David Shands started a podcast without knowing what a podcast was. He was selling t-shirts out of a kiosk in Cumberland Mall, running a conference where the tickets moved slow, so he interviewed his speakers to sell seats. That hustle turned into the Social Proof Podcast, two studios, a national summit tour, and over 500 episodes. In this one he breaks down the part most people get wrong. A podcast is a marketing arm for a business, not the business itself. Content needs a business model. He walks through how to cultivate an audience of buyers, why a community of 10,000 paying $2 a month beats chasing ad money, and how he uses AI to script topic episodes when the interviews aren't enough. He also gets honest about the climb. It took him 54 episodes before one hit, and the one that finally blew up rerouted traffic to an old episode nobody watched. He talks the dad guilt, losing $250K on a summit in Miami, and why he moved the whole thing to Atlanta, the Mecca for Black stories and Black wealth. If you're sitting at 200 views thinking about quitting, this is the episode you need. Catch David at Podcast Summit, July 2nd and 3rd. Use code BUTTER for a discount.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

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