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So to me, it's very relational very one on one, I try not to take an approach where I'm just spamming people and say, pay me to create content for you. But I find that the one on one approach really supporting their content really building relationships on social media goes a long way. This is the show for creative entrepreneurs who have a message to share and want to live a life of freedom. Learn how to grow your network, and net worth. Hear from exciting guests and more. My name is Dylan Schmidt and Welcome to Digital Podcaster. My guest today on Digital Podcaster is Lloyd George Lloyd makes awesome content on social media around podcasting and stuff like that tips and tricks. So if you like my content, you'll also like Lloyds, I'll make sure to link all things Lloyd in the episode description, so make sure to visit that and check out what he's doing. In this episode. I'm asking Lloyd about what we need to know when it comes to brand deals and sponsorships. What do we need more of in podcasting? What do we need less of in podcasting? Lloyd has a unique perspective. And I think you're gonna really enjoy this episode. Please enjoy my conversation with Lloyd George. Thank you so much, Lloyd, not George, thank you so much for coming on Digital Podcaster. Today, question number one for you. What do beginner podcasters need to know when it comes to brand deals and sponsorships? I think every podcaster when it comes to brand deals and sponsorships should know that. Number one, they are in charge. And sometimes when you collaborate with a brand, I think everybody sort of makes it like the Holy Grail. Like when I get my first sponsorship, I'll be making money. And that is like the goal. That's where I'm trying to get to. And you know, I'm starting to view it differently. Everyone I know, that has had brand sponsorships either feels like they've had a bad experience or like they've been bullied in some kind of way by the brand. And I think a lot of that is because when you're starting, you're so new. And so it's hard for you to know like number one what you like, but also for you to have boundaries to say like, I actually don't want to do that, or I don't work best that way. Or if you don't think my audience would like that, or I want to get paid under these terms, we just don't feel like we have that much leverage to say some of those things. And that ends us putting us sort of like on the shorter end of the stick. And so now I'm a lot more selective, I have boundaries, when I start looking for sponsors to work with, I have a better idea in mind of just sort of like who I want that to be what I want them to be like, you know, one of the things that's been on my list is I love working with kind people. And I find that when people aren't unkind, naturally, it's just a bad experience for me, as a new podcasts are identifying some of those things, I think that can be very beneficial for a podcast or looking for sponsorships or brand deals, the actual getting someone to pay you is pretty easy to do. And so I don't think that a lot of people will have any issues there. And you know, I'm happy to share a few ways of how to do that. But before I do that, I just want to I want to ask you, I mean, does that resonate? Does that have you had any of those experiences with like brands, where it's just like, Gosh, why did I do this? So I don't actually do many brand things. Like, that's part of the reason why I'm so excited to ask you that question. Because I feel like you complement the things that I don't really dive into, you know, and and so when it comes to brands and sponsorships like I'm very so I'm like almost on the defensive side. So I don't know, like a lot of it only because I like to have the freedom. And I'm monetized to other ways. So when it comes to brand sponsorships, I'm not the I don't know as much as you, you know. Yeah, no, no, do I hear you? And I certainly have had some of those experiences where it's like, Gosh, why the heck did I do this, and I now feel like that's just a telltale, that either this isn't like the right partner for me, or I didn't charge enough. And now it's starting to feel like it's not worth it like my eyes were a little too big, then you know what I agreed to. And so that is something I urge everyone to be cautious of and to just be aware as you collaborate with brands. But I do want to leave just some like practical steps for people that do maybe feel like they want to explore working with brands, just some practical things that you can do to get the ball rolling. For me, I recommend that people like DM brands versus email them. I think people are a lot more warm when they know that you watch their content, you support their brand, you know what they do online. And so the way that works for me is I have a list of brands that I want to work with or that I love and that I respect. I follow all of them on social media, right? And as they post things like comment, I engage I make sure that I'm top of mind for the brand. And so naturally speaking, the brand obviously like sees my face often they see me commenting on their content. And so to some degree, they kind of know me, and so I'm just constantly commenting with the hopes that one day they will follow me back. And the moment they follow me back, I DM them and I say Hey, I'm Lloyd I love your content. And that's it. So this is really like a long game and that's how I nurture that relationship. And then maybe like a month or two down the road, I may DM them and say let's collaborate on some content. Here are a few ideas would love to hop on a call if any of these resonate Eat. So to me, it's very relational very one on one, I try not to take an approach where I'm just spamming people and say, pay me to create content for you. But I find that the one on one approach, really supporting their content, really building relationships on social media goes a long way. That's what I feel like draws me so much to you. Because that relational aspect of it, you know, there's, especially when we're talking to companies, it feels very, like this is like a conglomerate. Do you know, like, a company with 1000? Employees? Yeah. Next question for you. What do we need more of in podcasting? That's such a great question. And I think there's a few things for me that are like top of my list that I'd love to see. So one of my favorite podcast styles is sort of like narrative, maybe journalistic research, sort of like true crime almost. And I love the storytelling component of it. The only thing I don't love is I don't necessarily see a lot of stories that resonate with me for a number of different reasons. So let's just take one, right being a black man in America, the types of stories that I like, the type of music that I listen to the types of like characters that I can relate with in real life, I don't know that I necessarily see some of those things that I love represented and podcasts. And that's one of the things I always think of like when I'm listening to a podcast, where the story just like, hooks, my attention, like the one I've been listening to recently is called scam influencers. And they just essentially tell true crime stories about people that have scammed the system, either because they're influencers or because they have a good story or because they're convincing. And it's amazing podcasts like so well produced great music, great house, great everything, that I just continue to think to myself, gosh, it would be so amazing if the same exact thing existed, but the music was different. Or maybe it was a story that I could resonate with, or someone that I knew, or some you know, give something like that, that I think would be more exciting. And I think there's several other groups of people that are just waiting to see themselves represented in the world of podcasting. And so that's one thing I think we need more of in the world of podcasting, I also think we could use a little bit of difference, I think everyone kind of sounds the same, everyone's kind of doing the same thing. I would love to see just more diversity of thought more people being a little creative with how they explore trying new ideas. I think we spoke about this last time just sort of saying screw the traditional mold, I'm going to do something that's different, even if I'm going to be critiqued heavily about it. By the podcast industry. I mean, what are your thoughts at this question? Oh, okay, full transparency. I was totally sneaky with this question. I was trying to elicit a response in this question. And the response actually, you gave, which was a worked, but I have to extend on that. How can black podcasters get more visibility? Because when I look at the charts, which I don't look that often, but when I do, it's like the same, right? It's like Joe Rogan, call me or call her daddy, whatever that one is. It's clear. And it's always been weird to me, like being the white, middle age, but like guy in his 30s That's like, you need a podcast, because it's over represented white dudes in the 30. There's a cliche about that, when it comes to black podcasters. And I know you're really active in black podcasting communities. And I know that my audience, you know, there's a lot of diversity there. But What can Black podcasters do to get more visibility? And that's not one of the third questions, by the way. We're still in second question. Got it. Got it? That's such a great a great question. And I think there's like a few different things that are like happening in this space. I don't have a lot of data to back this up. But I don't think that podcasting and like the black community is mainstream just yet. Now, I do think that like a large number of black like the black audio listenership is increasing at a drastic rate, I think it's something like 56%. So it is growing really, really fast. But I think that in the future, the black listenership will continue to increase. And naturally, that'll cause a lot of people that are black to start their podcasts. And so I think there's sort of like multiple problems, right. The first is, we need more black creators so that we can have more black stories told, we also need more black people to listen to podcasts so that those hosts can get paid when they do create some of those stories. And so the more we see things like YouTube playing a role in podcasting, I think that's going to help podcast and become more mainstream in the black community. For example, my mom does not listen to podcasting, to any podcasts on any but she doesn't have any podcast apps on her phone. And if I asked her, like, she may ask me like, Hey, did you listen to the Kirk Franklin podcast? And I'm like, How do you know about that? And she's like, Oh, I saw it on YouTube. Right. So it's just like that idea that that's going to create more entryways for people to start listening to podcasts. And so I think it's a multi prong sort of problem. And I do think it's just a matter of time before we have more black podcasters are more black listeners, and I'm so excited to see that sort of happen. Does your mom is she like, I have no idea what you do really on the podcasting side of things. He has no idea she thinks it's like radio calm. No like internet, but you know, I don't think she gets sort of like what a podcast is just yet. She's like, I'm proud of you, Lloyd, whatever it is that you're doing. I know it's something and I support you, honey. Awesome. Hey, I wanted to take a quick break. And thank you so much for listening to the show, Digital Podcaster is continuing to grow because of the ratings and reviews it is getting. So if you haven't taken a quick minute to leave a review on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen, I would greatly appreciate it. Again, the success of the show is dictated by you the listener. So your ratings and reviews mean the world to me. Thanks again for making Digital Podcaster has access and I can only do this with you. Anyways, back to Digital Podcaster. All right, final question for you. What do we need less of in podcasting? Wow, that's a great question. I think this is I've been waiting to talk about this. I think. I think we're gonna see more of this. But I think we need less of it. I think we're gonna see more podcast breakups. And like a big one that came out this week was the the nelq boys and I think the name of their company is full send. And it's these four guys that have a podcast that does really, really well. They've had the former President Donald Trump on there, they have Mark Cuban, they have like these big guests. And this past week, one of the guys split from the group and he was obviously talking negatively about the rest of the podcast group, then they started talking negatively back to him. And so when you see some of those things happen with a group that you've come to love, like you love this unit, it's kind of heartbreaking, a little bit, right, some of my favorite podcasts, like the Joe Budden podcast, the pivot podcast, like they've had pretty, you know, even with like the call, call her daddy podcast without they had a pretty public breakup. And so I hope we see less of that in podcasting, just because I think that all of these, like the Joe Budden breakup was sort of like the first public breakup that we saw in the world of podcasting. And so I think everyone is learning how to navigate some of these issues. Podcasting is one of those things where when you start it, we don't know how big this is going to be. So it's easier not to have some of those conversations about ownership and money, which naturally then causes there to be potential for a big public breakup. But I do hope that in the future, it seems like people are getting a little more savvy about the legalities of their podcasts. And so I also just seen an example of how these people navigate their podcast, breakups makes it a little easier for people down the road. And so I hope that we see less breakups. But you know, it's hard to say, even though I'm a very optimistic person, it's hard to say that it just won't happen anymore. So I mean, does that I mean, does that ever cross your mind? Like, do you feel like you'd ever start a podcast with someone else where you guys both want like 5050 and ownership? Honestly, this is gonna sound bizarre. And it's funny, because it's you asking me this, literally the only person I've ever been like, if I was in person with somebody, I would definitely want to have a podcast with them. I'm not even exaggerating. It is you. I was literally like, if Lloyd was like, if we live near each other, I'd be like, I would be trying. I think, actually, I might have said it. Wouldn't you interviewed me? But yeah, you know, like, so would it crossed my mind. I'm always very, like, try to be very mindful of agreements and things beforehand, just so it's all clear. Like, I'd rather get any awkward conversations out in the beginning, then have anything like I would rather plan for success than be like, This blew up what happened? Like, we're on come square on a billboard, I'd rather assume that that's going to happen, and plan accordingly, then be like, Oh, Lloyd, I'll see you in court. You know? Yeah, I agree. And that's such a great point. I don't think enough people do that. I don't think enough people actually think it's going to work. Well, some of those conversations would be had. But I do think to your point, I think the two big things that I've seen that sort of Spark, the breakups are one person feels like they're doing more work than the other person. And so it's a bit unevenly yoked. And to your point, I think those are things like that could be addressed before where it's like, Yo, I'm really good at organizing and emailing guests, you're really good at coming up with podcast topics. So I think that's how we break this down. And I think people are also in different circumstances, which makes it a little harder. So it's really hard for someone that maybe doesn't have money to understand the rationale of using like, I'm turning down a billion dollars, right. It's it's very easy, I think, to be at odds, but I do agree that having some sort of friendship, and I think respecting the people that you work with just innately as people goes a long way and just sort of creating a working relationship from a podcast endpoint. And so I'm optimistic that in the future, we'll see less sort of public podcast breakups because it it's kind of heartbreaking. Lloyd is a pleasure. Where can people find you and work with you? Absolutely. Thanks for having me. People can find me at Lloyd at not george.com it's also at Lloyd not George on all podcast platforms and just for clarity. That's ll O ye D not George. Awesome.