Today we’d like to introduce you to Allison Weaver.
Allison, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Hi my name is Allison Weaver the podcast host of The Locals Podcast. In the summer of 2019, I had fell in love with podcast and the way they allowed for genuine conversation between people. Whether it be a true crime podcast, history-based podcast, or just a playful conversational podcast, I love the way it allows for people to connect and educate themselves. So towards the end of the summer I decided that I wanted to make my very own podcast. I have always been one for great conversation, so I made it my mission to learn the art of podcasting. It wasn’t until mid-October in 2019 that I launched my first episode. The Locals Podcast was birthed October 21st and was available to the masses (via Apple Podcast, Spotify, Google Play & more)!
My passion and vision for the podcast has been community-based. Hence, “The Locals” being the coined term. I have been a proud Southern Californian my entire life and I felt like highlighting the beauty of California through other fellow locals. I currently have 30 episodes that highlight the lives of multi-ethnic groups and all walks of life, religion, and socio-economic backgrounds. All while highlighting the beauty and not-so beautiful landmarks of California. Although the podcast is currently geared towards Californian listeners my hopes in the near future is to interview people from across the globe. Encapsulating “The Locals” of all regions and countries.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I am blessed to say that the road down podcasting has been quite inspiring and revolutionary for me. Some of the biggest roadblocks that come to mind is obviously producing though-provoking and intriguing content for listeners. I am approaching a little under a year of podcasting, and without a doubt as a small creator, I believe that audio is one of the biggest hindrances for podcasters. I am constantly learning more about the world of producing and audio as a whole to make sure that I am producing good sounding quality for listeners. Luckily, in the past five months I have been blessed with a friend that has been a great addition to the team. Twila Cuenca is the Audio Producer of The Locals Podcast and a fellow classmate of mine at California Baptist University. When audio was one of my biggest hindrances, she was able to help me produce better sounding audio! So thankful that this road of my first year of podcasting has been quite smooth for the most part.
Please tell us about The Locals Podcast.
The Locals Podcast is a community-based podcast that seeks to highlight locals from all walks of life to share their stories and hangout spots they love with other listeners to one day visit. My hope with this podcast is that it will be a go-to outlet for people when they want to learn more about local regions, small businesses, and conversations between two people. With that, I have been able to interview over 20 people and counting in my first year of podcasting which warms my heart. Building a podcast off of community is something that I have always strived for and luckily thats what I am achieving. When guests come onto my podcast, I make it my duty to let my entire group of listeners know that I full-heartedly love the work they produce. Something that sets me apart from other podcasters is that this podcast is for everyone and it strives to highlight the local feel of cities, towns, states, countries, etc. In each episode, we highlight a local “hangout” spot; this could be a favorite coffee shop, restaurant, outdoor activity, small business, etc. This allows for listeners to see that we are invested in our community and want to uplift the businesses or points of interest in our cities to other people that may visit.
With that, I am so proud with the amount of people that I have been able to reach in just my first year of being a small creator podcaster. I didn’t have a foot in the door when it came to influencer social media techniques or follower count, so I can firmly say that this has been a slow and steady race. Although the podcast is still on the smaller scale, I can truly say that it will continue to grow.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
For anyone that wants to start podcasting my number one tip is CONSISTENCY. I firmly believe this is why I’ve had the growth that I’ve had since launching. I set a date for when new podcast go live each week and have stuck to that since. This will help you be successful in the journey of podcasting. Also, batch recording helps in terms of making sure you have new content each week for your listeners.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://anchor.fm/allison-weaver
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thelocalspodcast/
Image Credit:
@thelocalspodcast, @haileyhobby
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