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Thread: The new ss podcast is lame

  1. #51
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ray Gillenwater View Post
    This turned out to be a useful conversation. As far as the topics related to this thread are concerned, my goals are:
    • Work in earnest to produce my best work, in service of others
    • Disregard personal attacks
    • Take feedback from trusted sources and always try to improve
    • Put my work on display regardless of fears of criticism
    • Stay true to our values and our mission, regardless of the opinions of others (be sure to read the comments on this forum about the franchise idea when we first started)
    • Encourage and support anyone that's trying to improve the status quo, in any meaningful way, inside or outside of Starting Strength
    • Check my ego and admit when I've approached something incorrectly (respect to David in Arizona and HailMary for the self-awareness, even if we don't see eye-to-eye)
    • Have fun, don't take myself too seriously, and don't take others too seriously

    Your support is meaningful CommanderFun, Ryan DCNT, Steven Kalin, Stef, Rip, franceso.decaro, Sib, Andrew Lewis, dalan, VNV, John Fioravanti, and Jovan Dragisic. Thank you.

    A few business topics have been raised and the discussion has been interesting. Let me know if you want me to comment on anything in particular.
    Some of my comments in this thread may have been obtuse, so I will clarify:

    I have watched all of the podcasts to date; I have enjoyed them and am not somebody who has had any major gripes or criticisms about how it is being run.
    However, since I am on the outside, I feel I can bridge the gap when trying to understand the other comments/criticisms I am seeing.

    My personal feedback and assumptions are as follows:

    Assumptions:
    1.The primary purpose of the podcast is to serve as a marketing vehicle to help grow SS Franchise gyms.
    -As such, the target audiences in order of priority are:
    *Prospective customers
    *Current customers
    *Prospective coaches
    *Prospective franchise owners
    *SS fans in general

    I believe you have selected your guests to this point based on what would appeal to those target audiences.
    All of the audiences need to be targeted and there is no way to appeal to all of them, at the same time, all of time.

    2. Your internal data and years of experience with the narrowcasting marketing effort of SS gives you a much better feel for how to present the podcast than I could ever have. Such being the case, my feedback may be of limited value.

    With my first comments in this thread about the "Ray is not Rip" and "Delgadillo has the best mustache" criticisms, I was trying to get at a few key points.
    1. People have different personality preferences with regards to podcasts, presentation styles and guests. My personal preference for this type of podcast is for a direct, unapologetic, firm, but polite demeanor, which I think was well-represented on the Efferding podcast. Efferding seems to be a good man and a good coach who we do not want to needlessly offend, however you also must be willing to civilly disagree with authority figures when you believe they are wrong and be able to explain the reasons behind your logic.
    Even though Lex Friedman has interesting guests on his podcast, I will not listen to it, because of the smug, pedantic, sedate disingenuous NPR-style act Lex has chosen for his podcast persona.
    2. A beginning podcaster cannot be expected to have the pre-existing following or experience of a guy like Rip; it takes time, willingness to fail and practice.
    Rogan was not very good at podcasting at first.
    The Beatles were not good performers when they started.
    3. You have to figure out a way to differentiate yourself.
    Does it make sense to completely flip over the table, take a high risk and be highly innovative? In this case, no.
    Does it make sense to tweak format, style etc based on feedback? Yes.
    In the golden age of sitcoms, most sitcoms were failures; In the golden age of podcasts, most podcasts are failures.
    Being too conservative will make it more difficult to differentiate yourself, but taking too much risk, being too controversial or divisive will decrease the size of your audience, which runs contrary to the point of the podcast.
    The "100s of followers" comments work well for Rip, because it is obviously not true.
    Self-effacing comments like "To make it this far you have to be a die hard fan" or "we have 10 people watching" don't work as well for Ray's podcast, because a large percentage of the audience won't know it is a joke; they aren't paying attention that closely and it will plant a seed in their minds that the podcast might be floundering; it is not helpful for them to be watching with those negative connotations in the back of their minds.

    When somebody takes a swing at you, you swing back at them; I think you were well within your rights to respond to the comments in this thread the way that you did.
    I viewed poorly constructed criticisms as coming from friends who thought they were being brutally honest to be helpful.

    I wish I could provide more helpful feedback than this, but in the end you are in the best position to evaluate the situation and you have the skills to make a good plan of action based on the feedback.

  2. #52
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    Ray, nobody cares what I think but to me, some of the attitude on this board, from a variety of people on a variety of topics is, "I'm (We're) right and if you don't agree with me (us) you're not only wrong, you're also stupid." I see threads that degenerate into this, I wouldn't say regularly, but it's not uncommon. In this case, you did exactly the opposite. You received criticism calmly and are willing to at least consider it if it seems that the criticism is in good faith and not just mean spirited. I don't think it was anyone's intent to be mean spirited in this thread, but the way. The way you handled this is worthy of respect and I feel like you gained it from quite a few people.

  3. #53
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    Quote Originally Posted by francesco.decaro View Post
    You're very welcome, Ray.
    I'd love to hear you talk about how the educational process is approached when it comes to the gym's clients, by interviewing one of the many Head Coaches or one of the clients mabye.
    Does it always happen on the platform?
    How do the coaches make sure to not overwhelm the client with information in order to spark interest?
    Do you have any plan to better facilitate the education of the client? Mabye by printing a very condensed book containing only the most useful information from the 3 books and some pictures, which is easily comprehensible by the general public and can be studied outside the gym as well? Or mabye there is enough content online already and it would in some sense take value away from the coaches?
    I think Brent Carter would be good for this. Yep, we are working on an email drip campaign that sends automated, contextual emails to members after they sign up to help guide their understanding as they progress under the bar.

    Quote Originally Posted by francesco.decaro View Post
    Another topic, which is more for personal interest, is talk more about the apprenticeship program by interviewing an apprentice or someone who was an apprentice and just got the certification. I know there are a couple interviews like this already but I guess there is variety among the apprentices' demographic and background. The "personal interest", is my intention to become an SSC but me living in Italy and having a pretty impossible chance of moving and working in the US, I'd love to know if there is any idea about exporting the apprenticeship program to non-US affiliate gyms in the future.

    I hope this are interesting topics to you!
    This is a good idea too. Maybe Andrea Mates would be interested. I'll ask. Thank you for the ideas.

    Quote Originally Posted by Nikola Blagojevic View Post
    I am enjoying the shit out of the SS Gyms podcast. I have no business background, and I've been utterly fascinated by the discussions of the business side of the operation.

    When you talk about building a business focused on doing the right thing and bringing value to people's lives, you are speaking to something in my soul.
    The fact that we get to do things in a way that we believe is correct is invaluable. Especially if our efforts result in 1000+ people having a better day-to-day existence.

    Quote Originally Posted by Yngvi View Post
    2. Your internal data and years of experience with the narrowcasting marketing effort of SS gives you a much better feel for how to present the podcast than I could ever have. Such being the case, my feedback may be of limited value.
    I think it's reasonable to say that complete self-awareness is impossible which is another way of expressing that it's difficult to see the show from the point of view of an audience member - although I watch every episode as a Starting Strength fan and I shit-can the ones that aren't good enough. With the limitations of my own lens in mind, I appreciate input and suggestions from people that want to see us succeed.

    Quote Originally Posted by Yngvi View Post
    Self-effacing comments like "To make it this far you have to be a die hard fan" or "we have 10 people watching" don't work as well for Ray's podcast, because a large percentage of the audience won't know it is a joke; they aren't paying attention that closely and it will plant a seed in their minds that the podcast might be floundering; it is not helpful for them to be watching with those negative connotations in the back of their minds.
    In the beginning, I was poking fun at the niche nature of the show and its limited potential reach but it's exceeded my expectations. I'll leave the deprecating to Rip, he has a finely-honed skill.

    Quote Originally Posted by dalan View Post
    Ray, nobody cares what I think but to me, some of the attitude on this board, from a variety of people on a variety of topics is, "I'm (We're) right and if you don't agree with me (us) you're not only wrong, you're also stupid." I see threads that degenerate into this, I wouldn't say regularly, but it's not uncommon. In this case, you did exactly the opposite. You received criticism calmly and are willing to at least consider it if it seems that the criticism is in good faith and not just mean spirited. I don't think it was anyone's intent to be mean spirited in this thread, but the way. The way you handled this is worthy of respect and I feel like you gained it from quite a few people.
    This has been a lifelong goal of mine - maintain composure under fire. Another has been to avoid vengeance. Other than the OP's comments about being white trash and a few others, I agree with you. This turned out to be a net positive thread. Thanks for noticing the effort.

    ----

    Something you guys might find interesting: One of the most challenging parts of hosting a show is striking the right balance of passion and intensity (which are at risk of bleeding into exaggeration and hyperbole) with accuracy and consistency (which are at risk of being noncommittal and boring). One of the many things I'm thinking about and practicing.

  4. #54
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ray Gillenwater View Post
    Another has been to avoid vengeance.
    Typical white trash.

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    I would count myself as one of the hundreds of fans all around the world.

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    I enjoy both podcasts because they are different. People complaining that “Ray isn’t Rip”, I mean no shit. Why on earth would you want 2 podcasts that attract exactly the same audience? Anybody who doesn’t understand isn’t bright enough to be worth engaging in conversation. Keep up the great work Ray!

  7. #57
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    Quote Originally Posted by francesco.decaro View Post
    I'd love to hear you talk about how the educational process is approached when it comes to the gym's clients, by interviewing one of the many Head Coaches or one of the clients mabye.

    Another topic, which is more for personal interest, is talk more about the apprenticeship program by interviewing an apprentice or someone who was an apprentice and just got the certification.
    Francesco- Brent and I took a crack at the "How do we educate members" episode and it was a dud so we scrapped it.

    I am starting an episode with Tony Stein in five minutes to talk about our apprenticeship process. That should be out this month if all goes well.

    Episode ideas are always welcomed.

    Quote Originally Posted by alexmunropga@gmail.com View Post
    Keep up the great work Ray!
    Quote Originally Posted by Nick Rodgers View Post
    I would count myself as one of the hundreds of fans all around the world.
    I appreciate it, thanks gents.

  8. #58
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ray Gillenwater View Post
    Francesco- Brent and I took a crack at the "How do we educate members" episode and it was a dud so we scrapped it.

    I am starting an episode with Tony Stein in five minutes to talk about our apprenticeship process. That should be out this month if all goes well.

    Episode ideas are always welcomed.
    I appreciate it and look forward to the episode, thanks!

  9. #59
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    I mean, it was a great episode...until you started chugging pabst blue ribbons and throwing them at the camera while yelling incoherently. Very white trash behavior. Gotta keep that in check, man.

  10. #60
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    starting strength coach development program
    Not that my opinion counts for much around here, but for what it is worth, I've appreciated the podcasts. I've also appreciated how you handle things like this thread. Nice work Ray.

    mg

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