Monika Casey of Divorce Party: 5 Things You Need To Know To Create A Very Successful Podcast

An Interview With Jason Hartman

Call people you know who are already doing it and ask them all your questions. A really great friend of a friend told me, “don’t wait to perfect the podcast before you release one. Just hit record, start talking and you will find your way. Most podcasts take sometime to develop, it’s a journey.”

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 Monika Casey.

Monika is an actress, Mom, and the host of Divorce Party Podcast with Tom Arnold. She usually spends her mornings chugging lattes on Siriusxm’s Jeff Lewis Live After Show. As an actress and producer Monika has starred in features such as, SEX Ed (2014) with Haley Joel Osment, and Miles (2016) with Molly Shannon and Paul Reiser. Monika is developing a scripted series NEW FRIENDS, based on her life after divorce, with Margaret Cho attached.

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?

I’m a native California girl, some may say a “valley girl.” I moved to LA to act like oh so many others, and started training at The Groundlings. I made it through the writing lab and then they broke up with me, Hahahah. I dabbled in stand-up after that for a few years, got married, had a baby, and got divorced. My friend Jeff Lewis had just started his own talk show on SiriusXM and asked if I’d like to come on as a guest one day. The show went really well and he told me he’d call me in as a cohost from time to time. That was five years ago and a gazillion shows later I’ve become a regular. I really only started listening to podcasts myself about two years ago. I am definitely was one of those people who’s like “ugh, the world doesn’t need another podcast. What would I even talk about?” But… I had thrown myself a Divorce Party once my divorce was finalized which was amazing and very healing. Then friends started asking me to throw theirs. Tom Arnold and I met and bonded over our divorces since he’s basically the king of divorce with four under his belt. When I knew the actors strike was eminent, I called him up and said let’s do this as a podcast. We called up some of our friends and got them to share their experiences of divorce, how it changed them, and what they learned.

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

I feel like since I’ve started podcasting, I’ve learned to have so much more compassion for people and what we all go through during divorces and life in general. So much of what we experience growing up relates to who we pick as our relationship partners and that can be just awful sometimes. I’ve also learned that so far, no one has ever said “I really regret getting that divorce.”

It has been said that our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
Soooo many mistakes! Hahhaha! Well, recording our first episode was easy but I knew nothing about editing. Online there are so many editing programs it’s overwhelming! Still, I tried to teach myself and failed miserably. Two weeks went by and I still had not realeased an episode. I even went on Jeff Lewis Live and he promoted the podcast and asked when the first episode dropped, I laughed and said “when I can figure out how to edit it.” Two more weeks went by and I still had not released an episode. That’s when I finally had to hire someone to edit until I could learn how. I guess I learned what my strengths are and editing is not one of them. I had to ask for help and give myself time to learn an entirely new skill. Honestly, there were too many technichal difficulties to mention.

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

I have only been Podcasting since May and 21 episodes of Divorce Party have been released.

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

Divorce Party Podcast is about celebrating a new chapter in your life. Divorce is not the end, it’s just the beginning. I want people to feel seen. Divorce can feel lonely and shameful at times. My vision for the podcast is to make people, laugh, cry, and spread compassion for all of the different circumstances and relationships that people are experiencing with divorce. And I love when married people that listen reach out and tell me that they’ve had an “Ah-Ha” moment and noticed something that they want to stop doing in their marriage. I think as much as folks are gaining insight and advice about the divorce process itself, our listeners are also learning what NOT to do in their marriages and relationships that could lead to divorce in the future.

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?

We have so many unique guests from friends, celebs, and therapists, to lawyers that you get a mixed bag of people who have just separated to people who have remained single for decades. It’s like a reality show had a baby with every Lifetime movie ever made. What’s special about Tom and I is we are the perfect Odd Couple. Tom’s in it for his own therapy and I’m in it for the juicy stories.

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?

In order to maintain discipline weekly, I have to be involved in all aspects from, booking guests, editing, and social media posts. I wasn’t involved in the editing of one particular episode and something was cut out that I felt was a very strong piece of the episode. I learned that I actually have to have my hands in all of it as I’m establishing the brand. No one cares more about your career or art than you do. To avoid burnout, I allow myself a two hour a day Divorce Party maximum. It’s easy to get lost in the rabbit holes of looking for more guest, memes, and articles about divorce, but balance is always key in avoiding burnout.

What resources do you get your inspiration for materials from?

I try to follow as many people in the social divorce community, published articles, and just simply talking to people who have gone through a divorce. I love when my friends or people on instagram introduce me to other potential guests that have great stories to tell.

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? What are the ingredients that make that podcast so successful?

My favorite podcast is Smartless with Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, and Will Arnet. I think the best ingredient is that they are all having fun. I love that they are all friends, sometimes they ask the most random questions, and always seem to make their guests feel comfortable.

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?

1. Start listening to podcasts and use your favorite ones as an outline.
2. Call people you know who are already doing it and ask them all your questions. A really great friend of a friend told me, “don’t wait to perfect the podcast before you release one. Just hit record, start talking and you will find your way. Most podcasts take sometime to develop, it’s a journey.”
3. Figure out your specific topic or point of view and really lean into it.
4. Get technical support, unless you are already supper savvy.
5. Have FUN!

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.)

1. Try to book people who are “talkers” you can always edit down if they are too long-winded.
2. Promote, promote, promote. Tell everyone and anyone who will listen that you have a podcast.
3. There are so many platforms and apps to help you edit and clean up sound.
4. Social media, texting and asking your friends to listen and share is a great way to initiate engagement.
5. We use the platform Acast to monetize and are very happy!
   For someone looking to start their own podcast, which equipment would you recommend that they start with?

The Logitech for Creators Blue Yeti is a great and inexpensive was to start and you can get it on Amazon.

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. :-).

Wow, no pressure whatsoever with this question! Just on a basic daily level, kindness is really important to me and I think to most people these days. I like the idea of putting attention or intention on spreading kindness in whatever ways we can daily, even if it’s just smiling at a stranger. You never know positive affect you can have on another person and it just feels good too.

How can our readers follow you online?

You can follow us on Instagram @Divorcepartypodcast

Thank you for these really excellent insights, and we greatly appreciate the time you spent with this. We wish you continued success.

About The Interviewer: Jason Hartman is the Founder and CEO of Empowered Investor. Jason has been involved in several thousand real estate transactions and has owned income properties in 11 states and 17 cities. Empowered Investor helps people achieve The American Dream of financial freedom by purchasing income property in prudent markets nationwide. Jason’s Complete Solution for Real Estate Investors™ is a comprehensive system providing real estate investors with education, research, resources and technology to deal with all areas of their income property investment needs. Through Jason’s podcasts, educational events, referrals, mentoring and software to track your investments, investors can easily locate, finance and purchase properties in these exceptional markets with confidence and peace of mind.

Starting with very little, Jason, while still in college at the age of 19, embarked on a career in real estate. While brokering properties for clients, he was investing in his own portfolio along the way. Through creativity, persistence and hard work, he earned a number of prestigious industry awards and became a young multi-millionaire. Jason purchased a California real estate brokerage firm that was later acquired by Coldwell Banker. He combined his dedication and business talents to become a successful entrepreneur, public speaker, author, and media personality. Over the years he developed his Complete Solution for Real Estate Investors™ where his innovative firm educates and assists investors in acquiring prudent investments nationwide for their portfolio. Jason’s sought after educational events, speaking engagements, and his popular “Creating Wealth Podcast” inspire and empower hundreds of thousands of people in 189 countries worldwide.

While running his successful real estate and media businesses, Jason also believes that giving back to the community plays an important role in building strong personal relationships. He established The Jason Hartman Foundation in 2005 to provide financial literacy education to young adults providing the all-important real world skills not taught in school which are the key to the financial stability and success of future generations. We’re in a global monetary crisis caused by decades of misguided policies and the cycle of financial dependence has to be broken, literacy and self-reliance are a good start. Visit JasonHartman.com for free materials and resources.