Let the Project Begin
For my portfolio, I would like to create motivational life-coaching podcasts. I am currently hooked into a community of coaches and would like to revisit life coaching as a career option (for self discovery if nothing else). I have chosen to use Wix.com as the platform for my website soulchap.com. I chose Wix because it will allow me to (1) link a Facebook page and Twitter page, (2) connect my medium blog, (3) link my SoundCloud account, and (4) design and create pages with ease.
This past month has allowed me to reflect on what brings me joy and what direction in which I would like to go beyond academia. Life coaching and motivational speaking are two of my passions, and I would like to pursue them going forward. Therefore, I want to use my podcast as a platform to build an online presence for that. I researched current life coaching podcasts, and the one that caught my attention was yourkickasslife.com with Andrea Owen. I must say that I enjoy the rawness of her delivery. But that won’t be the case for me. I’m not that raw, nor do I want to be. But her website is a good example of what I would like mine to look like. She uses a lot of white space and color, and it is easy to navigate. She also uses her platform to promote her books. Now I don’t have any books, but I do write. I would like to add those writings to my website, as well as some spoken word and poetry (all relevant to my website).
My Platform
I prefer ready-made platforms over self-hosting. For my portfolio, I chose wix.com because that’s the platform I am familiar with. I have tried to create websites using WordPress in the past, however, it just wasn’t a match for me. Wix allows me to drag and drop with ease. It also comes with a plethora of widgets that will allow me to add and delete the necessary components. Wix also allows me unlimited bandwidth, and I get 10 gigs of space. That is more than enough space for me to work with. The cost is $12.95 a month, in my domain costs $14.95 a year.
The only con that comes to mind using Wix.com is that I will have to pay the monthly fee. However, that’s not really a con since I don’t mind paying for it. If I didn’t pay for it, I could get the site for free. Unfortunately, going with the free option means that one has to accept the Wix advertisement flooding the page. And let me just be upfront — I don’t have time for that. It’s tacky, and I don’t like it.
Again, I prefer ready-made sites over self-hosting. It removes a lot of the headache. I suppose I could learn how to self host, but that seems very time consuming. Right now I’m at the point in which I just want to pick up and go.
As far as coding and creating a site from scratch, that would be a negative. I know very little about writing actual code. I can watch while someone else codes, but that’s not my specialty. Again, ready-made is the way for me.
My Domain
Soulchap.com. I want a motivational life coach presence. I tried to keep the name short and sweet. Originally, I was working toward a domain that had the word ‘life’ in it. Unfortunately, nothing was available that I could think of. Therefore, the closest thing to life is ‘soul’. No I didn’t just want to be a soul. No, no, no. I wanted to add an inviting component to the name. Something friendly. That’s when I decided to go with ‘chap’. Thus, Soulchap.com was born. Soul not only says life, it imbues liveliness. And that’s what I want more than anything. I want to be alive. I want my website to be vibrant. I want it to be inspirational. I want my audience to engage. I want them to say: Kirby is my chap.
Now you may be saying: Kirby, you’ve taken leave of your senses. No one is going to make that connection. Well, I say: person (whoever you are), yes they will. Because as long as I am connected to my community, which in turn will be connected to the audience I am trying to reach, they will know. Furthermore, with my social media plan of attack, I will see that they know. Then again, I suppose time will tell. Time tells everything. Let’s hope she has a good story about this.
The Podcasts
I will be podcasting using Adobe Audition. I enjoy the functionality of the software, and it allows me to drag and drop sound effects. On average, my podcast will last anywhere from 3 to 5 minutes. I anticipate podcasting 2 to 3 times a week. All of my podcasts will be uploaded to SoundCloud. I chose SoundCloud because it allows me to copy and paste code to various social media platforms. Wix.com also has a widget for adding SoundCloud to my website.
Podcasting can be very time consuming, but I enjoy it. For me, it’s not just about editing. It’s about creating an experience. Every episode has its own vibe that makes me want to do more. With that said, I can only hope that it makes the listener want to hear more. And that’s what I want. I want to create an experience for the listener to want to hear more. I like to do this using sound effects, audio clips from movies, and remix quality.
I plan to take listener calls and conduct interviews with other coaches. Aside from the calls, other topics will be based around happenings in current events, technology, or questions from the audience (via social media). I feel that there is a common thread of inspiration that runs through everything in life, it’s just a matter of being aware of that thread. And that’s really what this project is about for me: awareness.
The Blog
I will be blogging on Medium. I prefer Medium because it is clean and easy to use. It also allows me to embed to my podcasts. With that, I can add a written component to that which I’m podcasting about. The title of my blog is “The Journey.” I plan to blog at least twice a week. At least once a week I would like to incorporate a video blog. Why a video blog? Because I want to create an intimate social presence. One in which my audience feels a connection to me. All video material will be uploaded to YouTube and embedded in the website (as well as Facebook and Twitter).
