We recently connected with Jon Gay and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Jon thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about a time you helped a customer really get an amazing result through their work with you.
One of my early clients was the National Bone Marrow Transplant Link, headquartered in Commerce, Michigan. They provide knowledge and research to patients, caregivers, and their families, as they navigate the physical and psychosocial challenges of cancer and bone marrow transplant.
To date, we’ve done over 90 podcast interviews with patients, caregivers, survivors, doctors, nurses, social workers, and more. And even though we are focused on a niche community, the show has had over 24,000 downloads. Going through the bone marrow transplant process is daunting in so many ways. For patients and their families to have such a repository of information from both health professionals and those who have “been there” is invaluable.
More: https://marrowmasters.simplecast.com/
Jon, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I had a 15 year career in radio as an on-air talent and then program director. When I was laid off for more budget cuts in 2017, the week after my wedding, my new (and still!) wife and I talked about a career change for me. What would be a natural transition of my skill set? I had applied to social media and marketing jobs, but neither was a good fit.
Soon I learned about podcasting, essentially “on demand” radio shows. Many folks wanted to do them, but few could do it with professional-sounding audio quality and content. After attending Podcast Movement, the industry’s largest convention, in 2018, I was hooked by the cooperative nature of the industry.
When the world shut down in 2020, by business really took off. Being locked in our homes, there wasn’t much to do besides create and consume content. Podcasting experienced “hockey stick” growth, and I refined my business model to go 100% remote. Software and equipment now exists that you can create a broadcast-quality show without a studio -simply from your home or office.
I offere three tiers of service for most of my clients:
-Edit only – they record their own audio, send me the files, I remove filler and audio issues, and send back.
-Virtual Producer – I sit in on the recording with the host and guess and offer real-time feedback.
-Co-Host – For some clients, such as financial advisors I work with, they give me a list of bullet points they’d like to cover, and I work them in to an interview.
I’ve also recently gotten invovled in internal comms podcasts for some global brands- hosted on their companies’ intranet sites to provide information to employees on various benefits and programs.
We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.
I would consider most of my “clients” friends. I make it a point to be uber-responsive to email and text, within reason. Some of my clients are always researching ways to improve their shows and often use me as a sounding board. It’s imperative that I understand what the client is trying to accomplish with their podcast- is it revenue, lead generation, branding, or something else?
If a client has an unusual request, I usually try to find a way to make it work. I’ve learned to occasionally say “no,” but being a people pleaser is often good for business!
I believe in “underpromise and overdeliver.” I set expectations with deadlines but often have work turned around far in advance.
I try to live my life (and run my business) according to three rules.
1) Know Your Audience
2) Be Kind – everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle
3) You can’t control anyone’s actions – only how you react to them.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
My business really started when a former radio co-worker started a marketing company. He wanted to offer his clients podcasts, and employed me to do so. We had a great relationship.
Eventually, he decided to sell the company to another individual, who was much more difficult to work with. Soon, it became apparent that this was someone I no longer wanted to be in business with. I had to make the difficult decision to part ways with this person, even at the risk of a good amount of business.
It worked out in the end, as I was able to replace the lost revenue and keep my integrity.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.jagindetroit.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jagindetroit
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jagindetroit
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jongay18
- Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/jagindetroit
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@jagindetroit