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 I spoke to Lisa and Leo Laporte, the husband-and-wife team behind TWiT's podcasting empire, about how to build a community so engaged in your brand that they actually are eager to hear commercials from you.

"When we started we were aiming for only a small group of people that were real tech enthusiasts; now we're like, "Where's the technology? !" smiles Lisa Laporte, Chief Executive Officer of TWiT. "It's totally evolved." The community element of podcasting made the industry felt like a "logical extension" of Chief TWiT's life mission and was the main reason Lisa fell in love with the new medium.

The couple had built their empire of podcasts for the past 16 years when the pandemic hit in 2020. "Those two years of isolation were lonely," Lisa explains. "We were all stuck in tiny Zoom boxes, but we've got a large technical audience that loves and wants the community." TWiT needed to find a new method of connecting with their fans in the time of isolation.

Lisa was talking to one of TWiT's sponsors the tech-training platform ITPro.TV on how they could offer something back to TWiT's fans. "Simply sufficient, ITPro.TV allowed its members to come in and hang out online for an hour at night. They would sometimes play games, and sometimes be just chatting," Lisa continues. "I was thinking to myself"That's exactly what I'd like to accomplish.' I wanted to let our followers be able to have a space to hang out and have fun.

Lisa confirms that the ability to incorporate the Discord server into their membership program in a formal manner was "a more enjoyable experience" than just creating the first online community. "It was the right time to give our members that additional benefit; members wanted to get out of the confines of locked inside their home." Club TWiT was ready to launch.

From content to cruising The arrival of Club TWiT

Lisa explains that she explains that TWiT group encourages members to be involved with the organization as much as possible. They seek feedback on their show and they hold regular Ask Me Anything (AMA) sessions, and they have an area where members can come to hang out. This is especially crucial when it came to online communities when the virus was circulating, but it's adapting well to the real world.

"We have a photography show which is why I believe it'd be fun to say"Hey We'll attend this show. We invite you to join us on a photography stroll and a photo shoot!'" continues Lisa. They plan to host several more experiences in-person as well. TWiT has recently hosted a cruise for 100 of its members. Leo and Lisa have agreed that, nearly contrary to popular belief, it's events in person such as this are the "fundamental element of what podcasting is about" and also what differentiates it from other media.

Lisa and Leo as well use Club TWiT to premiere and evaluate new content. If a show starts to gain traction and is popular, it could be added to their premium Club TWiT offering or become an ad-supported program. When this happens, Lisa will approach the host of the show, and advise them to start practicing ad reads, and include the show in their arsenal to get started with sponsors. All ads need to be read out by the show's host so that it feels like an integral and natural part of the show.

Selling your sponsors better than they sell themselves

Making sure that the advertising strategy is beneficial to sponsors and the listeners is essential to TWiT's achievement: "Our advertising works because our audience trusts us. We have the ability to suggest products and services to them, and they want to be a part of our team, which is why they will purchase these. If we contract advertisers, we heavily vet them as a company, and we review their ratings," Lisa says. Lisa.

The woman explains: "We do such a great job on our advertising-supported side that our Club members tell us"Hey, I need you to put in advertisements.' We actually have an entire Discord channel specifically for advertisements on our shows!" She adds that the audience requests them to share an ad at least once per month for each and every show since they want to know where to buy the advertised products: "They trust us so they say, 'You need to share a feed with us to allow us to go out and hear ads every once every once in a while.'"

As of now I need to confirm the information I'm getting. Lisa affirms that the members make entries into the shows in order to request the TWiT's advertisements to be linked. "Isn't this hilarious? !" she smiles. She adds: "Our Club TWiT members receive the shows without ads However, they email us to say, 'Hey, we don't like the advertisements - we want to listen to these!' We regularly drop in us courtesy ads for sponsors who are active as well as when we've got a new patron. This is how captivating they are."

"Our sponsors ask"Can you mail us a courtesy commercial for each advertisement that you read? Our sales trainers take a look because you've made them watchable since you've helped sell our brand better than half of our employees who aren't junior I thought it was quite adorable."

It is important to start small

How do you build an organization that members appreciate and are confident enough that they request to hear your ads? "Really have a look at what's available and take a look at the things that other businesses are doing," Lisa suggests. "Look at others who are similar to you and see what they're up to before you decide to jump in. Engage in conversations with me or talk to someone who has been through this."

She advises "just taking your time" to think about different strategies and structures. "Don't chew more than you can chew. If you plan to accomplish fifty things, that you're not able to do them effectively. Start small, as we did. We started by introducing AMAs."

Leo and Lisa describe how Lisa and Leo explain that the TWiT team is slowly but steadily figuring how to solve the problem as they continue further down the road. After they've gotten comfortable of the process and are beginning to add to their offering with bonus information. "I do not want to make promises that are too big and then under-deliver," Lisa continues.

Lisa encourages podcasters to take a look closely at all the services they offer with their membership packages. "See what makes sense specifically for what you're trying to do and shop around for an appropriate product. Since we're both audio and video and video, we've got a few oddities for a podcast network."

Helping to support the community

"If you're interested in tech then check out our website. We have a show suitable for all!" she smiles. "We offer shows for beginners like the Tech Guy; we have iOS Today, which is fun if you have the iPad or iPhone and would like to learn more about how to use these devices. We also have geeky shows, like Security Now if you're into security. If you enjoy some show, sign up to Club TWiT and download the podcast! It is important to remember that we must support one another in this group."

Supporting the podcasting community as well as its amazingly inclusive character is something that's always been an important aspect for the TWiT team "We remain committed to providing gratis content, however it's an excellent opportunity to provide this additional benefit to the fans who are super. I enjoy having both since anyone with an internet connection is able to download our podcasts, and don't need to pay for them. It's very democratic," Lisa adds. Lisa.

She concludes: "We have fans in third-world countries who've written in to say that they heard your podcast. I used to hang out at the local electronics store and listen to your podcast and pick up some new skills. Now I've got an opportunity in the field of technology""

Maybe Lisa, Leo, and the rest of the staff at TWiT have not only witnessed the evolution of technology from being a topic that was reserved for enthusiasts, but also an ubiquitous issue now. They may have helped make the transition.