, but there's something special about a podcast. You get to be integrated into a person's day, not limited to their reading time. You get to speak directly to them, answering a specific question from a real person, rather than speaking as generally as you mostly have to in a book. SS: What do you hope listeners will take away from this podcast? EN: First and foremost, I want to improve people's sex lives. My purpose in life is teaching people to live with confidence and joy in their bodies, and I do it by bringing the science. But, deep down? I know that when more people live with confidence and joy in their bodies, we are creating a world that is, one person at a time, growing more resistant to sex-negative, shaming cultural lies that ultimately attempt to steal our bodily autonomy, shun and erase and eliminate people whose bodies transgress the cultural script, and dictate who is allowed to access how much pleasure. I'm almost afraid to get too serious here, because honestly, if all the podcast does is improve people's sex lives, that's great! For hundreds of years in the West, all our oppressive, autocratic, tyrannical systems have relied on weaponizing the gender binary and our assigned sex roles to control us and persuade us to perpetrate violence against others. No matter who the "other/them" is, against which an autocracy purports to fight, they also want women pregnant in the kitchen, they want gay people banned, they want trans people erased, and they want men to be willing to die to prove their "manliness." We live in a dark time of encroaching autocracy, and we see it in the reduced reproductive freedom and increased outlawing of LGBTQIA2+ spaces, identities, and existence. I hope listeners take away the fact that diversity is normal and beautiful, and our freedom to control our bodies and self-expression is perhaps the strongest bulwark we have against fascism. We need to fight for it like our kids' lives depend on it, because they do. But also, if the podcast just makes my listeners' sex lives better, that's an essential first step, and I celebrate it!

INTERVIEW: EMILY NAGOSKI ON NEW PODCAST (Part 2)  Shreya Sharma (SS): What does the podcast hold for folks who have already read the book? Emily Nagoski (EN): People who've read "Come As You Are" often say, "I understand the idea, but can you explain how to apply that to my current situation?" They want to know what it looks like to put the science to work in the real world. Well, the podcast delivers exactly that! The structure of the show is that we're answering sex questions with science! The listener gets to hear the science, and then they get to see how I would apply the science to a specific, real question. In my mind, I imagine listeners talking about sex with a friend five months from now and remembering something they learned and sharing it with their friend. SS: What are you personally most excited about when it comes to the podcast? EN: I'm excited to share this science that I know can change people's lives. We've all been lied to about sex for our whole lives – in the 25+ years I've been a sex educator, I've just been reminded over and over that literally every single thing I learned about sex in the first 18 years of my life was false. Much of it was a deliberate lie designed to prevent me from having access to a sense of full bodily autonomy. The science taught me what was true, and knowing what was true opened the door to me loving what's true. I want everyone on Earth to have that experience, and the podcast is my biggest platform yet for sharing this information. SS: What challenges did you and the team face when creating the show? How did you overcome them? EN: Turns out, making a science-y sex podcast is pretty hard! We had to find the right balance between explaining the science and putting the science to work. Like, sure, I can explain the dual control model, but how does the listener apply it to their own life? In a book, I get plenty of space to do both those things, but on a podcast, when you need the listener to want to keep on listening, you have to ask yourself, "How long will people keep listening before they really need you to get to the 'BUT HOW?' part?" I think the solution we came up with is pretty perfect, actually. Monique "Mo" LaBorde, the lead producer, served as a listener surrogate, guiding me to explain ideas as if I'm explaining to a teenage girl who's ready to understand what's really true about sex – that means not over-simplifying but also not getting lost in the weeds – and then answering the question with specific strategies that apply the science in a practical way. Mo is the keystone of the whole show. Shreya: Thank you to Emily and team for this interview. I've thoroughly been enjoying the podcast, and I hope you folks do too!

The average conversion rate for podcast advertisements increased by 12% in Q3'22, per Podsights' latest Benchmark Report. The total ad spend was $545M, up 92% YoY.  More:  The ad frequency that results in the best conversion is 2-5. Additionally, advertisers that have ads running on 2-10 publishers enjoy high conversion rates.  The average conversion rate for all advertisers across all genres was 1.31%, and pre-roll ads continue to show optimal conversion rates.  The two podcast genres that showcased high visitor conversion rates were Parenting and Gambling.  The complete report is available for free here.

PODS ON THE BLOCK  "Live, Laugh, Larceny" is an ongoing true crime podcast with a comedic twist from Amanda and Trevin. It's for listeners who might find true crime podcasts too "murder-y." The podcast covers real-life petty crime stories but in the style of a true crime show.  "Retirement House" is a new comedy podcast from a group of six senior citizens who got their acting break in their 70s and 80s. The viral TikTokers have created a podcast that promises "life, laughs, and roasts."  "Undetermined" is a new true crime podcast. The show, hosted by journalist Jessica Noll and former detective Todd McComas, delves into the case of Jessica Easterly Durning, whose death was "classified as undetermined."  Special mention: The Vulture's Nick Quah's Best of 2022 podcast list is now out.  Keep your ears open for: "Digital Folkore" is an upcoming podcast that promises to use immersive sound design to dissect the various niches of internet culture. The show is dropping in January 2023, and here's the trailer.

PODCAST EVENT UPDATES IndyPod Summit'23 has been announced for January 2023. It's a summit that will share learnings from a census conducted for independent podcasters. Note to independent podcasters: consider completing this census to contribute data to the summit.  On Dec.13, Podbean is hosting a webinar from BIPOC Wellness Podcasts, sharing tools and resources for the next year.  A week later, on Dec. 20, Podbean is hosting an event on "everything you need to know" to get a podcast going in 2023.

QUICK HITS FINAL DAY to invest in the startup giving MILLIONS of people access to vacation rental ownership. Become a reAlpha shareholder before midnight tonight!* Edison Research shared the Top Podcast Networks, by reach, in the U.S. for Q3 2022. SXM Media topped the list, followed by Spotify and iHeartRadio.  Sounds Profitable released Safe and Sound, a study sharing podcast brand and suitability from the listeners' perspective to give brands an insight. One of the main results was: "don't be racist."  Romance publishing house Harlequin signed a deal with Audio Up for about 50 books to be adapted into podcasts.  For Audio drama creators out there, there's a new Discord community. Here's an invite from Tal Minear. TMG Studios is a new podcast network from Cody Ko and Noel Miller, the comedic duo behind the "Tiny Meat Gang Podcast," which recently celebrated its fifth anniversary. The network currently houses seven shows.  Taking care of yourself matters, and BetterHelp connects you to a therapist within 48 hours without having to leave home. Get 25% off your first month.* *This is sponsored content.

Upcoming events at Inside: January 10 - Inside Startups Coffee Break (Register Here) January 17 - Inside Marketing Coffee Break (Register Here) January 31 - Growth Summit 2023 (Register Here)

This newsletter was curated by podcast geek and marketer, Shreya. She loves storytelling in all forms but podcasts are her favourite. Her favorite podcast genres are sci-fi, comedy, TTRPG, and a combination thereof. Previously a resident of Vancouver, she now lives in Dubai.  Follow her adventures on Twitter. Do you or anyone you know host an indie podcast? Hit reply to tell me about it. I might feature it on Pods On The Block!       Editor Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 and 1972 Fords.

767 Bryant St. #203, San Francisco, CA 94107 Copyright © 2022 Inside.com

Did someone forward this email to you? Head over to inside.com to get your very own free subscription! You received this email because you subscribed to Inside Podcasting. Click here to unsubscribe from Inside Podcasting list or manage your subscriptions.