Beth Anderson, Children's Writer

Many people are surprised to learn that much of the marketing for children’s books is placed in the laps of authors and illustrators. For most of us, it’s daunting and uncomfortable. But Gina Soldano-Herrle has made it fun, and she’s here to share how she discovered this piece of her journey.

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Making Marketing Fun: From Facebook Post to Podcast in Under 12 Months by Gina Soldano-Herrle

In early 2023, I decided to put out the call to authors who wanted to be interviewed and showcased on my website, hoping at least one person would respond.

A Learning Process

I’ve interviewed around 1,000 people to date (including my author interviews). For several years I professionally interviewed people in my day job to ghostwrite marketing materials for them. I had no prior experience with interviewing and it was a steep learning curve. Once I got the hang of it, the narratives I uncovered in my interviews brought a new layer to my ravenous appetite for story.

Once that contract ended, I found myself missing the interviews. For most of my life, I’ve thought of myself as a writer, but never before had I considered interviewing others to be one of my passions. At first, I tried to focus on my writing and work, but I missed the stories–the connections made when listening to people talk about their lives.

After recognizing how integral interviewing others had become to me, I examined my website which had been dormant since 2019 and decided to do something with it instead of continuing to let it collect dust.

I put out the call in some Facebook writing groups to see if anyone wanted me to interview them and share the conversation on my website. Surprisingly, several people answered right away.

Interviews to Podcast

I posted portions of the interviews on my website (after extensive editing because transcription software doesn’t account for punctuation) and dreamt of turning this project into a podcast. Many authors and illustrators shared their time with me. They told me all about their writing/illustrating journeys, the obstacles, joys, and more. After each one I grew more certain of what I was doing.

We Can Do Hard Things

Then I self-published my debut picture book, Nia’s Rescue Box, at the end of October 2023 and decided if I could do that while navigating the most chaotic year of my life personally, I could create a podcast.

Karen Greenwald agreed to be my guinea pig with episode one of “Getting to The Heart of Why We Write” which we recorded in December 2023. It went up in January and I put out the call once more to anyone who wanted to be interviewed. There was absolutely no way I could have predicted how many responses I would receive. And if you had told me then, I definitely wouldn’t have believed you.

To date, I have podcasts recorded to go up weekly through mid-August. I have over a dozen more upcoming interviews on my calendar and have just announced a waitlist for all those interested in being on the show going forward. I don’t want anyone to have to wait 8 months to hear their episode!

Tech Details

For those of you who want to know, the tech really wasn’t a big deal to figure out. I’ve been using Spotify’s free podcasting software to edit and post episodes across podcast platforms. The software is shifting to Riverside soon which has caused some hiccups in the past few weeks, but I know I’ll figure it out, because that’s what we do, right?

To begin and figure out all the technical aspects of podcasting, I signed up for a free download from The Podcast Teacher to set up a podcast in a weekend, and just started interviewing people. I didn’t buy any fancy gadgets, though, I have since bought a new microphone to create a smoother listening experience.

Give Your Daydream a Try

I’m sure there’s something you’re daydreaming about, whether it’s starting a podcast, a new book project, or something else entirely. I thought about my podcast for a year before I brought it to life and it’s been more joyful than I could ever have imagined. From the book recommendations to the new friends and people I wouldn’t have met otherwise, I can’t imagine my life without it now.

My time in the writing world, especially in kidlit, has taught me one thing above all else: there is always room at the table. Even if there are millions of podcasts or trillions of books, there is always room for your creation because as the saying goes (though I can’t remember who said it first): everything has already been done, but it hasn’t yet been done by you. 

You can visit Gina at her website HERE. 

Don’t forget to leave a comment below for a chance to win a 30-minute Ask Me Anything about online marketing with Gina. (winner announced 3/8/24)