Tom Webster: podcasting's top researcher on how to tell the story of numbers

We're presented with a lot of false choices in our work: Quantity or quality? Revenue or social impact? Sweet or savory? But few false choices are more worth challenging than this: Are you more emotional storyteller or data-driven communicator?

Our guest today is the perfect person to challenge this assumption. It's Tom Webster!

Tom is a legend in the podcast space. He’s a partner at Sounds Profitable, an organization which researches and seeks to grow the audio business. For nearly three decades, Tom’s insights and advice have helped steer this entire industry forward, and he’s led hundreds of audience research projects for organizations spanning six continents and shows ranging from Howard Stern to All Things Considered.

Tom's book is called The Audience Is Listening: A Little Guide to Building a Big Podcast, and just before this episode, Tom and Sounds Profitable won an award for Best Data Storytelling from the Content Marketing Institute.

It's only fitting that he shares with us in this episode how to tell the stories of numbers, as well as the 3 traits to a podcast or any project capable of finding passionate fans.

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I help experts differentiate and resonate. Together, I work with you to develop a distinct and memorable premise driving your platform, turn that big idea into signature IP you own, and help you embody it as a speaker and storyteller. Compete on the impact of your thinking, not the volume of your marketing. This makes it easier to win more and better clients.

You’ve done lots of things. Now it’s time to [be] a thing. Stop chasing attention and become more highly sought.

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