Emily Merrell  00:04

Welcome to the sixth degree Podcast, the podcast where we grill our guests about the things that make them tick and find out how human connection plays a role in their life. I’m your host, Emily Merrell. I’m your host, Emily Merrell. And today I am thrilled to have my friend who I’ve met in real life and virtually, she is a business coach power, your purpose podcast host, and pod party founder. Her name is Megan Accardo. And I’m so excited to have her as our guest. Megan, welcome to the show.

Megan Accardo  00:38

Oh, thank you. I’m so excited to be here. And that was a lot of peas in a row. For you. It was like how are your purpose? Pod party?

Emily Merrell  00:46

Yeah, I think that could be the first tongue twister you tell your daughter. Yeah, like our purpose podcast party.

Megan Accardo  00:54

Sounds like a fun game.

Emily Merrell  00:56

Does it does a good tongue twister. But I have to say I, we you know it. It all comes full circle. Because I met you by being on your podcast.

Megan Accardo  01:06

Yeah, was that two years ago, maybe more?

Emily Merrell  01:09

I think I don’t think I had a child yet. Life was quieter money. I think it was 2020 or 2021. And you you know, it’s, I gotta love the fact that like, again, so many negatives about the pandemic, but so many beautiful things, in terms of you got to see people in, in countries and cities that you never really would have connected with if you if we were just so busy with people in our own city. And so yeah, your business

Megan Accardo  01:39

completely changed to like you were to add on this whole new business model.

Emily Merrell  01:45

Definitely and connect with people and like, I tell people in New York about people in LA or I tell people in Chicago about them, but be like, well, one day, maybe if you’re in New York, you’ll meet. And now everyone is incestual. And you know, doing business with each other. I love everyone. But I love our story and our meet cute. So you want to do you want to tell him what happened?

Megan Accardo  02:09

Yeah. When we actually met in person, yeah, actually met. Yeah. So we weren’t introduced, you came on my podcast, I was already obsessed with you. Because I thought you were so cool. I loved your business, all the things. And we had stayed in contact. We had done some zooms. And then you had moved from San Francisco to Colorado, and I was kind of following your journey on line. That’s all I really knew. Yeah, thankfully, you were posting about it, right? Because otherwise they wouldn’t have even known. And when we were trying to when we well, we were we were adopting a baby girl. And she happened to be born in Colorado Springs. And randomly I remembered Okay, Emily lives here. And we had some weird circumstances where we had to be out there indefinitely. And we didn’t know how long and so I just called you because we were we were on our own and had nothing. You know, I was shipping diapers from Amazon. And I knew you had a baby. So I was like, okay, she’s she understands she knows what to do about babies. I had not, you know, I had no clue what to do. And yeah, we ended up meeting up in Denver, and staying with your mom, I say, get your aunt’s house and you know, got really close, I came to your family taco night. And yeah, it is such a cool thing. And now we’re in a mastermind together and just kind of grows, it really speaks to the power of podcasting to build your network. And, you know, we wouldn’t have been connected otherwise, maybe we probably would have met, there would have been some other meet cute that happened. But

Emily Merrell  03:38

1,000%. And I also think the fact that we when you look on LinkedIn, and you’re like, wait, I’m sorry, how many friends in common? Do we have? Like, we were dancing around each other. But we didn’t know that we were both at the same dance. And so mate, Megan, I also love the fact that, you know, I’ve had the privilege of Megan’s been a wonderful friend and masseter for six degrees. She’s hosted some incredible events for us into an LA what city in LA, and you actually have a background in events, right,

Megan Accardo  04:09

huh, yeah. 18 Plus corporate eating plus your corporate career, managing events, celebrity events, and all sorts of fun, fun events around award shows and a list a list events, but but I love your six degrees events too. It’s it really is so cool, what you’ve done for the networking space because it can be so awkward to just go to a networking and I’ve gotten really good at it because that was my career. So I had to just go and meet people and I got invited to a lot of events as an event person where I couldn’t bring a plus one because it was like, I don’t know. You know, some like huge event where it’s not like I could bring someone like I barely squeaked in. So it’s like, okay, you just have to get good at having that small talk but your company makes it super easy to do that. So that’s why I think I just really connected with you.

Emily Merrell  05:03

I love it. And she goes to all of our virtual events. But I mean, how cool Have you you probably had, I worked in events to where where you dealt with celebrities and high luxury things. And people thought it was the dream job. Like, I would get messages on Instagram and LinkedIn being like, oh my god, I would like kill you for your job. And I was like, oh, gosh, that’s a little scary. But thank you for the compliment. And also that realization, though, it dawned on me where I’m like, this is someone else’s dream job. And this might have once been my dream job, but it’s no longer serving me the way that it was initially, or even pre accepting the job. So can you talk to us about your transition from like, I want to hear about you getting into events to you deciding it was time to hang up the event clipboard?

Megan Accardo  05:49

Yeah, well, I moved to LA many, many years ago, like I said, about 18 years ago, and from I was from San Diego, so not very far along, it wasn’t a culture shock or anything. But it felt far enough away from my family to be independent for the first time and to, you know, look at scary apartments on Craigslist, and all that stuff. But I really wanted to work in entertainment. So I started working at the different studios, I worked on the Fox lot, and the Warner Brothers lot. And then I got recruited into the talent agencies, and everyone was like, the talent agencies are the way to go, you learn so much about the whole entire industry. So I got into a talent agency, I had a crazy Devil Wears Prada boss, and then fell into the PR communications event site. And I really, really enjoyed it, it fit my personality, probably similar to you, Emily, I really thrive off the energy of bringing people together and seeing a goal through like from just conception, you’re just throwing out ideas, too. All of a sudden, it’s here, that is the best feeling. So I really excelled at this thing and worked my way up this corporate ladder in that entertainment events. Sector sector. And yeah, you’re right, I think anytime we achieved some level of success, or something where we get what we really have dreamed about, and I, at some point in my career, landed my dream job, which was head of global events at the largest talent agency in the world. And it was really, really cool. And I loved it so much. But when you do get new opportunities, there’s new challenges. And it’s never as good as how it’s it’s never as bad as you think it’s ever as good as you think like any situation, right? Like most situations are a little bit neutral. But but there were things that came with it that at some point, I decided I really wanted to change directions. And it it is it can be really jarring when you’ve worked so hard for something. And to your point, yeah, people would kill me for my job, I had so many people asking me how I did it, and how they could do it too. And it was such a desirable job that it was hard to say, this isn’t really meeting my personal needs anymore. I want to be able to use my voice. I wanted to start my podcast, I wanted to have a platform of my own. And I really felt like I was hiding behind the corporate identity of this job. So yeah, I really wanted this personal exploration to figure out what that guy wanted to do.

Emily Merrell  08:27

I feel like so many people, I hope our listeners are resonating because I so resonate with this feeling of like, you get hit with this seizure of sorts where you’re like, I don’t want to do this anymore. But what do I want to do? And I love that you said that you’re like, I want to use my voice. But what I want to say with my voice. So how did you navigate figuring out like, what was? What was the message you wanted to shout from the rooftops? Or from the earbuds of every listener? out there? Yeah, it’s

Megan Accardo  08:59

a good question. And I’m sure people can relate because you can’t really figure out your message. By being quiet, you can’t really sit back. But I think a lot of people do that. It’s it’s almost like I’ll take action when I hear from the heavens, like the heavens open up and all of a sudden, I have clarity and confidence to move forward in a certain direction. And I do think that you just have to get out there and start talking, for lack of a better word, just start talking. And that’s how you find your message. But for me, it was really, the first thing that I did was I launched my podcast, which is called power, your purpose. And that just really meant an exploration and my own purpose. What is purpose look like? What does it mean when you have achieved a certain level of success, but yet you maybe want something else or you feel like you’re you’re existing at 60% of your potential even though you are successful. So asking these questions and interviewing people and bringing on people who’ve maybe are in the same position or maybe they’ve achieved more Have that have that sense of purpose in their life. And, and it really was starting during the podcast doing over and over having consistency with it, starting my business, just getting into action. And then clarity comes from that action.

Emily Merrell  10:17

I think having a podcast is I always tell college students this are like, I don’t know what I want to do with my life. Like, you know, what I wish I had done when I was your age, get a podcast, or get a blog and interview the people that you would potentially want to learn from, because no one’s gonna say no to a college student. Fun fact, you’ll say no to an unemployed person, but you won’t say no to a college student. And that line is very quick and coming. So like, get in front of reach out to those people, those alumni, those individuals you want to learn from, and they’re going to be flattered that you want to feature them on your podcast or on your on your blog. So I think the fact that you use your podcast as a tool of your own exploration, also probably worked in a two way street, where people were then able to share you to their audiences, as well. Yeah, I

Megan Accardo  11:08

mean, it is so cool to be able to invite on your own mentors, your own people, where I’m like, I’m curious about this, or I want to meet this person, and you actually have something to offer them versus saying, Can I pick your brain or do an informational interview? We hate that question, right? Because it just feels it’s it’s so one sided, but having a podcast and being able to invite people on to pick their brains. It really, it gives them something because you’re giving them exposure, you’re giving them a really cool recording that they can then use to promote themselves. And then of course, you get shared with their audience as well. So it is such a great collaboration.

Emily Merrell  11:52

And so then, okay, so you started with the podcast, then you moved into your business. Tell us a little bit more about your business and what kind of business coach you are. Yeah,

Megan Accardo  12:01

well, I started out I pivoted a million times. So if anyone listening in there, like I don’t know, I’ve pivoted to or I want to pivot. It’s totally fine. Yeah, so I started out doing a lot more career coaching, because I came out of the corporate space. Yeah. And didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would I really love the energy of working with entrepreneurs. So I really fell into the business strategy side, because I’m really good at it. And I think I just have such a strategic lens of, if you bring me your problem, we’re gonna like dissect it. Fun fact, I have my master’s in family therapy. So I love to kind of look at problems and figuring out solutions. I don’t love the therapy side, because I’m not a super huge, like, let’s dive into your childhood. And yeah, I understand. Yeah, it’s, it’s, it’s great to have that understanding. Because I do think the messages that we tell ourselves, all of our limiting beliefs come from childhood, they come from our primary caregivers, when we’re like three, four or five years old. So it is good to have that understanding of okay, when did you first feel like this, or where did this come from, but then to not stay in that place, but to move people into strategic action. And I really believe that the future belongs to the bold and to those who are willing to create it. And that’s kind of my mantra. And so I feel like as a coach, I can really do that. So I love the work that I do, really helping people build their businesses. And one of the main ways is through podcasting. That I do that I have a mentorship program for podcasters, a monthly mentorship where they get community, they can grow their show in order to grow their business. And I could go on a million tangents about that. But that’s kind of one arm. And then I really help people use their own platform. So whether it’s podcasting or guest speaking using other people’s platform to grow their business. So these are kind of some of the tools create compelling offers, creates a magnetic messaging around it, content creation, as far as podcasting or social media. I mean, it’s cool because I primarily teach about podcasting inside the mentorship program, but all of the things that I teach could be applied to different aspects of their business. So it’s not just about podcasting. I just had a strategy session with someone in the mentorship program. The whole session was about her lead magnet, like it had nothing to do with it. But it’s like, you have to have that foundation. If she didn’t have her lead magnet. How is she going to promote it on her podcast, so we got a backup. So it all just kind of fits together as far as business strategy.

Emily Merrell  14:38

I love that you are focused on podcasts because I feel like everyone in their mom wants to start a podcast. I’m pretty sure my mom does want to start a podcast. And a lot of people are like, Yeah, I’m gonna start a podcast and you know, it’s gonna be great. And then I’m gonna make a million dollars off of the podcast, and it’s gonna be super easy, but let’s break it down for people a little bit first and four. Most like guests, we are recording this. Currently, I am sitting in a co working space Megan’s at home, I have no fancy equipment in front of me, I’m using Zoom usually have a microphone, I don’t have my microphone, you have your microphone. But then, like logistically, then what happens with a podcast, you then take the podcast, you I send it to my team who I have no idea what the heck they do with it truthfully, but it somehow ends up on Buzzsprout, it ends up on Spotify, it ends up on apple, an Apple account, I send it to an editor first I forgot about that part, I send it to an amazing editor, shout out to Nicole who will be editing this. And then we send it to my team, and then they create the graphics. And then you’re like, where’s the million dollars? I did all this work for for an episode, what’s the million dollars. But when I created my podcast I wasn’t creating it for I wasn’t creating it at this moment in time. And I’m gonna work with Megan and she’s gonna help me monetize it, but I wasn’t creating it for monetization. I like you, Megan, I’m just so curious about humans. I’m so curious about telling people stories, and found that I had these amazing individuals in my network, who had a story or had something to share, but they didn’t have a way to share it. And I feel really fortunate to have a platform to be able to share other people’s stories. So that’s one way of doing a podcast. But it has been to our point earlier of also a beautiful source of collaboration, connection. I’ve hired people that I’ve met on the podcast, I’ve become in person friends with people on the podcast, so much has happened because of these connections, even if people called introducing themselves to me just to be on my podcast. So I’m so curious, like, what are some tips for people who are just starting out where they can have a strategy in place? Because I didn’t have a strategy in place? Let’s be real.

Megan Accardo  16:55

Yeah, well, I didn’t either when I started, and I didn’t even market my podcast because I was so embarrassed about it. I was just very timid. So don’t do as I do. You know, that’s why I teach this stuff because it you know, it can be hard to put yourself out there. You’re like, Oh, I hate the sound of my voice or I don’t like these filler words like you become very clear, very attuned to what you say over and over. That’s really annoying.

Emily Merrell  17:22

Oh, I say I love that. I like it strongly. I like it strongly.

Megan Accardo  17:28

Yeah, it’s always love that love that. Yeah. Um, but as far as strategy, so So for someone who already has a podcast, you’re asking or could go for someone

Emily Merrell  17:39

who’s either way, someone who has let’s start first with the podcast newbies, someone who’s like, I want to start a podcast tomorrow, Emily and Meghan, what would you what advice would you give to those people who are just starting out?

Megan Accardo  17:52

Yeah, yeah. So a lot of what I hear is, there’s just a lot of fear around a what will I talk about? How will I feel episodes? Does anyone care? The tech is an issue, my recommendation is just to pick your tech. It’s really not that complicated, right, as any podcaster will tell, you just select your tech, you know, buy $100 microphone on Amazon and just move forward. And to your point, you’re not even using a microphone right now. So I don’t think tech is like a thing to hold people up. But I know, I know, people get tripped up on that. But it’s being able to make those types of decisions like the tech and what hosting platform I’m going to use and all those things, make those decisions quickly. So you can actually focus on what matters and what matters is having strategy behind your podcast. So really, knowing what your goals for your show art. Emily, you mentioned, your goal was to really give a platform to showcase female stories and, you know, showcase this and create community around it for yourself networking opportunities, that type of thing. So if that’s your goal, your metrics for measuring are going to be different than someone who’s like I want to add sponsors, I’m, you know, I’m going to need to release three episodes a week, and I’m going to need to drive downloads, right? So really just knowing what your goals are so that you can measure it and sticking to whatever that strategy is. So you don’t kind of get lost in there’s momentum when you launch and then the moon momentum fades, which is what’s called pod fade where people just, you know, release eight episodes, and then they drop off into oblivion, which is what happens to 80% of podcasters. Yeah, yeah.

Emily Merrell  19:40

Wow. That’s insane to think how many people kind of just abandon ship when they’ve already gone down a road? How many episodes have you done? I’m curious.

Megan Accardo  19:50

I’m on 104 or six or 100 something?

Emily Merrell  19:55

Just something Yeah, I think I’m I’m there as well. I actually don’t like How do I know the numbers of podcasts? Podcast doesn’t tell you anyways? Yeah, similarly I feel like I’m in the hundreds. So it’s interesting in like the learnings you learn how you want to talk to someone how you want the conversation to look. So for those that have a more seasoned podcasts that they’ve already built their podcast, there are a few seasons in are there a few there are more than eight episodes? And what advice do you have for them to kind of uplevel their podcast a bit? Yeah, so

Megan Accardo  20:28

I think really looking at? Well, first, you have to have some sort of consistent production plan. So like you send yours off great. For people that are doing it themselves, you have to get into that rhythm so that you have consistency. So that’s one thing I hear a lot of people struggle with consistency. So noticing where the hang ups are in the whole process for you, is really important to say, okay, every time I have to go and re record like an intro for a guest, so let’s say like, I record a guest interview, like you’re we’re recording now, and then you go back and record an intro. I don’t know if you do or not. But let’s say that’s your process. But every time you’re like, I just don’t get to it. And then those episodes sit on your computer. And so just can you eliminate that, like whatever that holdup is for you. Can you eliminate that in your show? Can you delegate it out like yours? Can you automate the process somehow, so really figuring out where the holdup is? It’s your show, you can do it however you want. I meet so many people who are like, I have to have 45 minute episodes, or I have to release a guest and then a solid and it’s like, no, you don’t like this, you

Emily Merrell  21:41

know, you’re so right. I feel like there’s such a, I know more people that are feeling overwhelmed by like the editing process, and then have all of these recorded episodes and then don’t do anything with it. Or to your point, I need to do a solo episode. But I don’t want to do a solo episode. That doesn’t sound good to me. And then they won’t post anything else. And then they give up and eat episodes, or they’re only eight episodes they’ve done.

Megan Accardo  22:08

Yeah, yeah, there are no rules, you can do what you want to do. If you are a coach or consultant and you’re selling your services, you better be doing solo episodes, because that is one big mistake where people hide behind their guests expertise, because it seems easier. But if you want to use you know, your shows, and Emily’s giving me a scrunchie face or showing an interview show, okay, then you don’t use it. That’s only what it only depends on what your goals are. You want to use your prospects for Okay, Jen, then you’re going to do things a little bit differently, you’re gonna have more solo episodes. And if that’s what you want, then you’re gonna come to me, and we’re gonna map out a strategy. Okay. But, but again, it just goes back to what your goals are for your show. And then I have four podcasting profit pillars. So really quickly, I’ll go through them just so they’re really brief, but so that you can kind of gauge like, where you’re kind of falling short, or where you need to work on. But the first one is attraction like is your show? Does it draw people in? When you tell people about your show? Are they immediately pulling out their phone? Subscribing? Are they a little bit confused? Like does the title not speak to them? Right? So does your show really attract people? And that’s the first question. The second question. The second pillar is engagement. Are people becoming raving fans? Are they sharing on social? Are they DMing? You wouldn’t episodes come out? Are they telling their friends? Are you creating that community around your podcasts? Or are they dropping off? Do you have a retention problem? Because you can’t grow your show? If people are just listening to one episode you’re attracting them in but maybe they’re just dropping off. And then the third pillar is visibility. Are you consistently getting in front of new audiences? If you’re just hitting publish, and then posting a graphic on social media, your visibility is probably a little bit lacking because you’re not bringing in new people. So your shows probably not not growing? I would guess. And then the love. Yeah,

Emily Merrell  24:05

that was gonna say I love the the PS again, we’re still Oh, yeah.

Megan Accardo  24:08

I’m like, are they? Oh, yeah, the podcasting profit pillar. Yeah. The fourth pillar is profits. And honestly, that’s what we talk about a lot in my mentorship community is how you could use your podcast for lead gen if you want to do that if that’s what your goal, but really getting in the habit of information gathering when people are becoming clients. Do you ask them? Have they listened to the podcast? Are they listening to episodes is that warming them up? I had a girl yesterday join our mentorship community and she’s like, I found your podcast and I listened to that one episode about what such and such and I’m like, Oh, tell me more. What about that episode spoke to you because that episode is bringing her into my mentorship community. That’s really important stuff for me to know, for that fourth pillar. So those are the four pillars attraction, engagement, visibility and profits. And again, you can use those cross different things you can use us for getting clients, you could use that for social media, email marketing, like anything, you can kind of use these different pillars to kind of gauge where you are in your business.

Emily Merrell  25:12

So I love that and we need to turn that into an acronym so we can remember it.

Megan Accardo  25:18

Okay, I could only come up with pave pave the way. But you’d have to start with profits. A little bit out of order.

Emily Merrell  25:27

evap vape, vape. vape. vape.

Megan Accardo  25:32

Emily, I really tried hard with that. No, I’m gonna come up with one. Okay. Yeah, but certainly

Emily Merrell  25:37

five. You vape your way through vape your visibility, audience attraction, attraction, profit engagement, engagement.

Megan Accardo  25:48

They vape your way. Okay.

Emily Merrell  25:50

You like the way they like to you? I know.

Megan Accardo  25:54

I’ll just get some some photos taken with me. vaping. And it’ll grade. That’s like, so often rant for me.

Emily Merrell  26:01

Tool is only being sued for like billions of dollars. It’s totally fine. Great, great timing, absolutely, to promote vaping in the podcasting community. So I love those pillars. And I think, to your point earlier, when you said you started your podcast, and you’re kind of embarrassed about your voice, and you’re embarrassed about showing up and you’re embarrassed about, oh, God, well, it happens every single time. I’ve had my business for almost 10 years. And I still I post it on LinkedIn, I post on Facebook, I post on whatever. And I’m like, people in high school, or people from summer camp, or people from college are probably like, what the app is this girl Do you know? Like, there’s always that fear that as much as you’ve done mindset work on it, it’s still creeps up. As much as you want to say that it doesn’t. So a podcast is another thing to overcome. So visibility is it can be a struggle, because you’re like, I don’t want to be that annoying. braggadocious person who’s like, and this is my podcast, come listen to me. So once we overcome that, where do we get visible? How do we get visible with a podcast?

Megan Accardo  27:07

Yeah, so so just like this doing podcast guest swaps. You’ve been on mine. Now I’m on yours. Collaborations I had a friend asked me to do a trailer swap with her. So realistically, I’d say yeah, if you like this, you’ll love this showed go check out my friend Angie’s show, you can find it here. Getting into Facebook groups and seeing your show and your episodes as the solution to someone’s problem. So when people are asking questions in Facebook groups, if they’re really targeted, you could say, Hey, here’s a couple of things that I do. And in fact, I just recorded a podcast episode about this. And honestly, that gives you content for your podcast, too. If you’re seeing common questions with your ideal listeners, that they’re asking go record an episode and then go back and say I just recorded an episode, right? So you’re getting content ideas, you’re providing solutions, I think really just you have to find those watering holes of ideal listeners. And it could be similar. Like if your podcast is similar to other ones bigger shows in the space, you could go see, you know, borrow, borrow from their audience and go engage with some of their listeners. So if you say, Okay, people who like Amy Porterfield show would really like my show, I’m gonna go to her page and kind of see who’s very active who’s listening to her podcast, they might like my podcast, too. So

Emily Merrell  28:33

would you DM them on Instagram? Or would you like, engage,

Megan Accardo  28:37

maybe follow? I mean, what I do, honestly, on Instagram is I, it’s very easy for me to find my ideal client. And this is something that I recommend to all my clients and as far as business strategy is, you know, we talked about ideal client avatar and what your ideal client all his characteristics, and bla bla bla bla bla makes me want to puke a little bit. I don’t know about you. It’s like 34. And it’s like pointless, right? Yeah. But so what I say is, are you able to view someone’s Instagram profile? And know within three seconds? Are they your ideal client? Like, what is their? What keywords are in their bio that stick out to you that would make them their ideal client, your ideal client? Do they have a certain number of following? Do they have a certain type of posts? Like, what is it that would make someone your ideal client? Because if you can’t see that immediately, then you probably have some work to do on narrowing down who that is. So it’s not necessarily like the demographics, but what kind of speaks so for me, it’s an independent podcaster, who also has a business who’s posting about it online because they want to build their podcasts that shows me that they’re in the right headspace. It’s a it’s an active podcast, and it’s a female, right? So there’s certain things they probably have a medium sized following. Small to medium. Like it’s not some huge influencer. So to me, I know exactly. So I will go engage with their content. I’ll go listen to their show. I’ll, I’ll follow them. Right? It’s, some of it is a little bit manual as far as building relationships. We were talking about this Emily, you can’t shortcut the process, right? And

Emily Merrell  30:14

not you cannot. And it’s funny when you do and you’re like, why is it quiet? Like there’s no one out there. And then when you actually are committed and focused, and you’re like, I’m going to show up on social media in a way that I haven’t in a while. And things shift, I’ll share LinkedIn for for as an example, I had a friend the other day, who’s like, Emily, you are missing so many opportunities on LinkedIn right now. And deserted it on your client lives there. And I’m like, shut up, like, stop. And so then I sat down, and I was like, You know what, let’s give LinkedIn a shot. And literally, in two posts, my engagement went up over 98%, like, my visibility went to 2900. You know, like, it was, or my impressions went to 2900. And I was like, Oh, damn, I hate when people are right. But she was right. Yeah, but it was just me like making a concerted effort or conscious effort to actually do the damn thing that sometimes we can get out of our own. We can be the reason that things don’t succeed, we can get in our own way. And we same thing with the podcast, I had someone it dawned on me the other day, I was like, Oh, my God, we’re not even putting a description of what this podcast is when you get onto our podcast site. And so we updated that audited it. And then I also realized, like, people don’t know who I am like, if they’re stumbling on this, or like, updated some verbiage for me. And so even for our listeners, I’d always be so curious, like, did you guys find it because you’re already six degrees? Or did you find it because you like the title or you like the Speaker? I’d actually be really curious. If you feel comfortable, send me a DM on Instagram, I would love to just do a little survey. And it does feel hard to survey your listeners because they feel they kind of feel like ghosts. Like you know, they’re there. You know that you see that? They’re listening. But you don’t really know who they are.

Megan Accardo  32:12

Yeah, yeah. Well, that’s part of the engagement piece. So really figuring out how you can get that feedback loop back. And I will say that most people, let’s say you get a message in your box that says love your podcast, or something kind of vague. Most people won’t go that next step to say, Oh, were you listening to a recent episode? Like, what exactly do you like? Like? Yeah, tell me what you like. person talk to me. No, no, but but we don’t do that extra step. And I think that’s so important to do. Like, I was saying that information gathering habit to say, tell me a little bit more, they’re gonna love it. Because they’re like, oh, my gosh, this host is engaging with me. And they’re gonna probably listen, you know, that’s going to help with retention with that person, and they’re gonna tell their friends, but, but you’ll gain so much information. That’s valuable, too. Because a lot of times, what people tell us to do is oh, look at the most downloaded episode. And that really, I found that’s not super helpful, because there’s so many factors. I’m like, Oh, well, this is when I relaunched. And this is when I went on hiatus. And this when I went up, brought this guest on, and, like, the numbers don’t always tell the right story. But when people are coming to your when they take the time to come into your world and message you like, that’s what you want, like, Oh, you were so impacted. So I need to do more of that.

Emily Merrell  33:36

Yeah, no, I think that’s a really good point. Oh, gosh, okay, I also need to do this, take this advice and give to the podcast that I listened to. And also, you know, pay it forward. I think there’s a pay it forward aspect to, for me to take action and communicate to the content creators that I really enjoy their stuff and let them know and not just be like a lurker and a silent person in the weeds. But it is funny, Megan, we have Lexi and I have already set coach podcast. And again, listeners, I’d be curious if you’ve listened, if you listened to the sixth degree, if you also listen to Ready, Set coach, and are ready set coach listeners are very engaged. We don’t have that many. But there’ll be like, I’ve listened to every single episode. I’ll get random LinkedIn messages about it. But it’s a lot more purposeful for like the coaching industry. So I think it has those action steps in it comes with homework, or this episode or this podcast is more focused on storytelling. There’s actionable steps, but it’s less about like what you’re supposed to do as a coach, and more about hearing another person’s story. So it’s just fun to see how these two different very different podcast styles kind of come to fruition.

Megan Accardo  34:52

When you have your other other podcasts or lead gen, essentially. Exactly. Yeah. So that’s why they There’s different strategies so you can just relax in this one and have conversation. Amazing conversation.

Emily Merrell  35:07

glasses of wine. Nope, just kidding. So you’re saying that’s a bad idea? Okay, got it.

Megan Accardo  35:16

We don’t judge here.

Emily Merrell  35:17

Yeah, no judgment on this. I’m getting very much like summer summer vibes with life it’s been warmer in Denver. I think it’s warmer around the country except to LA right now probably. And it has felt have that like itchy school girl summer desire of just being like, I want to be outside and I want to go play and you can tell like the school bells about to ring and summers gonna let out tight feeling vacations are coming up. Yeah,

Megan Accardo  35:47

it’s a good feeling.

Emily Merrell  35:48

It’s a good feeling that and then the wine goes with that feeling was gonna bring it bath. So Megan, you are amazing, literally. Like even deciding a topic to talk to you about was challenging today because you are so multifaceted with in talented at everything that you do EQ, you worked at an agency. So obviously, you’re talented. So how what is coming up? Like what else is coming up and happening in your world that you want our listeners to know about? And how can they find you? Yeah,

Megan Accardo  36:21

at Megan Accardo on Instagram, I’d love to get a little message if you’re listening to this and enjoyed it. And I’m sure Emily would too. And I mean, if you’re a podcaster. Or if you were wanting to launch your podcast, definitely come in and join the pod party. So you can. That’s our mentorship program. We have 30 members in there right now. It’s really, really cool. I love every single person that’s in there. So I can just vouch for everyone. But yeah, definitely join us in the pod party, you can just message me and I’ll send you the invite. I’m also recording a private podcast series on podcasting for lead gen. So if that’s of interest, let me know, I can send that to you. This whole private podcast, we didn’t get into it. But this podcasting thing is kind of a cool idea. I’ve signed up for a couple of them. And basically what that is, is you basically just give them a private link, it shows up in your podcast player, they can listen to it on the go, which is perfect for me because I have a seven month old and can’t attend webinars or challenges all that stuff. No, thank you. But it gives you such good valuable content. And then you can use it as on the flip side. For me I use it as lead gen. For people who are would be perfect for my program, they can get warmed up to what they might expect. Inside the property.

Emily Merrell  37:40

The podcast typically just regular

Megan Accardo  37:43

I mean, yeah, I’m in the process right now of creating it. So I would think maybe 20 minutes

Emily Merrell  37:50

each. i Okay, so 20 minutes each. It’s so yeah, it’s so interesting. I’ve seen a lot of like, private podcasts linked out. But then then I’ve also seen the paid podcasts to like, my husband and I have been suckered into buying know where we bought them. He bought them on like the Korean War. And the first one is free. But then if you want to unlock the rest of them, or maybe you’re it’s on gimlet, I don’t know. But then you unlock, like, the first few episodes will be free. And then if you want the rest of the episodes, you have to pay for them. And that’s like 1299. And so that’s been an interesting thing. I am not a sophisticated podcaster like the ones that we are listening to. But like that’s an interesting way to get people. You know, fuck, they want more they it’s usually the storytelling type podcasts, they want to content, complete the story, and then you’re purchasing it or become a member of whatever the podcasting platform was.

Megan Accardo  38:49

Right. Yeah, that’s a cool idea. That’s for sure. Something that you could use a Loke a low ticket offer to get people in the door.

Emily Merrell  38:57

Yeah, so So definitely, we’ll have to we’ll demo and talk about like the innovations and podcasts. It’s evolved so much over the last, what decade? It’s been around. Yeah,

Megan Accardo  39:10

I mean, it really has it’s exploded. And there’s so much ad revenue behind it to now. I mean, there’s just so much even the talent agencies when I started did not have podcasting divisions. They all do now, of course, yes. You know, that’s really profitable for them. So just seeing it explode is really cool. And I do think it’s going to be I mean, you talked about college kids, potentially having podcasts. I think that’s such a cool way to get out into the world as you’re graduating college or going through college. It’s going to be just like having a website how anyone can have a website, anyone can have their own podcasting platform. There’s such a low barrier to entry

Emily Merrell  39:49

1,000% And I feel like it’s a great way to like the best business card or resume builder that you can have. I have a podcast that I’m 20 at Be Awesome. Well, Megan, I am so grateful for our conversation and before we end I love ending it with six fast questions. You ready?

Megan Accardo  40:10

These always make me nervous.

Emily Merrell  40:12

I know. I know what’s gonna pop out. People earlier like a gut. This is the part that always gets edited because there’s always long pauses Oh, yeah, right.

Megan Accardo  40:21

I’m gonna go Tech.

Emily Merrell  40:23

Go okay. Tell us an unknown fun fact about you.

Megan Accardo  40:27

My first internship was at a library when I was 14 and I loved reshelving books how boring ass is that?

Emily Merrell  40:37

Make can only imagine how organized your house is. That is just a perfect your bookshelves are probably gorgeous. Who would be a dream person you’d want to be connected with

Megan Accardo  40:48

Amy Porterfield in the online space she always she was my first inspiration and still is such an inspiration to me.

Emily Merrell  40:55

Okay, so next year, Amy and and Megan are going to be besties i i think so. I already I just assumed you were at this point. But I’ve met

Megan Accardo  41:05

her I have a picture with her. That’s basically means we’re besties

Emily Merrell  41:09

based who’s in your wedding? You like Photoshop or in? Yeah, yeah. Be great. That’s a great idea. Photoshop ran and tagged her and just see how she reacts with like, a cease and desist. Or, you know? Yeah, exactly. What show are you currently watching

Megan Accardo  41:25

Vanderpump Rules if you know, you know, there’s a lot of drama in the Bravo universe reality television universe right now. And I’m obsessed. I will

Emily Merrell  41:37

need a whole episode on breaking down what all of it means I see. It’s like so and so and so and so are together, but they’re not. And I’m like, I don’t know who

Megan Accardo  41:44

any and of all are. I know and evolve. And I saw them. I saw the name. Person well know his name Sandoval, Tom Sandoval. But Nicolas. Okay, antibiotic, got it. But you got anyone listening. I was out at a birthday party with six other girls. He was sitting right next to me. And it was like this whole thing. None of them watch the show. And they were like, Megan, you’ve met every single celebrity under the sun. Literally everyone, and you’re obsessing about this reality thing. I’m like, Yeah, you don’t get it. You do not yet.

Emily Merrell  42:18

You’re like, yes. You see celebrities are curated. And they like choose their scandals.

Megan Accardo  42:23

Feel like real time drama, and I live for it.

Emily Merrell  42:27

Oh, my God. It’s scripted. Most like, just kidding. Maybe not. Maybe that scripted. Okay. What book are you currently reading? Or have you read recently?

Megan Accardo  42:39

This is a hard one. I used to read a lot. I did just buy the big leap for my husband. And that’s probably the first book I’ll pick up when I ended up picking up a book.

Emily Merrell  42:47

Okay, this that’s been mentioned many times, and I should probably read it. I have a whole desire to take a list of all of the like the books that have been recommended and turn it into a reading list. But I keep forgetting. Reminder, Emily, what is your favorite emoji? The pink hearts because I just had a baby girl. No, love it. And then my final question for you is Who gave you permission or inspired you to do the thing you wanted to do with your life? Hmm.

Megan Accardo  43:18

Honestly, my husband helped me a lot because he showed me what was possible not only with earning more money in the corporate world, he was like you’re underpaid? Go ask for a raise right now. Right? It takes someone else to kind of encourage you to do those things. But believing in me for my business. I will say though he doesn’t always get it. And I think waiting for someone else to give you permission is going to be the death of you. So you’ve got to anoint yourself and just give yourself permission to do the thing. Surround yourself with encouraging people like my husband. I mean, don’t surround yourself with my husband, but you know what I mean? But anoint yourself and go do the thing that you want to do, because nobody is going to give you that full permission. Except for yourself. Nobody’s going to understand that thing that you want to do.

Emily Merrell  44:03

1000 1,000% Well, Megan, thank you so much for joining us on today’s episode of the six GRI is so fun telling your story. I know. Well, thanks for having me, Emily. And thank you to our listeners. If you’d liked today’s episode, make sure to give us five stars on Apple. share us with your friends, send us a DM and we’ll see you the next time on the sixth degree with Emily Merrell. Have a wonderful day everyone.