Brimstone: 5 Things You Need To Know To Create A Very Successful Podcast

An Interview With Jason Hartman

Encourage engagement; All you can really do is put your heart and soul into creating something, putting it out into the world and hope that it attracts other people with the same mindset, goals, ambitions or interests. If you go into this or any other industry as a means to get rich, famous or trying to appease people in order to get followers — you’ve already lost.

As part of my series of interviews about “5 things you need to know to create a very successful podcast”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Brimstone.

Brimstone has had a successful and rewarding career spanning well over four decades; participating in numerous entertainment fields boasting a list of titles including professional wrestler, radio host/professional podcaster, actor, voice actor, author, musician, philanthropist, food critic and comic book/animated/children’s book/video game hero. He’s been called a Renaissance man by many, but more accurately described as a well-seasoned entertainer, celebrity personality and serial entertainment entrepreneur.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would love to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit of your “personal backstory? What is your background and what eventually brought you to this particular career path?

The pleasure is all mine, thank you for having me! In terms of becoming a professional podcaster… it kind of happened by accident. I’ve been in entertainment for about four decades at this point and have worn many hats over the years. As an entertainer, I feel that it’s extremely important to diversify yourself and it is imperative to consistently re-package yourself to stay relevant in today’s world. I’m a firm believer that you should create the things that you wished existed and to express your creativity in whichever outlet or outlets that you deem interesting… I like many things, and I wish they existed; therefore I do everything and anything that interests me while creating a LOT of stuff and things! That being said, I am no stranger to all forms of media; however I was always on the other side of the microphone so to speak. I had attempted to utilize my name value to pitch doing my own talk show on a few of the big terrestrial radio networks that I had a longstanding history with; but regardless of the multiple contact I’d made requesting a sit-down discussion of what I could bring to the table — all I heard was crickets. I shortly after had an offer to do a show on an internet radio network that unfortunately had red flags all over it! I’m an ‘all-in’ kind of guy, so albeit I didn’t have an actual network behind me at the time — I purchased the URL and started working on a website. I just sidelined the idea temporarily until I wound up hiring a pair of interns for one of my other companies, Hound Comics, Inc. (Hound Entertainment Group). Not only did the three of us get along really well; but they both had direct experience in broadcasting. Steve ‘Zambo’ Zambito came from Five Towns College with a knowledge and experience in Engineering, while Kim Adragna came from Farmingdale University where she ran the school’s radio station. Again, our in office banter was always fun and I decided to ask them both what they thought of potentially doing a show together. We all agreed to give it a shot — so after hours on the night of July 13th, 2015, we sat around a single mic on one of the desks of an empty office and The Grindhouse Radio was born! The hour we scheduled out went by SO quickly and although it sounds cheesy — it was magic. The vibe was indescribable, who would have thought that we would have clicked so perfectly! I reached out to a friend of mine who was running an internet radio station in Pennsylvania at the time, Toxic Radio — and that first episode of GHR aired on July 16th, 2015. We quickly recruited multiple networks (who we affectionately call the Syndicate) from around the country to begin syndicating us on internet and terrestrial radio. I had been a guest on countless podcasts in the past; but Zambo and Kim continued to explain how podcasting was the wave of the future and it was the direction we absolutely needed to go — so on January 28th, 2016, we officially launched our new two-hour format on iHeartRadio, iTunes, Google, Spotify and a new line up of podcast heavy networks. That move literally changed the game for us.

Can you share a story about the most interesting thing that has happened to you since you started podcasting?

Honestly, the most interesting things that have happened since beginning our podcast are the milestone accomplishments. We were nominated and voted, Best Radio Station on Long Island 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020 over all the terrestrial radio stations in the area — this was extremely humbling. Notably, The Grindhouse Radio was a topic of discussion at the European Planetary Science Congress 2018 — officially making us a citable source for scientific and collegiate papers, and we won the 2018 SCORE Small Business Awards and were awarded the Grand Championship. Also, my co-host and business partner Kim (Adragna) was inducted into the LI Business News, ’30 Under 30’ Class of 2019. The Grindhouse Radio was awarded the 2020 New York State Senate Empire Business Award in recognition of their repeated contributions to the community and New York State, followed by a 2021 Platinum Communitas Award for Excellence in Corporate Responsibility | Making a Difference and Brimstone awarded for Excellence in Community Service | Leadership in Individual Community Service. In 2021, GHR was awarded a Gold AVA Digital Award for Audio Production / Radio Podcast and a Gold Award of Excellence | Individual Episodes, Entertainment Podcast​ for the 27th Annual Communicator Awards, Vega Digital ‘Centauri’ Award for Best Podcast Series, NYX Marcom Gold Award for Audio & Podcast, and two 2021 Platinum dotComm Awards for Audio/Radio/Web Program Original Series: Entertainment & Website: Entertainment. Most recently, GHR was ranked in the SB100 in the Best of Small Business Awards 2021.

Can you share a story about the biggest or funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson or takeaways you learned from that?

The biggest mistake I’ve made in the past with other projects and business’ have been working with and trusting the wrong people. It’s a shame that there are so many bad people out there and people cannot be trusted on their word and a handshake. My best advice and what I’ve learned is that before taking on any partners — proceed with caution, vet them and ensure that you have legal documents in place. It can be an expensive mistake in the long run, so do your due diligence and spend the time making sure the person you’re getting into bed with is right for you. It is also imperative that whomever you decide to work with has the same or at least similar work ethic, energy and drive that you do — otherwise you’ll find that you wind up doing the lion’s share of the work while others are living high on the hog!

How long have you been podcasting and how many shows have you aired?

I’ve always been a podcast friendly celebrity — meaning I have been open to interviews with podcasters for as many years as podcasting has been a thing! As a host, I’ve essentially been podcasting since 2015 — The Grindhouse Radio to date has over 312 episodes. I’ve also been doing my own companion series to GHR called, Within Brim’s Skin — and I’m about 140 episodes deep thus far there. I do Truly Inconsequential that is currently at 39 episodes, and the Dirty Little Secrets Club with my co-host Dayna Pereira (That Trophy Wife Life) which is at 32 episodes thus far! Needless to say I have a lot of content out there… many of it can be found on my Official Website under the Media section. You can watch as well as listen to countless podcast interviews that I’ve done on my Scriptures page as well.

What are the main takeaways, lessons or messages that you want your listeners to walk away with after listening to your show?

On the Grindhouse, we want our listeners to kick back, suspend reality for a spell and just smile. For a show that takes ourselves pretty seriously… we don’t take ourselves seriously! Truth is we want our fans to have fun — we want you to feel like you’re part of the crew. One of the best, repeat and most sincere compliments that we receive is that when people are listening in, they feel as though they’re in the studio with us. I personally have a low tolerance for stupidity — so at times I will rant about bad people; but for the most part, we’re lighthearted and fun. We steer clear of politics, religion and anything that is too tender of a topic — our goal is for the audience to actually want to keep coming back… those topics can quickly divide a fan base.

In your opinion what makes your podcast binge-listenable? What do you think makes your podcast unique from the others in your category? What do you think is special about you as a host, your guests, or your content?

Interesting question, I believe what makes our show binge-worthy is as I’ve said before — our authenticity. One of the greatest compliments that we’ve received time and time again is that the listener feels as though they are actually sitting in the studio with us. The personalities on GHR have a fantastic chemistry that people acknowledge and can appreciate — we don’t fight for mic time, we work off each other’s energy. We are lighthearted, fun, and offer a little something for everyone — so most people can relate to our banter. In terms of guests, we tend to have a lot of people on who don’t normally do media appearances; however they are personal friends and feel comfortable knowing that we will take care of them. That being said, due to those intimate relationships we more often than not get stories that have never been told in a public forum before… we don’t interview people, we have conversations.

Doing something on a consistent basis is not easy. Podcasting every work-day, or even every week can be monotonous. What would you recommend to others about how to maintain discipline and consistency? What would you recommend to others about how to avoid burnout?

I’m glad you asked… burnout is real and happens to EVERYONE! Even though I have the luxury of having a team behind me, podcasting is a full time job — and it isn’t my only job! That being said, keeping up on everything from the scheduling, booking, website, social media, marketing, etc. can make a sane person truly mad! I suggest keeping things fresh — sprinkle in some voice work (even if it is just for practice), honing your mic skills and expanding your opportunities simultaneously. Seek out advertisers and produce ads for them… make money while making your work more exciting! Most importantly — Create for yourself… stop worrying about the numbers and just enjoy the content you’re producing! Your people will always find out and authenticity goes far. In between creating and editing, make sure to take breaks, breathe and make sure to do things for yourself — self-care is a big part of keeping from burning out.

What resources do you get your inspiration for materials from?

So much of what I do is personal experience. I’ve been around a long time, seen a lot of things and can talk about any topic at the drop of a dime. Depending on the show I’m working on — I honestly won’t do any prep work at all… even for interviews! I like to keep it fresh, natural and unscripted… it’s how to get the best content. I will on occasion see articles that I’ll want to discuss on-air; or something happens in the pop culture world that must be talked about — But I really enjoy grabbed the bull by the horns and letting it happen live. It keeps my chops up for when I’m being interviewed as well!

Ok fantastic. Let’s now shift to the main questions of our discussion. Is there someone in the podcasting world who you think is a great model for how to run a really fantastic podcast?

There are countless podcasters out there and a lot of terrific model worthy podcasters as well; but I couldn’t really break it down and give you names, simply because it all comes down to each individual listener and what their personal take away will be. Someone who is interested in business and entrepreneurship may not find an entertainment podcast of value — so I would say people should decide for themselves. I know that may sound like a cop out; but I’m confident that people will find their personal gurus by seeking them out. I personally think that The Grindhouse Radio is a great model for people to follow; however beauty is always in the eye of the beholder!

What are the ingredients that make that podcast so successful? If you could break that down into a blueprint, what would that blueprint look like?

It’s really hard to say simply because it is different for everyone. There is no cookie cutter way to develop anything successfully and each person has a unique quality about themselves and their product that needs to come out and shine. Simply, what works for me may not work for someone else!

You are a very successful podcaster yourself. Can you share with our readers the five things you need to know to create an extremely successful podcast? (Please share a story or example for each, if you can.)

Ok, there is no real “perfect formula”. Of course there are things that work for me and my crew; however what works for us is very different than what would work for the majority of others. The cool thing about podcasting is that anyone can do it, about anything, in whatever format they deem appropriate for themselves. So the important thing to remember here is — utilize the things you learn from others in the industry; however aim to create your own algorithm for success that works for you.

1) Book great guests;

Essentially, your guest booking heavily weighs on a variety of moving parts — first and foremost, it depends on what kind of a show you are putting out into the ether. As we are predominantly a pop culture based show, any public figure from any spectrum of entertainment is a potential candidate. Now, since I have been in the industry for about forty years — I have a wide range of well known and reputable friends that I can reach out to and secure for the guest segment. Interestingly enough, when we started talking about doing the show — I was scheduled to sign at an event in LA (Comikaze at the time, now the LA Comic Con). When I told friends what we were planning, everyone offered to do the guest thing when we were ready and every one of them did a drop (also known as a Station ID) for us… this included my friend, the late, great Stan Lee. It was an honor and a privilege for these people to attach their name to GHR on my word — very humbling. Now, for people who are not as well connected seeking celebrity or high profile guests — the best way to go about it isn’t as hard as you may think (although it is a constant grind). Contact you prospective guest via social media, invest time and effort into finding out who represents the person you are seeking to interview and contact them in regard to your show and interest in their client. My suggestion is that when seeking out guests for your show, whatever type of content that you are putting out there — find people who inspire you… that’s what creates the most intriguing and engaging conversations for your guest, yourself and the listeners.

2) Increase listeners;

In my personal opinion, it is imperative that you designate a specific day and time each week/month that listeners and/or viewers will always know when your new content will be released. Yes, the luxury of podcasts allow for archiving older shows that can be heard anywhere at any time; but you want to keep your long term listeners engaged with the fresh content. Shows that are erratic in scheduling normally don’t pick up much traction, nor do they exist too long as most creators get frustrated with the lack of response or growth (of course, there are exceptions to the rule). This falls into any content that you are putting out there (IE: social media, YouTube, blogs, etc.) — I’ve said it for years… for lack of a better term, people are in nature, animals — animals need to be trained. Ensure that you strategically pick when, where and how your content is released depending on the type of show you are putting out into the ether. You also want to be active in the community that you are broadcasting about, utilize social media to the fullest extent and most of all — be yourself! Authenticity sells.

3) Produce it in a professional way;

The thing here is — production is in the eye of the beholder and what they are looking to get out of it in terms of end goal. There are many different levels of podcasting — GHR is extreme in the fact that we have a polished and fully produced show with state of the art equipment. We are also endorsed by companies like Beyerdynamic, Zoom North America, Ableton and All Music, Inc. — so we are not limited and restricted to basic or middle of the line equipment. We also have in-house engineers who do all the cleaning up, cutting, bumpers and advertisements as well, so our final product is strategically put together with kid gloves. I’ve heard shows that are produced on Anchor using two cell phones that sound fantastic — so it really comes down to personal preference. Some people have basic set-ups in their home or office and put out their episodes ‘as is’ where others know a few tricks to clip in their intro and outro to clean it up a bit. Others rent studio space, for instance we have great shows that rent our studio space here on Long Island in New York — that takes all the guessing out of it which allows the host(s) to come into a professional location and worry only about the content itself. We also have other shows that record on their phone, Zoom or computer — then forward it to us to edit for them. So again, there are many different ways to skin a cat and it comes down to how that specific creator wants to be perceived.

4) Encourage engagement;

All you can really do is put your heart and soul into creating something, putting it out into the world and hope that it attracts other people with the same mindset, goals, ambitions or interests. If you go into this or any other industry as a means to get rich, famous or trying to appease people in order to get followers — you’ve already lost. Someone once said, “If you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life.” This holds true with everything and anything — especially in the creative space. When you are focusing on how many people are downloading, listening, followers, liking and engaging — you lose sight of what excited and inspired you to start a podcast in the first place. So many creators do this and focus on what they ‘think’ people want to hear, rather than being themselves — losing their authenticity. Be consistent and sincere with your social media outreach and responses. If you stay consistent, authentic and positive — people will eventually catch on and respond. Remember that, “A watched pot never boils”, “If you build it they will come,” and most importantly, it’s not a race — it’s a marathon. Think of the long game and play it accordingly.

5) Best way to monetize it?

Monetizing can be done in many ways and it boils down to the age old question — How much ‘content time’ am I willing to give up for advertisers and sponsors? Many podcasts work with podcasting agencies who take a percentage of the deals they set up for your show. The rates that you are paid run on what is called CPM’s (cost per thousand) and you are essentially paid on the performance of the episode that the organic read or ad is running in. The same goes for affiliate marketing — except the podcaster gets paid based on the performance of a personalized code that the host promotes on their show and social media. I am not a fan of the affiliate style of marketing and advertising — in my opinion, it is giving away free advertising and promotion for little or nothing in return. I think it’s a scam and a bad practice in general… if you are working for a company to promote their product to your audience — you should be compensated for your work in branding the product; not how many people buy the product using your code. Let’s be honest, people usually forget codes — hell, they usually don’t even remember where they heard about a specific product! Furthermore, there are so many people spewing codes out there that even if a listener heard it on your show — there are no guarantees that they will 1) use the code at all — or 2) forget about your code, Google a discount code and use the first one that comes up! The biggest reason that I personally reject any affiliate marketing is that I feel it cheapens the relationship between me and my listeners. They aren’t stupid and I absolutely refuse to treat them that way! When a host regurgitates a code bearing ad or read — it is blatant that it is an ad — normally about a product that they personally don’t even care about. It is an awful practice — if a company wants to properly brand their product(s), get behind hosts who are interested in, and get behind the brand. At, The Grindhouse Radio — we deal business to business or through agencies and work with the companies that we can personally get behind. Our clients know that we will go above and beyond for the brand itself, support not only on-air; but via social media and while touring and signing at events. I’ve become synonymous with the brands that I work with including Kikkoman, 7 Eleven, Mane ‘N Tail and Boss Hoss Cycles to name a few. So my suggestion is to seek out businesses that you can feel good attaching your name to — aim to your specific demographic and approach accordingly. Do some research and invest time into creating a professional media kit — you will only be taken as seriously as you put yourself out. If you’re artistically challenged or don’t have a friend who can help you with a design — visit Fiverr.com and you can hire a graphic designer for a minimal cost to help create your logo, cover art, promotional art and media kit. Also very important, have thick skin — you’ll get no’s; but eventually you’ll get a yes.

Can you share some insight from your experience about the best ways to: 1) book great guests; 2) increase listeners; 3) produce it in a professional way; 4) encourage engagement; and 5) the best way to monetize it? (Please share a story or example for each, if you can.)

I think I pretty much summed it up prior… just remember that it’s ok to do it all your own way! There is no right or wrong way to podcast — that is the beauty of podcasting.

For someone looking to start their own podcast, which equipment would you recommend that they start with?

I personally love my beyerdynamic products — so I would suggest a starter kit that would contain a beyerdynamic Fox USB studio microphone, DT 770 Pro Headphones (which I also use in our professional studio — they are that good), and preferably a high powered desktop or laptop. This set up is literally plug and play — easy for anyone to get started quickly and sound like a pro. I would also suggest looking into a ZOOM PodTrak P8 Podcast Recorder if you’d like to have a complete mini-studio at your finger-tips.

Ok. We are almost done. :-) Because of your position and work, you are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the greatest amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

What I always ask from people is to do one thing… think of a cause that you can get behind. Maybe a family member suffered from Cancer; or a friend’s kid has Leukemia. Perhaps homelessness is an issue in your area; or you’d like to make sure that no child goes hungry? Whatever cause means something to you personally — I ask that you take one day out of your year, month, or week and donate some of your time to a specific charitable cause. No, I’m not asking you to spend money — I’m requesting that you donate time volunteering, fundraising, etc. for your chosen charity. Doing something selfless for people in need… it’s priceless. Being able to give back and make someone smile… honestly, the personal rewards are incredible! Helping others who truly appreciate it — and lives may depend on it, there’s no better feeling in the world. We need more love in this current landscape of the world we live in, there’s a huge shortage — do the right thing and be good to one another!

How can our readers follow you online?

Sure! You can find everything on my Official website: therealbrimstone.com — There are links to all of my social directly on the site. I personally run all my social media — it isn’t my assistant, an intern or my wife… it’s me! So if you reach out — it will be me responding to you directly, and I love engagement. I am most active on Instagram at @therealbrimstone; but I’m everywhere including Twitter at @entrancetohell and Facebook at @Brimstone. If people are interested in using me IN their social media… you can find GIFs of me by searching Brimstone, gotBrim and @ghr among other keywords; or grab them from giphy.com/ghr.

Thank you so much for sharing your time and your excellent insights! We wish you continued success.