We caught up with the brilliant and insightful James Dean Johnstone a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
James Dean, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.
Being a digital creator you are vulnerable to people online. You show people your life through a camera and sometimes it can be scary. I have a podcast “Hot Shots: A Sports Podcast” (@hotshotspodcast on all socials) and I remember being nervous releasing my content. I. made sports content for years, but only centered around my high school athletics. I decided to take a step further and start covering professional sports. In the beginning, I was worried what people would think of my content, my friends, family, and strangers online. It was a risk I had to take, but I learned as I went. I received feedback and slowly evolved my show and presence online for the good. My rating for my podcast continue to grow. This growth has given me to the confidence to take more risks in my content.
James Dean, 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?
So for everyone reading this, my name is James Dean Johnstone and I work as a digital creator. I have a sports podcast Hot Shots: A Sports Podcast. I have always been passionate about the sports industry, especially baseball. I would watch all my favorite sports talk shows growing wishing I had the opportunity to report myself. My first opportunity came in high school when I pitched my broadcasting idea that I could cover all of my high school’s sports team. My teacher gave me the go-ahead and “JD with Sports” was created. I had my own sports show covering my high school sports for all four years. Once my time at high school ended I decided I wanted to continue my passion for discussing sports, so I created my own sports podcast, which is Hot Shots.
Over the past six months, I have seen my podcast grow more than the first 3 years I did it. What can I say was the reason? Learning from my mistakes and continuing to grow as a host/reporter, but also being consistent and not giving up. In future I want to continue to grow my community of love for sports. I think what is special about my podcast is I often get my listeners involved and ask for their perspectives on topics and even have invited them to come on for an episode.
Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?
There are a few resources I wish I had known early on in my creative journey. The biggest one is SEO. As someone who relies on pushing out my podcast to find new listeners this is vital to me. At the beginning of my journey, I didn’t even know what SEO was. But I have taken the time to learn to area of marketing.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
This question is really easy for me. The most rewarding aspect of being creative is getting to do what I love. Every week the best part is getting together with my two other co-hosts and talking sports. The rest of the week is an extra treat. After I post the podcasts along with short clips to promote them; I get to hear my listeners’ perspectives on the topics discussed. Hearing what my listeners have to say is the ultimate reward. When I started my podcast, my biggest goal was to create a community where discussion was welcomed. Everyone could have differing opinions/takes on sports issues.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hotshotspodcast/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-dean-jd-johnstone-3a98511b7/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/HotShotsPodcast
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@hotshotspodcast
- Other: Hot Shots: A Sports Podcast: https://www.tiktok.com/@hotshotspodcast Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jdjohnstonee Personal TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jdjohnstonee
Image Credits
All Photos: Headlands Creative Co.