We recently connected with Julie Krafchick and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Julie thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

In 2016, my co-creator Yue and I had an idea for a podcast about the struggles of modern dating, which became Dateable. Neither of us knew how to podcast then – it was an entirely new field. But we felt compelled to try out this medium, so we grabbed a mic, a couple of friends as guests, and started recording episodes. Some of those earlier episodes weren’t the most polished, but looking back on them now, diving into the deep end was the only way to start learning. And since then, I’ve developed my skills over the last eight years. I’ve listened to other experts, studied what makes a good show, and, most importantly, just kept learning as I went.

When we started the podcast, I started behind the scenes as the producer, updating the website and making the cover art, as my background is in design. But little by little, I became more comfortable being on air and wanted to use my voice! Over the years, I’ve learned to hone in on that voice, and most of that was by being authentic. I knew when I tried too hard to be a “radio personality” or be someone I wasn’t, that’s when it fell flat. Ultimately, the best way to share your voice is to be unapologetically yourself. You can then perfect that craft over time. One of the best ways to see where I needed to improve was by listening to the playback while editing. I could see where I used specific phrases, needed to be more concise or do whatever else I wanted to improve. Over time, I got better and better – and I can listen back to old episodes to see that now!

Another underrated part of learning the craft is understanding the end user for whom you’re creating content. In my case, I’ve spent endless hours researching and understanding the challenges daters go through from different points of view. I know their hopes and aspirations, a key input into our content scheduling as our goal of the show is to help daters create the love lives they’ve always wanted. My background in research has allowed me to learn from our listeners and identify common threads among the experts and thousands of daters we’ve interviewed in our episodes. This skill of synthesizing insights has unlocked new crafts, such as creating digital courses and even writing a book.

So, just do it! You don’t have to get it all down immediately. Start in a comfortable place and expand as you go. You can also outsource the parts that aren’t your strengths or work with a partner that complements you. You don’t have to be an expert from day one, which could help you be more relatable anyways!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Julie Krafchick is an expert on dating, relationships, and connection in the digital world. She’s the co-creator and co-host of Dateable, which has been named one of the top podcasts about modern dating and relationships by the New York Times, The Huffington Post, AskMen, BET, and more. With the success of Dateable, Julie and her co-creator Yue Xu have grown their brand to include online courses, special events, and the limited series ‘Exit Interview’ with iHeart Radio. Their goal is to help modern daters push through all the BS in today’s dating culture and create the love life they’ve always wanted.

With over a decade’s experience working in Silicon Valley, Julie has applied her app design and qualitative research background to understand better how technology impacts human connection. She’s interviewed thousands of modern daters and world-renowned experts to understand why people date the way they do. Previous guests have included Mark Manson, Emily Nagoski, and Candace Bushnell, as well as dating app creators, psychologists, therapists, behavioral researchers, and relationship coaches.

Julie’s work with Dateable has been featured on CNN, NBC News, MSNBC, The Washington Post, and New York Public Radio. She’s currently writing a book with her Dateable co-creator, Yue Xu (published by Simon & Schuster), to be released in 2025.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding part of being a creative is to see how your work directly helps others. When we get a review or email about how our podcast has helped someone date differently or find love, there is no better feeling in the world than knowing that our work matters and is making a difference. We got this review the other day: Over the past 1-2 years, I have been listening to every episode you guys put out. I figured that if I just listen and let these new perspectives in, that I would eventually gain a healthier mindset around dating and self-love. And I’m thrilled to say that I am now in a wonderful relationship! Thank you both very much.

This is exactly why I do what I do.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I had to recognize that social media is not reality. Today, we judge creators on the number of followers, views, or likes they get on a video. It’s hard not to compare yourself to others or wonder why you don’t have 100K followers. I’ve realized that I don’t like social media as much as other mediums, and it’s not my core strength. That doesn’t mean I won’t continue to post, but it may take more time for me to hone my craft here and find an authentic voice because it has yet to be my focal point. So, how can I even compare myself to someone who has been honing their craft here for years?

I also remember that I may have very different goals, strengths, and visions for my brand and content and that social media metrics don’t define everything. Sometimes, less can be more, too. For instance, if someone is taking an hour out of their busy life to listen to you on your podcast, this can be far more influential than one hundred people watching a :30 clip of you doing nothing. For this reason, podcast listens tend to be way lower than TikTok or YouTube views! It’s apples to oranges, so it’s not something you need even to compare. All types of content have a place, and the creators who excel in each medium will stand out there. If it’s not you in one of them, that’s OK, there’s another place where you’ll shine.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.dateablepodcast.com
• Instagram: @dateablepodcast, @juliekrafchick
• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/dateablepodcast

Image Credits
Joseph Gabriel Ilustrisimio