Episode 618 - Finding Your Voice, Creating A Companion Podcast, Dreamful, Buzzcast, PodMatch with Guest CO-HOST - Jordan Blair
Podcast host Jordan Blair joins Dave to share how she went from super fan to co host and producer on a podcast she once fangirled over. She describes the surreal journey of being invited onto a show she adored, then being asked to join the team, and how the friendly, approachable tone of that podcast shaped her own style as a creator.Jordan tells the origin story of Dreamful Bedtime Stories, which began in 2019 when she could not find the kind of calming, long form sleep podcast her kids needed. Drawing on her theater background and years as a children’s librarian, she binged every “how to start a podcast” resource she could find, then launched a narrative sleep show that unexpectedly grew into a full time career. She modeled its sound after cinematic sleep stories, layering gentle music under her narration so listeners would not be jolted awake by a lone voice in silence. Her husband accidentally composed the perfect theme while casually playing guitar on the porch, which she captured and turned into the show’s signature sound. From there, she built rich soundscapes with Creative Commons music and free sound effects, proving that “theater of the mind” storytelling can feel as immersive as sci fi film without any sets, costumes, or visual effects.Monetization came early through listener support. Before the show even launched, Jordan set up a supporter page simply because she had heard other podcasters mention theirs. When her husband shared the trailer on social media, family and friends started pledging, which gave her confidence to ask listeners directly for support in every episode. Over time, that supporter income became her strongest revenue stream. She stresses that this only works when the show feels authentic, ad experiences are respectful, and listeners feel valued rather than interrupted by jarring mid sentence programmatic ads.For aspiring podcasters, Jordan recommends learning from independent creators who share candidly rather than just selling products, and studying narrative and journalistic shows to understand structure, tape gathering, and content editing. She encourages new storytellers to “impersonate” voices they admire at first, the way she initially shaped her own performance after Galadriel from Lord of the Rings before slowly evolving into a softer, slightly transatlantic version of her natural voice. Over time, experimentation and small tweaks help you find your own sound and character voices.Jordan also reflects on the unique intimacy of podcasting. She feels that calling it merely a “parasocial relationship” misses the depth of connection that forms when you are in someone’s ears week after week, like a recurring phone call with a friend. Even with millions of downloads, she treasures the occasional listener email enough to keep a fan mail folder she revisits on lonely days. She urges hosts to be intentional with calls to action, placing them before listeners mentally “check out,” and to use tools like dynamic content to experiment with more effective placements. Finally, she describes how Buzzsprout supports independent creators with built in features like fan messaging, show websites, dynamic content, soundbites, and robust human support, all designed to make starting and growing a podcast as simple and encouraging as possible.Dreamful Bedtime Storieshttps://pod.link/1476007966Buzzcasthttps://pod.link/1446336657Buzzsprout Affiliate Link: Join Today!https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=1855306
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