“How to Become the Center of Influence Through Investing in Podcasting” with Matthew Baltzell of the Real Estate Journeys Podcast

The best ways to reach out to a guest are through email and Instagram. Both are highly effective. But the key to the strategy is to first sound like a real person and not a spammer. Secondly, you need to follow up. It’s all about the follow up. Guests get busy and if you’re not following up, they probably won’t take you seriously.

As part of my series of interviews about “How to Become the Center of Influence Through Podcasting”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Matthew Baltzell. He is a real-estate investor and hosts the podcast Real Estate Journeys which focuses on helping investors scale to 100 units and become location-independent. He currently lives in Chiang Mai, Thailand, where he and his wife are expecting their first child in January 2020.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us the “backstory” about why or how you got started as a podcaster?

I started my podcast because I realized how hard it was to break into both multi-family and real-estate investing. This was even more difficult for me since I was living abroad. Yet, I didn’t let that stop me. I knew technology was my best bet in order to make this happen. So, I started a digital real-estate meet-up, which lead me to my current position working and investing with Boardwalk Wealth, a private-equity real-estate company based out of Dallas, Texas.

While working for Boardwalk Wealth, I realized other people, myself included, were looking to become real-estate investors or wanted to invest in larger, multi-family apartment deals — But, I didn’t know how anyone would go about it.

Once I myself figured out how to break into the industry living half-way around the world, I decided to share my journey and help others.

Thus, I decided to create Real Estate Journeys to help investors learn from my experience and learn how to live an independent lifestyle.

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

When I started my podcast, I knew very little about the process. It was kind of a “ready, fire, aim” kind of strategy. I had limiting beliefs and often thought to myself: “What the hell am I doing? Who’s really going to be on my show?” Living abroad in Thailand and starting a podcast about real-estate investing in America is crazy. However, I knew I could do it and had to continue to push forward. I challenged my disbeliefs through the process and proved to myself that I could do it.

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

My worst mistake is classic. I can’t believe I did this. I wanted a guest on my show with a generic name. We will call him ‘John Smith.’ Well, my VA reached out to ‘John Smith’ and booked him on the show. In the meantime, I was provided his bio and all the things that I thought I would apparently need for the show. Fast forward to the scheduled recording date, and ‘John Smith’ and I have a nice little pre-chat and then jump into the podcast. And as soon as I start reading his bio he stops me with: “You Have the WRONG ‘John Smith’.” Ummm yah, my heart dropped, and I felt like a dummy. He seemed okay with it, but I was a little embarrassed! Needless to say, I don’t tell many people about this experience.

• The lesson I learned about this was to do with acceptance: I wanted to blame the VA for what happened, but I had to put the emphasis and blame on myself. I didn’t do a good enough job giving instructions or doing the proper due diligence on my part. I could have done more to prevent this issue from happening.

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

I’ve been podcasting for 6 months and I’ve released 55+ episodes.

What are the main takeaways or lessons you want your listeners to walk away with?

Main Takeaway: Real-estate investing can help you reach your ultimate goal in life, which I believe is freedom, and if I can learn how to break into the real-estate industry in Thailand and live abroad, so can you!

Can you share with our readers the five things you need to know to create an extremely successful podcast?

Podcaster Influencer, Matthew Baltzell of the Real Estate Journeys Podcast shares the best ways to:

1) Book Great Guests: The best ways to reach out to a guest are through email and Instagram. Both are highly effective. But the key to the strategy is to first sound like a real person and not a spammer. Secondly, you need to follow up. It’s all about the follow up. Guest’s get busy and if you’re not following up, they probably won’t take you seriously.

2) Increase Listeners: The best way to increase listeners is to go to where they are — which is on podcasts. You also need to go on other podcasts to increase listener exposure and awareness around your brand.

3) Produce it in a Professional Way: You will need to outsource some aspects of your podcast. For me show notes and editing take up the most time. I outsource these to a qualified team, which I’ve pieced together on Upwork.

4) Encourage Engagement: Making it easy for guests to share your podcast is a great way for them to share your podcast.

5) Best way to Monetize it? N/A. I’ve yet to do this. However, I’ve heard through coaching that offering your services is the best strategy.

From your vantage point what are some of the reasons why a person should consider creating a podcast series?

Creating a podcast is all about status and value. Having a podcast raises your status as an influencer and you are already perceived to be somewhat of an authority on the subject matter. If you take your status and leverage it properly, you’ll be able to have access to conversations with guests and other individuals you probably wouldn’t have had before.

Nowadays it seems as if everyone is trying to jump on the podcast bandwagon. Are there people to whom you would advise to avoid podcasting and instead focus on another medium?

I would recommend podcasting to anyone who is looking to produce long-form content and who’s willing to put in the work. If you’re thinking you’re going to knock it out of the park in 6 months with podcasting, you’re WRONG! Podcasting seems easy, but there’s a lot of work that goes into it. Podcasting is a marathon and a vast majority of podcasts never make it past episode 7. Think more in terms of years, not months. Do this and produce great content and you’ll be out to a great start.

How has your position as a podcast host and a person of high authority, impacted your business, sales, and/or increased your opportunities? Can you share a story with us?

I’ve definitely had an increase in authority. Having guests on my show such as John Lee Dumas, Travis Chappell, Andrew Henderson, and Rod Khelif to me isn’t the biggest of deals. However, when I speak with my audience, I often find how surprised they are that I’m able to get these guests on my show. My audience sees me as more of an authority figure, but I don’t feel any different or more authoritative.

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 the content itself?

EVERY SINGLE REAL-ESATE INVESTING PODCAST IS BORING!!! They start out with the same church bell jingles and bring a guest on to regurgitate their real-estate porn. I bring a fresh perspective to real estate through humor and looking at it from a different angle. Many investors think they need thousands of units, but that’s not necessarily the case. It all depends on your goals. I believe that if you’re able to scale to 100 units, you’ll be financially free for the rest of your life.

Where can our readers find you on Social Media?

Instagram|Twitter |LinkedIn: Matthew Baltzell

Is there a specific high-value guest (obviously still living) that you would love to interview on your show, and why? He or she might just see this when we tag them!

Yes, Sam Zell. He’s a billionaire real-estate investor and has led an interesting life. I think he would be a great guest for the show.