Being an Origineur with Loretta Milan

Rachael Botfield: 00:00:08

Hi, and welcome to podcasting one on one with Rachel.

Rachael Botfield: 00:00:12

This podcast is for busy female entrepreneurs who run their own

Rachael Botfield: 00:00:15

businesses and want to start a podcast or who may already have a podcast.

Rachael Botfield: 00:00:20

I want to share practical information and tips on how you can get your podcast

Rachael Botfield: 00:00:25

started and managing it along the way.

Rachael Botfield: 00:00:27

I'll also be interviewing other female podcast hosts to give you

Rachael Botfield: 00:00:30

real insight into what it's like.

Rachael Botfield: 00:00:32

Have Hi,

Rachael Botfield: 00:00:44

and welcome to this week's episode.

Rachael Botfield: 00:00:47

This week I have Loretta Milan with me.

Rachael Botfield: 00:00:49

Loretta is a communications expert and founder of the Origineurs and

Rachael Botfield: 00:00:54

host of the Origineurs podcast.

Rachael Botfield: 00:00:56

Welcome Loretta.

Rachael Botfield: 00:00:57

Hello.

Rachael Botfield: 00:00:58

Thanks for welcoming me.

Rachael Botfield: 00:01:00

It's nice to have you here.

Rachael Botfield: 00:01:02

For context, I met Loretta through our West Midlands podcast community and

Rachael Botfield: 00:01:08

club that's based in Worcestershire because we're all, we're both in the

Rachael Botfield: 00:01:11

local area, which is really nice.

Rachael Botfield: 00:01:13

So it was nice to actually meet you in person as well at Christmas time.

Rachael Botfield: 00:01:16

It was,

Loretta Milan: 00:01:16

we met over some board games, which was particularly fun.

Loretta Milan: 00:01:20

You're very competitive, we found out.

Rachael Botfield: 00:01:22

Yes, it was such good fun.

Rachael Botfield: 00:01:24

I actually bought that Sounds Fishy game for home and we played it at Christmas and

Rachael Botfield: 00:01:28

it was just as hilarious there as well.

Rachael Botfield: 00:01:30

So it was, it was a good, good night.

Rachael Botfield: 00:01:32

If

Loretta Milan: 00:01:32

no one's played Sounds Fishy, it's a very great game.

Loretta Milan: 00:01:35

It's very simple to pick up and very fun.

Rachael Botfield: 00:01:38

Yes, absolutely.

Rachael Botfield: 00:01:39

I wanted Loretta to come on here and talk about her experience.

Rachael Botfield: 00:01:43

podcasting and podcasting for her business.

Rachael Botfield: 00:01:46

So just let us a little bit, know a little bit more about like what you do,

Rachael Botfield: 00:01:50

what Origineurs is and your podcast.

Loretta Milan: 00:01:53

Well, Origineurs is a baby podcast so far, but it's

Loretta Milan: 00:01:58

big in terms of what the concept is because we have a big belief and

Loretta Milan: 00:02:02

that's that we're all originals.

Loretta Milan: 00:02:03

We all have a unique blend of personality, skills, experiences, and values.

Loretta Milan: 00:02:09

And that's what gives you the greatest opportunity to stand out and succeed.

Loretta Milan: 00:02:14

And that's what we're all about celebrating on the Origineurs

Loretta Milan: 00:02:17

podcast because that's what we really want to get you believing in.

Loretta Milan: 00:02:21

So that's why I set it up and we're 20 episodes in so far.

Loretta Milan: 00:02:25

Well, congratulations.

Loretta Milan: 00:02:26

That's really, really

Rachael Botfield: 00:02:27

good.

Rachael Botfield: 00:02:28

What made you want to add podcasting to your business?

Rachael Botfield: 00:02:33

How did you feel that the medium would work for you?

Loretta Milan: 00:02:36

Well, I've been running a communications agency

Loretta Milan: 00:02:39

for coming up 10 years now.

Loretta Milan: 00:02:41

And I do like the fact that having.

Loretta Milan: 00:02:44

Being 10 years into business is an opportunity to have a party.

Loretta Milan: 00:02:47

So you will get an invitation.

Loretta Milan: 00:02:49

There will be champagne and cake.

Loretta Milan: 00:02:50

But I changed the name of the business about a year ago.

Loretta Milan: 00:02:56

Because I, Realized that originality was becoming a bigger

Loretta Milan: 00:03:03

part of my work in communication.

Loretta Milan: 00:03:06

I was realizing that more and more people were trying to change themselves to fit

Loretta Milan: 00:03:12

a mold when they were communicating and not realizing that their authenticity,

Loretta Milan: 00:03:18

when they could be themselves, they were.

Loretta Milan: 00:03:20

More able to stand out and do more great work and have a greater impact.

Loretta Milan: 00:03:26

And I realized that podcasting was a really great media

Loretta Milan: 00:03:31

for me sharing that message.

Loretta Milan: 00:03:33

I've been thinking about it about a year and I thought, let's do it.

Loretta Milan: 00:03:37

So I set up the podcast and I began, so with

Rachael Botfield: 00:03:40

your podcast, with your communications background, that

Rachael Botfield: 00:03:44

was what you wanted to, to highlight.

Rachael Botfield: 00:03:47

Through your, through your podcast.

Rachael Botfield: 00:03:49

Yes.

Rachael Botfield: 00:03:49

And that made, did that make it quite easy to come up with the, the topics

Rachael Botfield: 00:03:55

and things that you wanted to talk about in, in these first kind of 20 episodes?

Loretta Milan: 00:04:00

Yes.

Loretta Milan: 00:04:01

I found what was surprising was how easily, once I worked out what my

Loretta Milan: 00:04:09

niche was, how easily the topics came.

Loretta Milan: 00:04:13

What, where the topic ideas came was, is more from conversations with people.

Loretta Milan: 00:04:18

I would say to people, I was starting this podcast and naturally people would say,

Loretta Milan: 00:04:22

well, what are you going to talk about?

Loretta Milan: 00:04:23

Surely you're going to run out with ideas of things to talk about once you've,

Loretta Milan: 00:04:27

once you've done so many episodes.

Loretta Milan: 00:04:29

And I said, well, I'm going to talk about this and I'm going to talk about that.

Loretta Milan: 00:04:32

And then I spent over a sort of cup of tea or something.

Loretta Milan: 00:04:35

I'd spent a whole hour talking about all the things that I was going to talk about.

Loretta Milan: 00:04:39

And I'd say, well, this thing really has legs.

Rachael Botfield: 00:04:43

Yeah, I think those, especially talking with people who

Rachael Botfield: 00:04:47

potentially are your ideal client or your, your ideal listener helps with

Rachael Botfield: 00:04:52

those types of, the ideas for the topics helps flow because like you say, you're

Rachael Botfield: 00:04:58

having those conversations with people and realizing that these are the kind

Rachael Botfield: 00:05:01

of things that people really need.

Rachael Botfield: 00:05:03

Want to hear about and originality as well.

Rachael Botfield: 00:05:06

We always hear, I mean, the word authentic is kind of bandied around

Rachael Botfield: 00:05:10

a lot, but it's, I love with, with Origineurs, you are right.

Rachael Botfield: 00:05:17

Being authentic, original selves is really important for showing up for

Rachael Botfield: 00:05:23

your podcast, for your business, for what you're doing in life.

Rachael Botfield: 00:05:26

You don't want there to be a disconnect between all those different things.

Rachael Botfield: 00:05:31

And it is, especially with corporate, I think, as well, if people are working

Rachael Botfield: 00:05:36

as an employee, it is hard to have that being yourself because, you know,

Rachael Botfield: 00:05:42

you have to, you know, Quote, unquote, fit into what the company is like, or

Rachael Botfield: 00:05:47

maybe you feel pressure to do that.

Rachael Botfield: 00:05:49

You have to behave in a certain way.

Rachael Botfield: 00:05:51

So, I think it's a great thing to encourage everybody to embrace

Rachael Botfield: 00:05:55

being yourself and being, you know, those original, your original self.

Loretta Milan: 00:06:01

Absolutely.

Loretta Milan: 00:06:01

Well, I had Two parts of it, the original.

Loretta Milan: 00:06:04

So everybody is an original.

Loretta Milan: 00:06:06

We all have something and the longer you live life, the more original you

Loretta Milan: 00:06:11

become, and the reason for that is you collect more experiences, you build

Loretta Milan: 00:06:16

more skills and your values develop.

Loretta Milan: 00:06:18

So the longer you live, the more original you become.

Loretta Milan: 00:06:21

A rich, you develop.

Loretta Milan: 00:06:22

Of being an originator when you take action upon that.

Loretta Milan: 00:06:25

So an Origineur somebody who then uses that originality to do something no matter

Loretta Milan: 00:06:31

how big or small, if you use that to change someone else's life, to inspire

Loretta Milan: 00:06:35

somebody else, to set up a business, to make an idea happen, that's when you

Loretta Milan: 00:06:40

become from being an original to being an originator, you make something happen.

Loretta Milan: 00:06:44

And originally when I.

Loretta Milan: 00:06:46

When I came up the idea, I thought, well, that's for people who are

Loretta Milan: 00:06:51

maybe entrepreneurs or change makers.

Loretta Milan: 00:06:54

You know, because you have to be working setting up a business or

Loretta Milan: 00:06:57

something to make that happen.

Loretta Milan: 00:06:59

And I came from a corporate background and I thought, well, maybe you

Loretta Milan: 00:07:03

couldn't make that happen in corporate.

Loretta Milan: 00:07:06

But the more I thought about it, the more I realized you can, you can

Loretta Milan: 00:07:09

be an individual in a big In a big organization, it is possible just

Loretta Milan: 00:07:15

because those organizations have bigger, a wider strategy and they have bigger

Loretta Milan: 00:07:21

and wider objectives doesn't mean there isn't space for originality within it.

Loretta Milan: 00:07:26

In fact, it becomes even more important because more and more

Loretta Milan: 00:07:30

people fall into the conformity track.

Loretta Milan: 00:07:33

They think that they have to conform.

Loretta Milan: 00:07:35

They think they have to fit a particular mold in order to get ahead.

Loretta Milan: 00:07:40

In fact, I've seen, because I have worked in FTSE 100 companies, I've worked

Loretta Milan: 00:07:44

with leaders of global brands, I've actually seen the people who stand out

Loretta Milan: 00:07:48

as original, the ones that are authentic, are actually the ones who get ahead,

Loretta Milan: 00:07:53

not the ones who conform to the norm.

Rachael Botfield: 00:07:57

Absolutely.

Rachael Botfield: 00:07:58

You're totally right.

Rachael Botfield: 00:07:58

There is definitely a place for it.

Rachael Botfield: 00:08:00

In, in corporate as well, I think it can only be an advantage because your thinking

Rachael Botfield: 00:08:07

is completely original and you think of something that no one else would think of.

Rachael Botfield: 00:08:11

So you're bringing that to the table and looking at it that way

Rachael Botfield: 00:08:14

rather than thinking I have to just.

Rachael Botfield: 00:08:16

be like everybody else or like what they quote unquote, want

Rachael Botfield: 00:08:20

me or expect me to be like.

Loretta Milan: 00:08:22

Absolutely.

Loretta Milan: 00:08:23

You've hit it on the head.

Loretta Milan: 00:08:24

Absolutely.

Rachael Botfield: 00:08:26

Oh, well, you inspired that from your conversation.

Rachael Botfield: 00:08:28

So when it came to starting the podcast, how did you feel about, you know,

Rachael Botfield: 00:08:35

everything that you had to get done?

Rachael Botfield: 00:08:36

Were you quite did you know what you had to do?

Rachael Botfield: 00:08:39

Did you have somebody come and help you?

Rachael Botfield: 00:08:41

What was kind of your process?

Loretta Milan: 00:08:44

Well Because I've run the agency, I know where my strengths

Loretta Milan: 00:08:47

are, which is on the creative side, and the communication side, and

Loretta Milan: 00:08:53

coming up with ideas, and I know that the technology side, I know that's

Loretta Milan: 00:09:00

something where I have to partner with people and work with people who

Loretta Milan: 00:09:04

specialize in that sort of thing.

Loretta Milan: 00:09:06

So I outsourced that part and knew that I'd be better off working with

Loretta Milan: 00:09:13

other people to do those parts.

Loretta Milan: 00:09:15

That's what I did.

Rachael Botfield: 00:09:17

How did you find the whole process?

Rachael Botfield: 00:09:19

Did you start planning the episodes out yourself?

Rachael Botfield: 00:09:22

And then once you were ready, did you bring somebody on board to help

Rachael Botfield: 00:09:24

you get set up with the recording?

Rachael Botfield: 00:09:26

And, and then choosing like things like, cause I know you're on Captivate as well,

Rachael Botfield: 00:09:31

which is a podcast hosting platform.

Rachael Botfield: 00:09:34

Did you find that yourself or did somebody recommend that to you?

Rachael Botfield: 00:09:36

How did you go about getting all that kind of tech in place?

Loretta Milan: 00:09:41

I experimented with a few different tools.

Loretta Milan: 00:09:44

So I tried Libsyn first and then I tried Captivate.

Loretta Milan: 00:09:50

I did a lot of research into different tools.

Loretta Milan: 00:09:53

I do more research when I know I'm going to be sticking with a

Loretta Milan: 00:09:56

tool for a longer period of time.

Loretta Milan: 00:09:58

But what I liked about Captivate is that it's very much focused on growth.

Loretta Milan: 00:10:04

And for me, Origineurs is not just a podcast, it's a movement.

Loretta Milan: 00:10:08

I want to really inspire people around the world to embrace originality.

Loretta Milan: 00:10:13

It really is a message.

Loretta Milan: 00:10:15

And I love that Captivate is very much shares that philosophy about

Loretta Milan: 00:10:19

helping people spread their message.

Loretta Milan: 00:10:22

And that for me made it the channel for me.

Rachael Botfield: 00:10:25

Yeah, I, I, that is the reason why I chose Captivate

Rachael Botfield: 00:10:28

as well, the, the, the fact that they embrace growth in there as

Rachael Botfield: 00:10:32

well and making everything so easy.

Rachael Botfield: 00:10:36

I found the platform really user friendly and I love all the like episode planning.

Rachael Botfield: 00:10:41

I've actually got my notes up here on my other screen here where you can plan the

Rachael Botfield: 00:10:46

episode, then turn it into, you know, like you can publish it and stuff like that.

Rachael Botfield: 00:10:50

So all the short codes are the blocks and things that you can use in there.

Rachael Botfield: 00:10:53

Are really, really handy and they do help streamline the lot of the processes

Rachael Botfield: 00:10:58

that are involved in when you upload them and adding things to the episodes.

Loretta Milan: 00:11:03

Yeah, it's got so much functionality.

Loretta Milan: 00:11:06

I don't use all the functionality yet, but I don't either, but

Loretta Milan: 00:11:09

yeah, I think it's good that,

Rachael Botfield: 00:11:12

because although depending on where you are with your

Rachael Botfield: 00:11:15

podcast, like, I know a lot of people start out with like Spotify for

Rachael Botfield: 00:11:18

Podcasts, which is a free platform.

Rachael Botfield: 00:11:20

But because.

Rachael Botfield: 00:11:22

When you start, because it's a growth platform, yes, you might not use all

Rachael Botfield: 00:11:25

the functionality to start with, but as you say, your podcast is something

Rachael Botfield: 00:11:29

that's going to grow and evolve over time and with your experience.

Rachael Botfield: 00:11:33

And I feel like Captivate is definitely a platform that you can grow and evolve

Rachael Botfield: 00:11:38

with because, you know, they have got the dynamic ads and things like that,

Rachael Botfield: 00:11:42

which I'm not currently using, but it's something that I do want to use.

Rachael Botfield: 00:11:46

And it's nice to know that I don't have to switch.

Rachael Botfield: 00:11:49

To do that kind of, to get that kind of functionality for my podcast.

Rachael Botfield: 00:11:54

You've kind of got it all with it.

Rachael Botfield: 00:11:56

Yeah, you feel it's something

Loretta Milan: 00:11:57

you can stay with.

Loretta Milan: 00:11:58

Yeah, I very much feel the same way.

Loretta Milan: 00:12:01

Yeah.

Loretta Milan: 00:12:02

How

Rachael Botfield: 00:12:02

have you found, like, doing the recordings?

Rachael Botfield: 00:12:05

I know all of your episodes so far have been solo episodes.

Rachael Botfield: 00:12:08

Where you, I mean, you're a communications expert, so I'm

Rachael Botfield: 00:12:11

sure you have a lot of confidence.

Rachael Botfield: 00:12:13

You seem, and it comes across in your episodes, did you

Rachael Botfield: 00:12:16

feel okay about recording?

Rachael Botfield: 00:12:18

Because I know it can be a nervous thing for some people.

Loretta Milan: 00:12:22

Yeah, what I did with the first ones, the great thing, I

Loretta Milan: 00:12:24

use Audacity to record at the moment, which is a great tool, it's free

Loretta Milan: 00:12:28

for anyone who wants to get going.

Loretta Milan: 00:12:30

You can record in sections, which is great, because for the first

Loretta Milan: 00:12:35

few episodes I could record.

Loretta Milan: 00:12:37

I could record in blocks and then go back and listen and then record

Loretta Milan: 00:12:42

in blocks and go back and listen to make sure that each section was as I

Loretta Milan: 00:12:47

wanted it to be before moving forward.

Rachael Botfield: 00:12:50

Yeah, I do like Audacity.

Rachael Botfield: 00:12:52

That's the thing.

Rachael Botfield: 00:12:53

I use that to edit.

Rachael Botfield: 00:12:54

Although I have been exploring other options.

Rachael Botfield: 00:12:57

And because there's a lot of new tools and AI things that are coming up.

Rachael Botfield: 00:13:00

But when I recorded my solo episodes, I did use Audacity to begin with.

Rachael Botfield: 00:13:05

I think that it's it gets a really good recording.

Rachael Botfield: 00:13:07

And like you say, it's very easy to, to edit those blocks and to kind of almost

Rachael Botfield: 00:13:11

edit as you go along, really, if you make a mistake and things like that.

Rachael Botfield: 00:13:14

So that's quite easy.

Loretta Milan: 00:13:16

No, it's really good.

Loretta Milan: 00:13:17

I think with AI, I just had to make sure I investigate AI tools beforehand

Loretta Milan: 00:13:22

because although AI is brilliant and it's revolutionizing things, the one

Loretta Milan: 00:13:26

thing you have to be really careful about as a content creator is that you

Loretta Milan: 00:13:30

don't inadvertently sign away copyrights.

Loretta Milan: 00:13:33

In the process.

Loretta Milan: 00:13:34

So some of the transcribing tools and WordPress has got an issue at the

Loretta Milan: 00:13:39

moment where there's a risk that some people may be giving away copyright

Loretta Milan: 00:13:44

to some of their content potentially.

Loretta Milan: 00:13:46

So those are things I'm just keeping an eye on at the moment

Loretta Milan: 00:13:48

before signing up to things.

Loretta Milan: 00:13:51

Which is a case of.

Loretta Milan: 00:13:52

Yeah.

Loretta Milan: 00:13:52

Just keep, just keeping an eye on things before rushing into things making

Loretta Milan: 00:13:56

sure that the ethics are there while getting excited about the innovation,

Loretta Milan: 00:14:00

which I am, I love innovation making sure I'm also making sure I know

Loretta Milan: 00:14:05

what those things mean for me as a content creator at the same time.

Loretta Milan: 00:14:10

Well, that's a very good report.

Rachael Botfield: 00:14:11

I haven't actually even thought about that because I use

Rachael Botfield: 00:14:14

Descript to transcribe my episodes and then I upload that into Captivate.

Rachael Botfield: 00:14:19

Are they saying that the copyright then lands with Descript over your

Rachael Botfield: 00:14:23

content rather than actually No, I'm not

Loretta Milan: 00:14:27

saying that.

Loretta Milan: 00:14:27

I'm just saying No, no, no, not

Rachael Botfield: 00:14:28

Descript.

Rachael Botfield: 00:14:28

I mean, like, generally that's what the potential issue could be is that

Rachael Botfield: 00:14:33

what you use to transcribe could end up having Copyright over your content.

Rachael Botfield: 00:14:37

Is that kind of what?

Loretta Milan: 00:14:38

No, I'm just saying for every solution we have to check

Loretta Milan: 00:14:41

the terms of conditions carefully to make sure that there's nothing in

Loretta Milan: 00:14:47

the terms of conditions that affects the copyright of the content creator.

Loretta Milan: 00:14:53

I'm not saying, I'm not calling out any particular.

Loretta Milan: 00:14:55

Oh no, no, no, no.

Loretta Milan: 00:14:56

I wasn't.

Rachael Botfield: 00:14:57

No,

Loretta Milan: 00:14:57

it

Rachael Botfield: 00:14:57

wasn't saying that.

Rachael Botfield: 00:14:58

Yeah.

Rachael Botfield: 00:14:58

But I, cause it just.

Rachael Botfield: 00:15:00

That's something that hadn't really occurred to me and you're right, it

Rachael Botfield: 00:15:04

is something that should be considered when you're using these tools.

Rachael Botfield: 00:15:10

I know Adobe Enhance have got like a beta version of something and they

Rachael Botfield: 00:15:14

have like some different terms of agreement and talking about if you're

Rachael Botfield: 00:15:18

using the beta, you'll, you need to give feedback on all these things.

Rachael Botfield: 00:15:22

And I was reading, I was thinking, Oh, I hadn't You know, funny that

Rachael Botfield: 00:15:25

you bring it up, but it's something that I hadn't really considered.

Rachael Botfield: 00:15:28

Actually, on Captivate Growth Labs, they have a podcast lawyer that's coming up.

Rachael Botfield: 00:15:33

I don't know whether he's already been or whether it's coming up.

Rachael Botfield: 00:15:36

And I saw, what do you need a podcast lawyer for?

Rachael Botfield: 00:15:38

So I'll be interested to see what, what that's about.

Rachael Botfield: 00:15:42

And maybe he might touch on something on like that about

Rachael Botfield: 00:15:45

copyright for content creators.

Loretta Milan: 00:15:47

Yeah, it might be because there were some content creators recently

Loretta Milan: 00:15:51

that had some concerns about Spotify with some changes to the terms and conditions.

Loretta Milan: 00:15:56

And so that's an example where people, content creators now are scrutinizing

Loretta Milan: 00:16:01

the terms and conditions more because they're looking for concerns about AI

Loretta Milan: 00:16:06

because we're all, as I said, we're all originals and we want to, you know,

Loretta Milan: 00:16:10

Maintain originality of our content and make sure that we know what's

Loretta Milan: 00:16:15

happening with the things that we create.

Loretta Milan: 00:16:17

And if we are sharing that content, that there's full transparency over

Loretta Milan: 00:16:22

what's happening with that so that people can make informed decisions

Loretta Milan: 00:16:26

where they are sharing that content.

Loretta Milan: 00:16:29

Yeah,

Rachael Botfield: 00:16:29

absolutely.

Rachael Botfield: 00:16:30

And I think sometimes terms and conditions, I know I'm I'm 100

Rachael Botfield: 00:16:34

percent guilty of this, they're so long and convoluted that you tend

Rachael Botfield: 00:16:37

to just click accept and then that's all right, but Yeah, so maybe that

Rachael Botfield: 00:16:41

is, I think I might have to go back and have a look at some of this.

Rachael Botfield: 00:16:44

Yeah.

Rachael Botfield: 00:16:45

When it can, especially when it concerns AI, I know it's a hot topic.

Rachael Botfield: 00:16:49

I feel like maybe the, the people that are doing, the companies maybe should

Rachael Botfield: 00:16:54

highlight some of those areas rather than, you know, I've, we've just dumped

Rachael Botfield: 00:16:58

it in and you have to read it yourself and maybe make it a little bit more

Rachael Botfield: 00:17:02

transparent for users and creators.

Loretta Milan: 00:17:04

Hmm.

Loretta Milan: 00:17:06

I mean, that's a great thing.

Loretta Milan: 00:17:07

That's.

Loretta Milan: 00:17:07

Great about a lot of these groups, like you've talked about the podcast club.

Loretta Milan: 00:17:11

You've talked about the Riverside community.

Loretta Milan: 00:17:14

You've talked about the growth labs.

Loretta Milan: 00:17:15

We've talked about some of the other communities that

Loretta Milan: 00:17:17

you're part of on Facebook.

Loretta Milan: 00:17:19

The great thing about some of these content creation communities is that

Loretta Milan: 00:17:23

we do really look out for each other.

Loretta Milan: 00:17:25

We can't.

Loretta Milan: 00:17:26

Keep an eye on everything as individuals but together we really can keep an

Loretta Milan: 00:17:30

eye on eye out on things for each other and that really is great.

Loretta Milan: 00:17:35

Absolutely, it

Rachael Botfield: 00:17:36

is lovely being part of you know, these podcast

Rachael Botfield: 00:17:40

communities and meeting other creators and podcasters because it does offer

Rachael Botfield: 00:17:44

up such another great perspective and I always learn something and get

Rachael Botfield: 00:17:49

something out of when I have a chat with somebody or we when we meet up

Rachael Botfield: 00:17:52

with our group because there's just an angle that I just haven't thought of.

Rachael Botfield: 00:17:56

Or sort of perspective that I haven't thought of as well.

Rachael Botfield: 00:17:59

And it's always so great to get that.

Rachael Botfield: 00:18:01

So like you just mentioned that about the transparency there.

Rachael Botfield: 00:18:04

That's not something, but now it's something that I'll be aware of and that

Rachael Botfield: 00:18:07

I can go and have a look at them, but hopefully help somebody else with that.

Rachael Botfield: 00:18:11

You know, thinking about that kind of thing as well.

Rachael Botfield: 00:18:13

So I do love that.

Rachael Botfield: 00:18:14

And I am especially in the last year, being able to be around

Rachael Botfield: 00:18:18

other creators and things.

Rachael Botfield: 00:18:19

It's really, it's a really nice place to be in.

Loretta Milan: 00:18:23

Yeah, on another note the diversity and one of the

Loretta Milan: 00:18:25

great things about the podcast club we're totally different creators.

Loretta Milan: 00:18:30

You posted a post recently talking about the total variety of

Loretta Milan: 00:18:36

different creators that are there.

Loretta Milan: 00:18:37

You've got people doing a history.

Loretta Milan: 00:18:40

Podcasts, people are doing special interest podcasts and you think,

Loretta Milan: 00:18:44

well, what connects us, but what connects us is a love of podcasting.

Loretta Milan: 00:18:48

And I learned something from people who are in totally different niches to me.

Loretta Milan: 00:18:54

And I find it really sparks my creativity.

Loretta Milan: 00:18:58

And imagination, and that's a power of being around different originals.

Loretta Milan: 00:19:03

If you're around people who are the same as you every day, you get this kind

Loretta Milan: 00:19:07

of groupthink, you get this you know, you can get really stagnant in your

Loretta Milan: 00:19:11

thinking, but if you expose yourself to people who are original, they're

Loretta Milan: 00:19:14

totally different to you every day.

Loretta Milan: 00:19:17

It really diversifies your thinking.

Loretta Milan: 00:19:20

It really sparks your imagination all the time.

Loretta Milan: 00:19:23

So Being around groups that are really diverse in, in

Loretta Milan: 00:19:27

their makeup is very powerful.

Rachael Botfield: 00:19:30

Yeah, it's, it's brilliant being part of that and I love

Rachael Botfield: 00:19:34

that there are so many different voices and different experiences coming through

Rachael Botfield: 00:19:38

the club and I've listened to a lot.

Rachael Botfield: 00:19:40

Like I said, there was Andrew Martin's Family Histories

Rachael Botfield: 00:19:43

podcast and it's brilliant.

Rachael Botfield: 00:19:45

Yeah, it's brilliant.

Rachael Botfield: 00:19:46

I absolutely love that one.

Rachael Botfield: 00:19:48

So I've recommended it to a few people now as well.

Rachael Botfield: 00:19:50

I mean, obviously I've come across your podcast and then Miriam Cunliffe's

Rachael Botfield: 00:19:55

Mim's Moments, which I really like.

Rachael Botfield: 00:19:57

Going out into a lot of hers is based in the community as well.

Rachael Botfield: 00:20:00

Just different interest stories.

Rachael Botfield: 00:20:01

And also Dee Moore's Diary of a Kidney Warrior.

Rachael Botfield: 00:20:04

It's just very powerful and she's very, very, very, I know it's, it

Rachael Botfield: 00:20:09

feels like it's cheesy to say, very inspiring and brave, but she totally

Rachael Botfield: 00:20:12

is, and I was very sad to miss the in person meetup the other week.

Rachael Botfield: 00:20:16

I couldn't figure out my babysitter, so I didn't get to go but it looked like

Rachael Botfield: 00:20:21

they had a really great night meeting up in Birmingham, so hopefully we'll

Rachael Botfield: 00:20:25

be having another in person one soon.

Loretta Milan: 00:20:28

We will, we will.

Loretta Milan: 00:20:29

Yes.

Loretta Milan: 00:20:30

Hopefully we will, absolutely.

Loretta Milan: 00:20:31

We will, we

Rachael Botfield: 00:20:32

definitely will.

Rachael Botfield: 00:20:32

There won't be in the next couple of months.

Rachael Botfield: 00:20:34

We will.

Rachael Botfield: 00:20:35

So, well, it sounds like you had a good idea of what you wanted your podcast

Rachael Botfield: 00:20:42

to be like a new way your strengths lied with getting it produced or

Rachael Botfield: 00:20:47

getting it made because it is a big thing to introduce into your business

Rachael Botfield: 00:20:51

a podcast and it's Having to have that realization that have I got time to

Rachael Botfield: 00:20:57

fit this in my podcast, however you're going to do it to make it work with

Rachael Botfield: 00:21:00

you and what you're already doing.

Rachael Botfield: 00:21:02

So it sounds like you've taken those steps to make sure the podcast is working for,

Rachael Botfield: 00:21:07

for you and your business and how How have you found promoting your podcast?

Rachael Botfield: 00:21:12

What, what kind of have you been using just LinkedIn, or do you kind of go

Rachael Botfield: 00:21:17

across an array of different platforms?

Rachael Botfield: 00:21:19

And, and what kind of things do you do to promote the your episodes?

Loretta Milan: 00:21:23

I think the top ingredient for promoting any podcast is passion.

Loretta Milan: 00:21:29

There's a lot of podcasts that die, you know, they get to a few episodes and they

Loretta Milan: 00:21:34

don't get anywhere because the passion isn't really there, and I think to get

Loretta Milan: 00:21:39

anything off the ground takes a lot of love and passion because you have to

Loretta Milan: 00:21:45

really build that interest, and it's, it's not just one thing, as I know from

Loretta Milan: 00:21:50

having the communication agency, I will bang on about this to people all the time.

Loretta Milan: 00:21:55

You're not just going to have one post, and suddenly it goes, unless

Loretta Milan: 00:21:59

you're incredibly lucky, it does happen from time to time, there is a

Loretta Milan: 00:22:02

phenomenon, and something just rockets and takes off, and all of a sudden

Loretta Milan: 00:22:08

something is a miraculous success.

Loretta Milan: 00:22:11

But usually it takes time and it's not just one post.

Loretta Milan: 00:22:16

So LinkedIn is a big channel for me.

Loretta Milan: 00:22:19

Facebook I get a lot of traction on Facebook and Instagram.

Loretta Milan: 00:22:23

And Twitter, believe it or not.

Loretta Milan: 00:22:25

I know it's not the most active channel, but I'd built up quite a bit

Loretta Milan: 00:22:30

of an audience on Twitter previously because I had a blog years ago.

Loretta Milan: 00:22:37

From my love of books.

Loretta Milan: 00:22:39

And I had an audience on there previously.

Loretta Milan: 00:22:43

Another big thing for really building an audience is by networking.

Loretta Milan: 00:22:48

I have some postcards and I go out there.

Loretta Milan: 00:22:51

My biggest marketing tool is myself.

Loretta Milan: 00:22:54

Whether I'm going out seeing clients or going out to events, conferences

Loretta Milan: 00:22:59

I'm going out to networking sessions.

Loretta Milan: 00:23:02

I'm always talking about the podcast, but it's not so much the.

Loretta Milan: 00:23:09

Podcast or my agency I talk about is the idea, because I think that's

Loretta Milan: 00:23:14

what people really get behind.

Loretta Milan: 00:23:16

If I tell people about the concept of originality and that they

Loretta Milan: 00:23:20

themselves are an original, that's the thing we get talking about

Loretta Milan: 00:23:24

and people really get behind.

Loretta Milan: 00:23:26

And if I get talking to people about the real power of communication,

Loretta Milan: 00:23:31

they really love that idea and that's what gets them listening.

Loretta Milan: 00:23:34

And then slowly the numbers go up, and I find that I tend to get talking

Loretta Milan: 00:23:39

about a particular episode, so I find myself, like I'm a podcast doctor,

Loretta Milan: 00:23:46

I'll get talking to someone, and they've got a particular problem with

Loretta Milan: 00:23:51

regards to why they're, you know their authenticity or their communication.

Loretta Milan: 00:23:56

And I'll say to them, you really, you've got to listen to this one particular

Loretta Milan: 00:23:59

episode about why you're good enough or why your voice matters or how to

Loretta Milan: 00:24:04

handle advice and I'll point them to one particular episode and I'll follow up

Loretta Milan: 00:24:10

with a note linking them to that episode.

Loretta Milan: 00:24:13

I really believe in my episodes.

Loretta Milan: 00:24:14

So usually they love the episode and they'll listen to that episode and

Loretta Milan: 00:24:19

they'll go and listen to more episodes and they'll listen to the next episode.

Loretta Milan: 00:24:23

And so the numbers go up from there.

Loretta Milan: 00:24:25

As a marketer, I've always said to people that the best form of marketing.

Loretta Milan: 00:24:32

Isn't social media, it's not some fad on TikTok.

Loretta Milan: 00:24:37

It's not a billboard in the middle of Manchester.

Loretta Milan: 00:24:41

It's not a lorry driving the DM one with amazing livery graphic on it.

Loretta Milan: 00:24:47

It's not a TV ad in the middle of this morning.

Loretta Milan: 00:24:51

The best form of marketing it's delivering.

Loretta Milan: 00:24:54

If you deliver something amazing, that person is going to come back to you.

Loretta Milan: 00:25:00

They're going to recommend you to somebody else.

Loretta Milan: 00:25:03

And so your quality of what you create is the most important thing.

Loretta Milan: 00:25:08

Because if you do that really well, people are going to find out about it.

Loretta Milan: 00:25:12

You know, everyone knows their favorite podcasts.

Loretta Milan: 00:25:15

If you've got a favorite podcast, you can't keep it to yourself.

Loretta Milan: 00:25:18

You've got to say to someone else, you've got to say, you've got to

Loretta Milan: 00:25:23

say, you can't help yourself, you've got to say to somebody else, you've

Loretta Milan: 00:25:26

got to listen to this podcast.

Loretta Milan: 00:25:28

So I think as a podcast creator, you've got to say to yourself,

Loretta Milan: 00:25:31

how can I make this podcast?

Loretta Milan: 00:25:34

The podcast that someone has got to go down the pub or down the coffee

Loretta Milan: 00:25:38

shop or to a networking event and say to somebody else, you've got to

Loretta Milan: 00:25:41

listen to that podcast and that's got to be your challenge to yourself.

Loretta Milan: 00:25:46

How can I make that?

Rachael Botfield: 00:25:49

That is, it's word of mouth, isn't it?

Rachael Botfield: 00:25:52

Your delivery and then people are going to be your advocates because

Rachael Botfield: 00:25:56

they believe in what you have created.

Rachael Botfield: 00:25:59

Spot on Rachel, spot on.

Rachael Botfield: 00:26:01

Yeah.

Rachael Botfield: 00:26:01

And it is all about passion as well.

Rachael Botfield: 00:26:03

Like you were saying that if you.

Rachael Botfield: 00:26:05

If you are doing a podcast because you feel like you've got to do

Rachael Botfield: 00:26:08

one and you think yes, okay, but you're not really enjoying it.

Rachael Botfield: 00:26:13

People are going to feel that as well, aren't they?

Rachael Botfield: 00:26:15

They're going to, and also for yourself, it's not going to do you any good if

Rachael Botfield: 00:26:18

you're not passionate about your message.

Rachael Botfield: 00:26:22

Hopefully that if you, you've got your business and you're passionate about your

Rachael Botfield: 00:26:26

business, about what you're doing for people and the transformation you provide.

Rachael Botfield: 00:26:30

Yeah.

Rachael Botfield: 00:26:30

And then it's putting that passion into.

Rachael Botfield: 00:26:33

Your podcast and a format and a way that you can get across that

Rachael Botfield: 00:26:37

passion in, in your podcast.

Rachael Botfield: 00:26:39

And I definitely feel that passion from you and I feel that in your

Rachael Botfield: 00:26:43

episodes when I listen to you.

Rachael Botfield: 00:26:46

Yeah, yeah, I do.

Rachael Botfield: 00:26:48

And so you talked about the Origineurs as a movement.

Rachael Botfield: 00:26:53

You have talked a little bit about that movement.

Rachael Botfield: 00:26:57

What are your hopes for the podcast and for the Origineurs

Rachael Botfield: 00:27:01

movement for the future?

Rachael Botfield: 00:27:03

Yeah.

Loretta Milan: 00:27:04

If I could get everybody in this world,

Loretta Milan: 00:27:07

believing that they are original.

Loretta Milan: 00:27:09

And believing that truly for themselves I would achieve my mission in life.

Loretta Milan: 00:27:15

I am so passionate about it, and I'll tell you why, it's not just a vanity project.

Loretta Milan: 00:27:22

It comes from my commitment to my children, because this

Loretta Milan: 00:27:28

is where it all started.

Loretta Milan: 00:27:30

Because when they were going through the schooling system,

Loretta Milan: 00:27:33

they both got neurodiversities.

Loretta Milan: 00:27:36

So my they both have dyslexia and my son's on the autistic spectrum.

Loretta Milan: 00:27:42

When they were in infant school primary school, the teachers were always saying

Loretta Milan: 00:27:46

to me, they're behind, they're behind.

Loretta Milan: 00:27:49

And they would thrust charts in my face saying how far

Loretta Milan: 00:27:52

they were behind on average.

Loretta Milan: 00:27:55

And I went through months, maybe years of this.

Loretta Milan: 00:27:58

How my children were behind average.

Loretta Milan: 00:28:01

And I was doing a lot as a parent to help them get on top of their reading

Loretta Milan: 00:28:06

doing everything I could with maths to try and help them fit into this average.

Loretta Milan: 00:28:13

And I was feeling like they weren't normal.

Loretta Milan: 00:28:15

And I remember this one hot summer's day I'd come, I had to go to all these

Loretta Milan: 00:28:21

meetings with the school and I was forced into yet another meeting for

Loretta Milan: 00:28:26

them to tell me my kids were behind average and they weren't normal.

Loretta Milan: 00:28:30

And I'm afraid, I'm ashamed but also proud to say I snapped, and I literally said

Loretta Milan: 00:28:36

this, I said to this teacher, who was, you know, she was in front of me, very proud

Loretta Milan: 00:28:43

of herself to say that my children were behind average and that I was failing as

Loretta Milan: 00:28:46

a parent even though I was really trying.

Loretta Milan: 00:28:49

And I said, children do not come out like pies in a pie factory, all the same.

Loretta Milan: 00:28:54

They're, they're all unique, they're all different, they're originals.

Loretta Milan: 00:28:58

And that's what's brilliant about them.

Loretta Milan: 00:28:59

We shouldn't be trying to make them all fit into a mold.

Loretta Milan: 00:29:02

They're, they're originals.

Loretta Milan: 00:29:03

And it's just something just lit up like a light bulb for me in that moment.

Loretta Milan: 00:29:08

And I realized that something about them being originals must be an advantage.

Loretta Milan: 00:29:13

I realized that, okay, They were struggling with reading,

Loretta Milan: 00:29:17

but they had other advantages.

Loretta Milan: 00:29:18

They were great with their creativity.

Loretta Milan: 00:29:21

They were, they love sports.

Loretta Milan: 00:29:23

My son has an absolute passion for animals.

Loretta Milan: 00:29:26

He's got this great connection with animals that no one else has.

Loretta Milan: 00:29:30

And, and, and all these things I feel give them a strength.

Loretta Milan: 00:29:35

And I was, I've been able to support them with that and help them find.

Loretta Milan: 00:29:39

But not everyone has someone in their life that helps guide them down

Loretta Milan: 00:29:45

their original path and help them realize that their originality is

Loretta Milan: 00:29:48

something that makes them special.

Loretta Milan: 00:29:51

And that's a great thing.

Loretta Milan: 00:29:52

They don't have to be normal.

Loretta Milan: 00:29:53

They're not a failure for being an original.

Loretta Milan: 00:29:56

They're fantastic for being an original.

Loretta Milan: 00:29:58

And I want more people to realize that being an original is great.

Loretta Milan: 00:30:04

And I will succeed in life if I have everyone.

Loretta Milan: 00:30:08

Believing they are an original.

Loretta Milan: 00:30:10

And that is my commitment.

Loretta Milan: 00:30:12

I may only be 20 episodes in.

Loretta Milan: 00:30:14

I may only have a small number of listeners at the moment.

Loretta Milan: 00:30:16

But that is my mission.

Rachael Botfield: 00:30:19

You, that's very inspiring, Loretta, very inspiring talk.

Rachael Botfield: 00:30:23

I remember listening to your episode where you talk about that.

Rachael Botfield: 00:30:26

Yeah.

Rachael Botfield: 00:30:26

And I, I was talking about this the other day with one of my friends, her

Rachael Botfield: 00:30:30

children are neurodiverse and, Yeah.

Rachael Botfield: 00:30:33

She has had the same, similar struggles with both of her children

Rachael Botfield: 00:30:37

and it's just, we were just saying, you know, like, it just doesn't suit

Rachael Botfield: 00:30:41

some children, it just doesn't fit.

Rachael Botfield: 00:30:43

And why are we trying to make them and I get all the, the you know, the

Rachael Botfield: 00:30:47

challenges that the school system has and the teachers have as well.

Rachael Botfield: 00:30:50

But it's something that does need to continue to change to say like my

Rachael Botfield: 00:30:55

son's coming up to his GCSEs now and.

Rachael Botfield: 00:30:58

He's, you know, worried, like, what do I pick and, and is this gonna shake my feet?

Rachael Botfield: 00:31:04

And I was kind of trying to say to him that, you know, I, obviously

Rachael Botfield: 00:31:08

it's important for him to get, you know, to do well and try hard.

Rachael Botfield: 00:31:10

But you know, this isn't going to end your life if you don't pass all your GCSEs.

Rachael Botfield: 00:31:15

I'm just gonna say that from the, not that I, it's gonna pass for you to

Rachael Botfield: 00:31:18

do nothing, but we will figure out.

Rachael Botfield: 00:31:23

you want to do in life and what lights you up and what makes you

Rachael Botfield: 00:31:26

passionate because, you know, why not?

Rachael Botfield: 00:31:28

Why should we all have to go in to do something that we don't

Rachael Botfield: 00:31:31

really like because that's what we have to do kind of thing.

Rachael Botfield: 00:31:35

So it is important and your children sound very lucky to have

Rachael Botfield: 00:31:40

a mother like you to be there and support them in their originality.

Rachael Botfield: 00:31:44

And yeah, let's hope that that movement does continue and everybody

Rachael Botfield: 00:31:48

embraces their originality.

Loretta Milan: 00:31:50

I hope so.

Loretta Milan: 00:31:51

I mean, there were so many parts for everybody.

Loretta Milan: 00:31:53

I will just say there are many fantastic teachers out there.

Loretta Milan: 00:31:56

My children are fantastic teachers.

Loretta Milan: 00:31:59

I'm sure your, I'm sure your son has and any teachers that encourage the

Loretta Milan: 00:32:05

originality, I think, in children.

Loretta Milan: 00:32:08

You're the stars of the show.

Loretta Milan: 00:32:11

More teachers doing that are great and I'm right behind you.

Loretta Milan: 00:32:14

And I think the schooling systems and the government who designs the

Loretta Milan: 00:32:18

schooling system was behind that needs to really encourage originality in

Loretta Milan: 00:32:21

children, but hey, let's spread the word.

Loretta Milan: 00:32:24

And if you don't listen to any other episode from the originals podcast,

Loretta Milan: 00:32:27

listen to the one that's what makes you special because that talks a lot about.

Loretta Milan: 00:32:31

All about it, doesn't it?

Loretta Milan: 00:32:32

Yes, absolutely.

Rachael Botfield: 00:32:34

What makes you special?

Rachael Botfield: 00:32:36

Yes.

Rachael Botfield: 00:32:36

We'll, we'll put all the links to the podcast and to Loretta, if you'd like

Rachael Botfield: 00:32:42

to get in touch with her and talk about more about Origineurs, I'd love to just

Rachael Botfield: 00:32:48

get your kind of top piece of advice for, for women out there that want to

Rachael Botfield: 00:32:53

start a podcast for their business.

Rachael Botfield: 00:32:54

What would be kind of your, your top piece of advice for them?

Loretta Milan: 00:32:59

My top piece of advice is realize that your voice matters.

Loretta Milan: 00:33:04

It's really easy to underestimate what you have to say.

Loretta Milan: 00:33:10

It can be easy to assume that what you know is every day because you, Know

Loretta Milan: 00:33:18

what you know every day, you see what you see every day, you do what you do

Loretta Milan: 00:33:22

every day, and so it becomes every day.

Loretta Milan: 00:33:25

But what you do, and what you say, and what you know can change somebody else's

Loretta Milan: 00:33:30

life, and it can be transformative for somebody else, and it can be

Loretta Milan: 00:33:36

revolutionary for somebody else.

Loretta Milan: 00:33:39

So have the courage to know that your voice matters and you can do

Loretta Milan: 00:33:44

something really special with that.

Loretta Milan: 00:33:47

And when you come to put your voice out there, really take a

Loretta Milan: 00:33:50

moment to believe in your voice.

Loretta Milan: 00:33:53

And if you feel scared or worried when you come to speak, take

Loretta Milan: 00:33:59

courage in knowing that your voice is likely to make an impact on

Loretta Milan: 00:34:05

somebody else and use it as service.

Rachael Botfield: 00:34:09

Brilliant advice.

Rachael Botfield: 00:34:10

Absolutely brilliant.

Rachael Botfield: 00:34:11

I think as women, we tend to undervalue our experiences and what we have to give.

Rachael Botfield: 00:34:17

So that is really, really great advice for anyone who wants to

Rachael Botfield: 00:34:20

start a podcast for their business.

Rachael Botfield: 00:34:22

Thank you so much, Loretta.

Rachael Botfield: 00:34:24

I've had such a great time today chatting with you.

Rachael Botfield: 00:34:26

Thanks so much for coming on.

Rachael Botfield: 00:34:28

And if Thanks everybody for listening and we'll catch up with you soon.

Rachael Botfield: 00:34:33

Thanks for listening to the show.

Rachael Botfield: 00:34:35

If you'd like to connect with me or get in touch, then head on over to my website.

Rachael Botfield: 00:34:39

If you liked the episode, then I'd love it if you could leave me a

Rachael Botfield: 00:34:41

review in your chosen podcast app.

Rachael Botfield: 00:34:43

Your feedback is much appreciated.

Rachael Botfield: 00:34:45

See you next time.