Episode 677: How to Start a Successful Food Podcast or Live Stream That Supports Your Brand With Debra Eckerling

EBT677 – Debra Eckerling

Intro 00:00

Food bloggers. Hi, how are you today? Thank you so much for tuning in to the Eat Blog Talk podcast. This is the place for food bloggers to get information and inspiration to accelerate your blog’s growth, and ultimately help you to achieve your freedom. Whether that’s financial, personal, or professional. I’m Megan Porta. I have been a food blogger for 13 years, so I understand how isolating food blogging can be. I’m on a mission to motivate, inspire, and most importantly, let each and every food blogger, including you, know that you are heard and supported. 

Supercut  00:37

Hey there food bloggers. Check out our new Finance Supercut. This is a bonus 15 minute episode capturing highlights from finance episodes that we have recorded recently on the podcast. Head to eatblogtalk.com/financesupercut to listen today.

[00:00:49]   

We are living in a time when it is so important to expand our brands beyond just the blog here. You know what I’m talking about. A lot of us resist it, but we know we need to do it and that is exactly what we talk about in this interview that I had with Deborah Eckerling from the Deb Method.

[00:01:12]   

 She is a goal setting expert and she also has such a passion for podcasts and live streaming and creating content that she can spread around all different areas of her business. If you have ever thought about doing a live streaming situation and or a podcast, you definitely need to tune into this episode.

[00:01:35]   

 Debra gives you so much inspiration and all the details you’ll ever need to know about doing this. We talk a lot about what stops people from starting a podcast and things you can do so that you’re not so afraid to start a podcast. We also talk about how to create a concept. Good news, you already have a concept because you’re a food blogger so you’ve already got it in your mind and on your blog. And we talk about the basics of getting started and it’s probably a lot more simple than you think. And then last but not least, we talk about her goal setting method that’s really simplified and awesome that you can use in order to get your show set up and be successful with it. So if podcasting or live streaming is at all on your agenda, even if it’s just an inkling of a thought for a future project, please tune in. You are going to love this episode. It is episode number 677.

[00:02:37] Sponsor   

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[00:03:19]   

Debra Eckerling is a goal strategist, workshop leader and award winning author and podcaster. The creator of the Deb Method for Goal Sett Simplified, Deborah works with individuals, teams and businesses on personal and professional projects, networking strategy and book proposal development. She hosts Goal Chat Live and the Taste Buds with Deb Podcasts. She is also the author of your goal guide and 52 secrets for goal Setting and goal Getting. Hello Debra, so happy to have you on the podcast. How are you doing today?

[00:03:55]  Debra Eckerling 

 Well, I get to talk to you, so I’m doing fabulous. Thank you so much for having me.

[00:04:01]  Megan Porta 

 I’m so excited to talk with you today. This is one of my favorite topics, Goals and podcasting. I mean that is like the best marriage ever in my opinion. Before we get into all of that juicy stuff though, do you have a fun fact to share with us?

[00:04:15]  Debra Eckerling 

 I do. I am actually a former non-cook who is now also a food writer and food podcaster. So I’ve always loved food and I always loved the grocery shopping aspect of it. But about eight years ago I got my mom an instant pot for Mother’s Day and we both looked at this contraption and she asked me if learning how to use it was part of the present and I said okay. So we watched some videos and we both really kind of got addicted. But for me it was like it was my gateway appliance. I discovered that, you know, if you could put, you put in ingredients and then you could do things and then you’re rewarded with a meal. So that was my starter.

[00:05:00]   

 But I love saying that because people who knew me in before times are like really? You cook? And I’m like, nah, I cook, I blog, I podcast. I’m all about the food and the people who’ve known me in the after times are like there was a time when you didn’t cook, so it’s just really fun.

[00:05:16]  Megan Porta 

 Oh, that’s funny. And yes, the instant pot, it’s a love of mine as well. I fell in love with mine a few years ago. It is the best appliance ever. Love it to pieces. I’m excited to learn more about your foodie podcast and all of the stuff you do on that side too. But first, tell us a little bit about your business. So you are the Deb Method? Yeah, Give us the scoop.

[00:05:38]  Debra Eckerling 

 Okay, well, I am a goal strategist, author, workshop leader. Basically, I love goals. I believe very firmly that you can’t get what you want unless you know what that is. And I have been leading goal groups and workshop for years. And in 2018, my background is project management and communications. So in spring of 2018, my main client was going away and my mom said to me, well, you hate smart goals.

[00:06:04]   

 Why don’t you create DEB goals? And it turned out that my name worked perfectly with the system that I’ve been teaching for years. DEB stands for determine your mission, explore your options, brainstorm your path. So determine your mission. You can’t get what you want unless you know what that is. Explore your options.

[00:06:21]   

 Great. You want this? Well, how are you going to get it? And then brainstorm your path is figuring out all the things that you need to do to achieve your goals. So it’s all about setting that foundation. So I lead workshops. I do goal strategy, also help people with book proposals or other projects. So basically, if you’ve got something you want to accomplish and you can’t quite get it organized, I’m your person.

[00:06:45]  Megan Porta 

 Nice. And you have a book that was just released. I know I have a copy of it. I haven’t read it yet, but I’m so excited. I love what the cover says. Tell us about your book.

[00:06:54]  Debra Eckerling 

 Okay, well, I feel like I need to mention my first book, baby, and then my second. So your goal guide, a roadmap for setting, planning, and achieving your goals, came out in January 2020. So six weeks before the world had changed by circumstance, out came my book, helping people to embrace change by choice or by circumstance.

[00:07:13]   

 The new book is called 52 Secrets for Goal setting and goal how to stay focused, grow your network, and get more done in less time. And in the book, I interviewed 60 achievers in the areas business, tech, entertainment, food, and other creative areas to ask them, what is your secret for setting goals or getting goals?

[00:07:35]   

 And so I compiled all that. It’s a fun book because basically I reached out to all the awesome people I knew and said, okay, want to be part of this? And some of them said, oh, you also need to interview so and so because I want to know how they do it. So it’s a choose your own adventure of.

[00:07:53]   

 Okay, what advice do I need? You can either go to the section or just browse through the contents and say, oh, okay, let me, let me take this tip out for a spin and see in what ways it makes my life better.

[00:08:07]  Megan Porta 

 I cannot wait to dig into that. I am super excited. Thank you for writing that for all of us, Debra.

[00:08:13]  Debra Eckerling 

 You are welcome.

[00:08:14]  Megan Porta 

 So today we’re going to combine two of your loves. So goal setting and we’re going to use that to figure out how to set a podcast or a live streaming show up for success. So to start, I guess talk to us about your live streaming. How do you set that up? How’s it formatted? Anything you want to tell us about it?

[00:08:36]  Debra Eckerling 

 Okay, well as I mentioned before, I host two shows and they are both recorded. I use Streamyard and I’ll take them one at a time. So just to make it less confusing even for me. So for my Goal Chat live show every Monday at 4pm Pacific I go live on Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube with three guests.

[00:08:58]   

 So basically it’s where’s my book has 60 people, some of whom know each other, some not. For this show I bring together three guests and unless it’s on purpose, they do not know each other to have a conversation about the topic of the week. And it is like the easiest way to do a podcast.

[00:09:19]   

 I mean there is prep obviously getting the guests, but we go live for about an hour and then afterwards I will take the content, it also gets uploaded. Gold Chat is on the marketing podcast network so the audio version gets uploaded and sent out to the world for that one. So this is like I said super easy live show and then taking the content and putting it out to the universe.

[00:09:47]   

 My food show is called Taste Buds with Deb and these are bite sized conversations about food, cooking and productivity. These are one on ones and they’re pre recorded so I still record them using Streamyard and I say 20 minute ish. Some are a little bit shorter, most are a little bit longer.

[00:10:09]   

 Sometimes I’ll edit. I use program called Descript and we can go a little bit more into this in the weeds later. But I will upload the episodes and if I go on a tangent, usually just edit me. If I go on a tangent that’s not as relevant I will cut it. But mostly I keep the show as is and these are it’s pre recorded but I live stream.

[00:10:31]   

 So new episodes are released every Wednesday. So the podcast which gets uploaded through Libsyn, Taste Buds with Deb is on the Jewish Journal, podcast, network. So that gets uploaded to that network and then the YouTube goes up at 9 and then I, I do the live stream to Facebook and LinkedIn at noon.

[00:10:53]   

 So again, simple recording, minor editing. What, what I’m trying to say is podcasting. Well, if all I did was talk, I’d be very, very happy. And it’s most of what I do, so I’m still very happy. But all I’m saying is if you have something to say, it is a really easy way to get things out in the world.

[00:11:13]   

 One other thing that I will add is so for Goal Chat, after I do this show, it gets embedded in a blog post and I, I’ll take the highlights. What I’ll do is during the conversation, I’ll put things in the chat and I will use that to formulate my recap. And easy peasy for Tastebuds, since it’s through this paper that I write for, I write an actual article that goes with each episode.

[00:11:38]   

 So that, and that’s also the reason why the YouTube and the audio versions are released early because then it will send it to the paper and they will be embedded in the article. So there are a lot of steps, as I’m saying it, it sounds like a lot of steps, but really there is one step.

[00:12:01]   

 Go live or start recording. Get your thoughts and ideas out there. Because if you’re having thoughts, if you know things, you want to share them. And it’s a really great way to share your content.

[00:12:13]  Megan Porta 

 I love all of the repurposing you do. I think that is just brilliant. And it saves so much time, it keeps things efficient and it saves you energy and it allows you to produce content on many platforms. I love the concept of repurposing. Okay, so I have a lot of questions. So many things came up in my mind as you were talking. I was like, oh, I want to ask this. So for your food show, which is called Taste Buds with Deb, and you have one on one conversations with people, what do you talk about? What are some example topics?

[00:12:48]  Debra Eckerling 

 Well, the other thing that I love about Taste Buds with Deb is I am not just interviewing chefs and food and foodies and home cooks and whatever. I have interviewed producers, I have interviewed actors, I’ve interviewed people who just love food. I’ve also interviewed other food podcasters, so that’s always kind of fun.

[00:13:09]   

 This is a. Well, I’ve got a couple of really good examples. So Taste Buds with Deb won first place in podcast for a Southern California Journalism Award. LA Press Club. Southern California Journalism Award for the podcast I did was Chef Susan Fennegar and filmmaker Liz Lachman. I don’t know if you’re familiar, but Chef Susan Panneker has been, like, all over.

[00:13:37]   

 She was on the Too Hot Tamales TV show for years with her longtime business partner, Mary Samilligan. And Liz, who is her life partner, is a filmmaker. And during the pandemic, she took all this footage from Susan’s first solo venture, the street, and did basically an homage, like a tribute to how hard it is to open a restaurant and infiltrating Susan’s history and the love of food.

[00:14:09]   

 And it was beautiful. Beautiful. So I interviewed them together for Taste Buds with Deb, and that’s the one that. That won that award. So that’s, I guess, a little bit traditional, non traditional, but just a fun conversation because for me, that’s what podcasting is all about. Another one that I did was with.   Her name is Jamie Pacino. She’s an executive producer, and at the time, she was a consulting producer on So Help Me Todd. I don’t know if you remember that. That TV show. I think we got two seasons. But I had known her for a while, and I love the show. And I said, you know, let’s do an episode because they had family dinner, like every episode, and there was always conversations about food. So it was a little bit off topic. Topic and an opportunity to discuss food in its role in tv. So I have fun.

[00:15:09]  Megan Porta 

 Yeah, that’s great. I think that’s the key right there. Right. If it’s something that you are passionate about and something that makes you have fun, do it, talk about it, bring it up.

[00:15:20]  Debra Eckerling 

 Exactly. And like I said, so I interviewed chefs I. Today, actually, after this, I’m interviewing Sean Kanan, who is in Cobra Kai, longtime soap actor who just released a hot sauce.

[00:15:35]  Megan Porta 

 Oh, okay.

[00:15:37]  Debra Eckerling 

 So that conversation is happening. So I really. I love the platform that food has, you know, because. Well, let’s face it, every now and then, we do encounter people who do not love food. Right.

[00:15:55]  Megan Porta 

 Yeah, I know.

[00:15:56]  Debra Eckerling 

 Like people.

[00:15:57]  Megan Porta 

 Yep.

[00:15:58]  Debra Eckerling 

 It’s like a 30 second conversation and then.

[00:16:00]  Megan Porta 

 Right, like.

[00:16:02]  Debra Eckerling 

 Right, whatever.

[00:16:03]  Megan Porta 

 Yeah.

[00:16:03]  Debra Eckerling 

 But most people, they have an opinion, they have some connection to it, and that’s really the basis for any conversation, right?

[00:16:12]  Megan Porta 

 Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. I mean, most people love some aspect of food, and I love that you’re exploring so many different hidden little gems that come from different areas. And a hot sauce brand and, you know, like a restaurant situation. Yeah. I mean, there’s so many things that relate to food within there and we.

[00:16:33]  Debra Eckerling 

 Were talking about 52 secrets before most of the people. Okay. So everybody who I interviewed in the book is someone I know. They’re either a friend, someone I interviewed, usually both of those things, or a new friend, because someone else who I interviewed said I needed to reach out. And I’ve got, I think, at least a half a dozen foodies in there, all of whom have been interviewed on one or both of my podcasts.

[00:16:56]   

 So that’s the other really great thing I think about podcasting. Anybody ever ask me, deb, what’s your favorite form of networking? And I say, it’s my podcast because, well, for my For Goal chat, because it’s a panel show, I can have people back in whatever formations I want. Sometimes several times a year, which is great. If I haven’t seen someone in a while, I’ll just send them a note. It’s been ages. Want to just be on my show, or if it’s a new friend. And this is the other thing. So I do a monthly meetup because I always say, for this show, I’m bringing my friends together.

[00:17:32]   

 If we’re not friends, that’s fine. I am open to becoming friends. So come to my meetup. Let’s get to know each other so I can find what is a really good topic and conversation to put you in.

[00:17:44]  Megan Porta 

 Yeah, I agree. Networking is one of the biggest benefits of having a podcast. I have almost 700 episodes, and that means I have 700 new friends. And I mean, well, not quite because some of them are repeat. Some of it’s me, but you know what I mean? Like, you just build up this database of amazing people that you can add to your circle, which there’s nothing better than that. I love people, so.

[00:18:14]  Debra Eckerling 

 And I feel like we should mention Jessie Sierra-Ross, who introduced me to you.

[00:18:18]  Megan Porta 

 Oh, right. Yes, yes.

[00:18:20]  Debra Eckerling 

 And Jessie Sierra is actually the last interview I did for the book. So the book, it’s 52 secrets, but there are 60 in there. And it got to this point, and I said to my publisher, I have too many. What do we do? So there’s a bonus secret in each chapter, and at that point, it’s like I needed two more.

[00:18:38]   

 And Jessie Sierra was just on Gold Chat, and I love her backstory, how she went from ballerina to food goddess or whatever we want to call her. Right. And I just reached out, so. And she brought me to you. And now your tribe, my tribe. This is how. This is how we do things. People, you meet people, get recommendations, and then you. You expand to have more awesome People in your life.

[00:19:04]  Megan Porta 

 It’s so true. I just got little goosebumps. That was really cool. So I’m curious about your food podcast. Who is your audience? Is it kind of a collection of people? Just other people who our foodies or who would you say shows up to hear you talk about these things?

[00:19:22]  Debra Eckerling 

 You are never supposed to say everyone when someone asks who your audience is. But most people, right? I think so. It’s on the Jewish Journal podcast network where I am a food writer for them as well, not just a podcast. So there is. I say that my show is Jewish, but I also say that it’s not. It’s general conversation. And especially I remember when I first launched the podcast, I was having a conversation. We were supposed to have a meeting on something else with one of my non Jewish friends and I mentioned the podcast and then we talked about food for 45 minutes. So it’s really set to appeal to anybody who loves food.

[00:20:05]   

And that is the audience. And I’ve got the subtitle Food, cooking and community because they really are intertwined. I mean, you could love food and not cook every now and then. I do, I do have a couple I interviewed. What is he? I think he’s a professor. Another former non cook who’s an author professor.

[00:20:26]   

 And it was like, sometimes you need that, that one experience that says, oh, you mean I don’t just love eating, I love cooking too. Okay, good to, you know, good to know about yourself. Right. But sometimes it’s just one little thing that sets you on the path. I mentioned before, I always love grocery shopping.

[00:20:50]   

 You know, that was. Talk about early food memories. When I was a kid, I would ride my bike up to the grocery store, I would do the shopping and then phone home so someone can come and pick up the packages.

[00:21:01]  Megan Porta 

 I love it. Yes.

[00:21:03]  Debra Eckerling 

 And for so long that was, you know, that was my happy place. And then it was like, well, you can have more than one happy place in food land. And I kind of feel really. Well, I definitely am blessed that I get to do all these different things that I love. But the fact that I love all the elements of cooking and the family meals and putting ingredients together and yes, I was a master at dialing for dinner, you know, to have all those food skill sets.

[00:21:36]   

 Yes, we’re going to call ordering a skill set. Really just makes you more well rounded and able to have conversations with anybody about anything, especially when it comes to food.

[00:21:48]  Megan Porta 

 So this has been a topic that I have talked about to food creators a lot. I would say it was maybe right after Covid when I was like, you guys, you have to start a podcast. You all love food, you all love talking about food. Everyone loves kind of what you’re saying, Deborah. The same message. And podcasting is such a unique platform. It’s so different from blogging, as you’ve been saying.

[00:22:13]   

 It lends for repurposing. You can do audio at the same, or audio and visuals. Video at the same time. So perfect. But I don’t know, I just sense this resistance in this space. I do have some friends who have started a podcast and then stopped, which is fine. But I. I wrote your line down that you just said you can have more than one happy place in food land.

[00:22:36]   

 I think that’s so true. And it’s really good to remind people of that. Yes, your blog or social media, that could be your happy place. But you can have another happy place and have more conversations about food and talk to amazing people and share that on in a new way. Right.

[00:22:54]  Debra Eckerling 

 I have to tell you, I have two other food podcasts that I really want to start that I just need to come up for air that I want to. So there’s also no end to that as well. What I do want to say is Goal Chat Live actually came out of that was my first pandemic project.

[00:23:13]   

 So I had done another goal related show, 2015, 2016, called Guided Goals. And these were prerecorded 20 to 2030, 20 to 30 minute conversations. And I enjoyed it, but the way that I was doing it was way too time consuming. I had other projects that I wanted to do and I just put a pin in it.

[00:23:36]   

 And then fast forward 2020, when the world stopped. And at the time, I was leading a Twitter chat called Goal Chat and my publisher said, have you thought about doing a live show with the new book off of Goal Chat? And it had been in my mind that I wanted to start a live show.

[00:23:56]   

 So it was an easy yes, because, you know, it was already. It was already out there. I was doing these Twitter chats on Sunday nights, and then Monday was the perfect time for the conversation to dive deep into it. And this is also a really good example of how a show evolves. The first two episodes was just me talking. They lasted like 15, 20 minutes. That was it. I am great at talking, but I am really great at talking to other people.

[00:24:23]  Megan Porta 

 Yeah.

[00:24:23]  Debra Eckerling 

 So I went from there to one on one interview show. And then the end of 2020, I’m like, okay, I want to do a holiday episode. How do you throw a holiday party when no one can leave the house. And I said, oh, you throw together people who don’t know each other. So that is what I did.

[00:24:40]   

 And I loved it so much. I was doing a panel show a couple times a month, and then by spring, I was only doing the panel shows, which I’ve been doing ever since. So sometimes you can start as one thing and let it evolve into something else. All it really needs to start a show is an idea that you can’t get out of your head.

[00:25:01]  Megan Porta 

 And with food, there are so many avenues that you could go with that. I mean, the world is your oyster. You could do so many different things.

[00:25:09]  Debra Eckerling 

 So, so true. And another just foreshadowing moment. So your goal guide and 52 secrets are traditionally published. I self published two books before then. And the hard way hit the pause button on my first show was I had this blogging book. I really wanted to write, Write on blogging. 52 Ways to Create, write and promote your blog.

[00:25:33]   

 And it was never going to get written while I was still doing a show. So that was really the impetus to put it on hold. But this is where the foreshadowing comes in. In it, I talk about. And this is before I was cooking, right? I mention all throughout the book about how, especially with food blogs, there are a gazillion different ideas, but only you have your background and experience and you could put your slant on anything.

[00:26:01]   

 So I love the fact that I was talking about food blogs years before I started cooking and years before I started writing and podcasting about food. So there you go. Those things that are niggling in your head, maybe you don’t even know. It’s something that you need to be exploring, as was the case.

[00:26:22]  Megan Porta 

 And it’s there for a reason, right? Sometimes you need to tune in and just be curious, like, why is this here? Is this here for a reason? And most likely the answer is, yes, it is.

[00:26:34]  Debra Eckerling 

 It is. It goes back to the D and the DEB method. So determine your mission. If you’ve got a food blog already, think about why you know, what led you to this moment. But also think about the life you want, you know, when you, when you future cast. You know, I used to say five, 10 years in the future.

[00:26:53]   

 Now I just say a year because time goes way, way quickly. But a year from now, where are you? What are you celebrating? What are you doing now? What do you need to do to make that happen? And if you want to be known as the queen of this or king of that, what more can you do to Lean into that, into that mantle.

[00:27:15]   

 So I think if you already have a food blog and if you’re watching, slash, listening to this, you probably do. Or that’s one of your really important goals. What else can you create around it to support it, to get yourself out there even more and share this love of whether it’s an ingredient or a cuisine, you know, what is it?

[00:27:40]  Megan Porta 

 Yeah. And everybody talks about expanding your brand these days, especially here in 2025. I think it’s the perfect way to expand your brand and to make it more robust and awesome and just irresistible to people who love you and love the content you already share.

[00:27:59]  Debra Eckerling 

 Absolutely. Because it’s also like when you launch a show, you need to launch with at least three. Not at least, you need to launch with three episodes because if someone discovers you, they’re going to want to hear the next one. And the next one.

[00:28:14]  Megan Porta 

 Yeah.

[00:28:14]  Debra Eckerling 

 So you want to launch with three and then do something weekly. And I will say this because I’m getting the sense from your audience, maybe it’s every other week, but this is the other thing about podcasting is you need to look at your life and see if you can do it on a consistent basis.

[00:28:34]   

 And if the way you do it consistently is you’ve got a live show every week like I do, you know, clockwork, every. Every now and then, if there’s like a big Monday holiday, I’ll. I’ll do a rerun. But almost, I record at least 48 shows a year.

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[00:30:26]  Debra Eckerling 

 And for me, it’s fun. It’s like, this is my time. I get to hang out with my people. Monday is also the way I have it scheduled is like an admin day. So unless it’s somebody who only records on a Monday or something, I will not schedule anything else on a Monday. So I will get all of my nitty gritty work done for the week and then the end of the day I have my fun little party with three friends and we let other people watch.

[00:30:58]   

 So look at your schedule and see what’s feasible and then you can make a plan for what your podcast is going to be.

[00:31:06]  Megan Porta 

 So the whole adding it, adding a new thing to your life and to your schedule, I think is a definite hang up for food bloggers because we already have very busy, robust businesses, which is understandable. But with some planning and intention, you can make this happen. I made it happen. You made it.

[00:31:26]   

 I mean, people do this all the time. So it’s just a matter of, well, what would you say? Like prioritizing it, obviously, setting that goal and then just kind of like working backward and making a plan for it.

[00:31:37]  Debra Eckerling 

 Yes, exactly. But the other thing that you can do is, see, is there something you’re doing that you don’t need to. Right. First, look at what you can. Is there something that you can eliminate? You know and I know, and I said this a lot, the beginning of the pandemic, you’re not commuting anymore.

[00:31:58]   

 So how many hours is that giving you back to your week?

[00:32:02]  Megan Porta 

 True.

[00:32:03]  Debra Eckerling 

 Or is there something that you’re doing during the week that you could do on the weekend? This is all a different rabbit hole. But I’m a firm believer that you do need to take time off, which is really hard for people like us who love what they do and are constantly in, you know, I can’t help it. I’m in goal mode. Constantly.

[00:32:24]  Megan Porta 

 I know.

[00:32:24]  Debra Eckerling 

 And it’s. What happens with me is I’ll end up. Because I’m also a freelance writer, I do most of my writing on the weekend because I’m so busy, busy during the week I am trying to get to fix my schedule. So I have. I call them Zoom Free Fridays, even though they’re not necessarily Friday.

[00:32:48]   

 But I try to pick a day in the week where I’m just doing quiet work and not on camera. And that way I can take off one or both of the weekend days. Now, for me, taking off is cooking and working on other projects. But you know what I’m saying, maybe there’s something that you’re doing during the week that you can move to the weekend, or if maybe the weekend is the right time to play with the podcast.

[00:33:19]   

 And that’s the other thing too. Don’t do it because we’re telling you to do it, because you can’t get it out of your mind that you want to start it. Yes, because when you’re loving what you do, it shows. When you don’t love what you do, it really shows. You never should do a project because someone else said.

[00:33:36]   

 But again, if you’re tuning in, you’re thinking about podcasting.

[00:33:40]  Megan Porta 

 If you’re listening, it’s probably in your mind. What would you say are some other hang ups for people? Why? Why do people say I can’t do it aside from just, you know, I don’t have the time?

[00:33:55]  Debra Eckerling 

 Well, the time thing really is the big one, but the other. And I am all about setting goals that set you up for success. Which is why we start with look at your life. What you can you eliminate. Where can you put this time in your calendar? The other one is it’s like they think it needs to be perfect.

[00:34:16]   

 That I think along with the timing is probably the second biggest hang up people have. It’s like, oh, well, if it’s not going to be perfect, I’m not going to do it. Guess what? Live streaming is perfect for you because no one expects it to be perfect.

[00:34:32]  Megan Porta 

 Yeah, that’s so true. And it’s never perfect, by the way. Ever. Podcast episodes are never perfect. Even when they’re edited. Never.

[00:34:41]  Debra Eckerling 

 And I rarely edit even my live show to the upload. Except for in yesterday. I had it in. My episode was on podcasting. Toward the end of the show, one of my guests lost audio and he had to leave and come back, which was fine. You know, we. We vamped. It’s great to have extra guests because you always have someone you could talk to for that.

[00:35:08]   

 I did edit the two minutes where we were trying to get him back out of the episode that got uploaded that will be released later this week. But mostly I will just upload it as is. So unless there’s a gaffe or someone mentions something that’s really time specific, even though I tell people these shows are evergreen.

[00:35:28]   

 Yeah, I will leave it as is. And I will say in the intro, you may be listening to this or watching this goal chat live. You might be watching the replay, or you may be listening to us as the Gold Chat podcast, so people know whichever format that it’s designed for. All three, right?

[00:35:50]  Megan Porta 

 Yeah, I think that’s a smart way to approach it. But that perfection thing is something food bloggers can relate to. People resist pressing publish, and that’s probably a reason why a lot of them don’t pursue projects like this. That whole perfection issue in.

[00:36:08]  Debra Eckerling 

 Okay, I remember back in the day, I wrote for magazines and things would go. I still do sometimes, but more online. But when things are out in print, you can never fix them. Yeah, that’s the way the world used to work for everybody. Now if I’ll get. I’ll notice something on an online article.

[00:36:30]   

 Usually it’s got to be big for me to write to one of my publishers and say, oh, would you mind fixing this thing? They forgot a step in the recipe. That is a good reason for me to say, hey, this article needs to be updated. But usually if something’s out in the world, it’s out in the world.

[00:36:46]   

 You used to not be able to correct anything, which is a good way to look at things if you’ve got perfectionitis. This is not perfect. I’ve coughed like five times. I rarely do that. Must be like a big allergy day. But it happens. And guess what? The conversation continues.

[00:37:06]  Megan Porta 

 It keeps going. Yeah, right. And people don’t even notice stuff like that. Honestly, very few do.

[00:37:13]  Debra Eckerling 

 Well, now they do, because I brought it.

[00:37:15]  Megan Porta 

 Oh, now you pointed it out. Great.

[00:37:17]  Debra Eckerling 

 You’re welcome. But. But this is the point. It does not need to be perfect. But if you love. Okay, just name any kind of food, Megan.

[00:37:27]  Megan Porta 

 See, like comfort food. Chili.

[00:37:30]  Debra Eckerling 

 Okay, let’s say your blog is on chili. Okay. What can you do to turn that into a podcast? Well, you can search for chili champions, because apparently that’s a thing. You could interview people who are chili experts, because I am sure those exist. You can look and see if somebody want a reality show with a bowl of chili.

[00:37:57]   

 I mean, it’s endless. Or all meat chili or no meat chili or other. I believe they’re regional chilies. There’s so much with chili. So many people you can interview or you can just do fun facts about chili. I’m sure those exist as well. Food memories regarding chili. These are all topics for your podcast.

[00:38:20]   

 You’re welcome. And whatever your topic is, just take what I just said and take out the word chili and put in your topic.

[00:38:29]  Megan Porta 

 Right, right. Fill in the blank. Yeah, I was just, as you were talking, I was thinking how cool would it be to grab the first handful of people who come up in search results for chili and to interview all of them at the same time and compare recipes and toppings and just have a conversation about what makes their chili unique? That would be so cool.

[00:38:52]  Debra Eckerling 

 That’s. It would be cool.

[00:38:54]  Megan Porta 

 Yeah. I love, I love that idea. I know I’ve had the idea so many times, just like, why don’t I just start a podcast about food? But I think I would love it so much that it might take over some other parts of my business that are going well right now. So in the future, this is a goal of mine.

[00:39:14]   

 I want to do this and pursue it eventually. But it’s such a good, fun idea and such a great way to talk about something that we all already love and we love talking about and oh, so many good things there. Do you think that somebody needs a, an exact concept? I think this can be a hang up too.

[00:39:32]   

 Like I don’t have the perfect exact concept to get started. Can they just start with what we just talked about? Like, I’m going to interview five people about their chili recipe and kind of go from there. Or do you feel like they need to round it out first?

[00:39:47]  Debra Eckerling 

 Yes. And yes. I think you can wing it, but I think winging it with a plan is a little bit better. So. And I’m, I’m gonna go back to. To d. Determine your mission. What? What? And since we’re talking about food bloggers starting a podcast, they probably already know this. So I’m all about what is your mission statement, but from your mission statement, creating a motto.

[00:40:14]   

 So my mission is to help as many people as possible figure out what they want and how to get it so they live happier, more productive lives and can help even more people. So very long, very clunky. My motto is goal setting simplified. So everything I create, I mean even my food show, it’s just these simple, engaging conversations.

[00:40:35]   

 But everything I create is with simplified in mind. Because life’s hard enough, I make the instructions really easy. So whatever motto you are using or tagline or whatever it is for your blog, use that, I think as the starting point for your podcast.

[00:40:54]  Megan Porta 

 That is great advice.

[00:40:56]  Debra Eckerling 

 And then wing it. I mean, you want, you do want to set yourself up for success. So you want to think, okay, look at the nitty gritty. Am I doing a live show? Am I doing a prerecord? Am I doing me talking? Am I doing interviews? Am I doing a panel show? What is the length?

[00:41:11]   

 What is the frequency? I mean, these are things that you can change. But start with something. Like I said, I started with Goal Chat live as me talking, and maybe I would have gotten better at talking to myself, but I didn’t need to find out. I know that I’m more comfortable in conversations.

[00:41:32]   

 So I said, okay, let’s try it this way for a while. And that way was great. And that’s how I do my other show. There are one on ones, occasional one on twos. I did do a panel for Hanukkah where I brought in three previous guests to just had about conversations, but I have no intention of turning that into a panel show because the mission bite size conversations mean short and many people don’t think 20 minutes is short.

[00:42:00]   

 But in my world, that is a bite sized conversation. So start by figuring out, you know, the name, the log line, the particulars, and then you can make a plan of what you want to do with it.

[00:42:15]  Megan Porta 

 Okay, I like that. That makes it easy. That simplifies, right? Like you’ve already got the blog, you already have the passion, you already have a focus and a niche. So just kind of start there and let it evolve and grow like you’re. I love how your show evolved pretty quickly. Like, okay, I, I don’t love solo episodes.

[00:42:33]   

 I want to talk to people. So just kind of follow your intuition as you go.

[00:42:38]  Debra Eckerling 

 That’s. Intuition is a great word. The other thing, and your goal guide has a road trip theme and I frequently say no backseat drivers. So you’ve got your concept, Figure out your concept and then if you want to get feedback from one or two trusted people who get you, that’s fine. I am not a fan of decisions by committee because then you will never start your podcast because you’re going to be looking to everybody when you know the answers.

[00:43:12]   

 And that’s something else. People, we know the answers. We don’t always ask the questions. That’s what they have you me for today. But you know what podcasts you really want to create, you know, if you have time for it in your life and you know, if there’s something you can eliminate to make time for it in your life.

[00:43:33]   

 So if the answer is yes, I can do it, I, I can create some bandwidth and maybe you start every other week or a Monthly podcast, which I don’t really recommend because that’s not really enough to get momentum, but that’s why it’s good to batch. You know, when I do my taste buds, I will do two or three recordings on a day, and then I’ve got episodes for three weeks.

[00:43:59]  Megan Porta 

 Yeah, yeah. And bloggers are very familiar with that concept. So you can just apply it to podcasting as well.

[00:44:05]  Debra Eckerling 

 Yes, absolutely.

[00:44:07]  Megan Porta 

 Yes. Perfect. You have everything you need to get started. So you do need those few key decisions like frequency you mentioned, what format, and then create your concept and get rolling. Do you have any other recommendations? Just kind of basics for getting started.

[00:44:25]  Debra Eckerling 

 Basics. If you’re doing video, you want good lighting. No matter whether you’re doing video or audio, you want a microphone and earbuds. And I find the wireds are better than. Than unwired.

[00:44:42]  Megan Porta 

 Oh, my gosh. Yes. That is so true.

[00:44:44]  Debra Eckerling 

 And even if you. And I’ve got my. I have my microphone, but I use these EarPods just for listening, just because it gets rid of background noise and. Yep, that’s what we do. And if all you have are earbuds that you could plug into your computer or your phone, that works. You know, you do not have to start with all bells and whistles.

[00:45:06]   

 You just have to start. So I would say that if you’re looking to live stream, I know that Streamyard has free plans that you can start out with, which I think, and I don’t even remember, there are limitations about how many different platforms you can broadcast two at once. And I believe the free. The free plans, you also have their logo in the corner. But, you know, fine, you live. You use Riverside for recording. They’re all different types of places. All you have to do is Google, you know, record my episode and. And you will see what your options are for prerecord or streaming. If you are doing a podcast that you want to put out into all the audio platforms. Megaphone is the one that hosts Gold Chat and Libsyn is the one that hosts Taste Buds with Deb. So do a little bit of searching. You can find inexpensive options for anything.

[00:46:09]  Megan Porta 

 So true. Podcasting is not an expensive. It’s not a big investment. There’s really minimal upfront costs. The microphone is very affordable. You probably already have the earbuds or AirPods to listen to your guest. And the platforms that you mentioned are really very inexpensive as well. So no excuses. I mean, if you really want to do this investment is not a reason to not pursue it.

[00:46:37]  Debra Eckerling 

 And another reason to pursue it is you’ve got more content to use on your blog. So you can embed, I know, the videos and the audio around a blog post. Easy peasy. Two Birds One podcast.

[00:46:51]  Megan Porta 

 Yeah, that’s the subtitle of our episode today. Two Birds One Podcast. So true. Yes. People don’t often think of that. You can put this content on your blog and make your blog more robust as well. I mean, of course you can do that.

[00:47:10]  Debra Eckerling 

 You put on your blog. You can do like little snippets and audiograms put up on Instagram and other social platforms. There’s so many things you can do with it. And then when you have guests, they’re going to share your episode. This is the other thing you’re looking for a win win, you know, win for you, win for your guest, win for the audience.

[00:47:30]   

 And the more great information you put out in the world, the more people are going to find it. And when you have your guests, they’re going to share it as well. You’ve got your drive. They’re going to really be interested in what you have to say. And that’s kind of. That’s what gets the ball rolling when you’re really enthusiastic, when you love the things people are going to hear it.

[00:47:54]  Megan Porta 

 Yes, totally. And then I was just thinking, a lot of food bloggers have YouTube channels with either in person videos where they’re cooking, or hands and pans videos. You could add this to your content database as well. It’s the same niche. You’re still talking about food. So getting more subscribers on YouTube.

[00:48:13]   

 There are so many benefits that I can think of for your entire business.

[00:48:18]  Debra Eckerling 

 Ooh. And if you’re already putting things up on YouTube, you can act. There’s a setting in there to turn whatever series you have into a podcast and it shows up as a podcast.

[00:48:32]  Megan Porta 

 Oh, right. Yeah. So many reasons.

[00:48:36]  Debra Eckerling 

 So guess what? You’re already podcasting. You don’t even know it.

[00:48:41]  Megan Porta 

 That’s great. So you have kind of mentioned a few ways to implement the DEB method to getting started. Do you have any other advice for that? So you need to know your destination and what your goals are. How else can we use your method to set this in motion if somebody wants to.

[00:49:00]  Debra Eckerling 

 Okay, well, so we’ve talked about. This is your mission. This is why you want this. Explore your options. Okay. It’s what we talked about with the podcast. Okay. I want to create a podcast. What is, what kind of podcast is this going to be, what is the frequency, time, etc. Then we go to brainstorm your path.

[00:49:19]   

 So once you have an idea of what you want to do, just list out every single action item that you think you need to take and divide and conquer. So you put out, you know, find the hosting, figure out the content, do the branding. And I know I’m listing even more things, so I’m not, I’m not trying to overwhelm you.

[00:49:38]   

 What I’m saying is take it out of your head, write it on a piece of paper, and divide and conquer. So you put all the activities involved with getting your podcast hosting together. You put all the activities with getting your show, the branding. You know, you’re. You’re going to want to have a cover podcast. Cover, of course, logo, colors. And you already have most of this information if you have a blog. But you’re just gonna, okay, transfer my branding to assets for the podcast. And then maybe another. Another benchmark is figuring out what the content is going to be. So write down all your action items.

[00:50:17]   

 Divide and conquer. Make a plan, do the things. And let’s say, okay, you’re committed to doing this. Maybe set your launch for a month from now. So every week, make an hour. And if you could do it the same time every week, that’s always good. Make an hour appointment with yourself to just work on this.

[00:50:38]   

 That’s it. This is the other thing people do is they say, oh, I have client work. I have to do the client work. I’m not going to work on the me work. No, wrong. You need to treat the appointments with yourself with as much gold and respect as you treat the appointments you have with other people.

[00:50:55]   

 So make an ongoing appointment to figure out your podcast and then launch your podcast see, yes, simple,

[00:51:02]  Megan Porta 

Easy peasy.

[00:51:07]  Debra Eckerling 

 But that’s really what it’s about, is figuring out what you need to do, finding the time to do it, and then doing the things.

[00:51:15]  Megan Porta 

 I love it. Yes. And I’m so excited to hear if you are listening and you are like, yes, I’m in. I’m doing this. Please reach out to me because I love cheering you on. If you, or I mean any project you do, but especially the podcast, it holds a near and dear place in my heart.

[00:51:31]   

 Is there anything, Debra, that we’ve forgotten that you feel like food bloggers should know about the topic before we start saying goodbye?

[00:51:37]  Debra Eckerling 

 I feel like and I’m going to repeat myself if you’re listening to this, you want to start a podcast. I mean, there is something that drew you to this episode. So gift yourself the time to figure it out. This is when I do my goal tat live show at the end of toward the end, I ask everybody to gift a goal in.

[00:52:04]   

 That’s what it is. It’s gifting time to do the things you. To do more of the things that you love. And that way, not only is it going to make you happy, but also think about all the people who are going to love hearing what you have to say. So gift yourself the time and think of it that way.

[00:52:23]   

 It’s a gift to yourself and to the people who are going to be listening to you.

[00:52:29]  Megan Porta 

 Wow, that was beautiful. And the networking that you mentioned, you can’t.

[00:52:34]  Debra Eckerling 

 Oh, yes.

[00:52:34]  Megan Porta 

 And if there’s a. I mean, yeah.

[00:52:37]  Debra Eckerling 

 Oh, like, bonus goal. Think about someone you’ve always wanted to meet. Now figure out after you get your podcast off the ground, you can reach out to them and invite them to be a guest on your show.

[00:52:49]  Megan Porta 

 You have an excuse for reaching out to really cool people.

[00:52:53]  Debra Eckerling 

 When I first moved to Los Angeles, I was freelancing for local paper, and it was literally the best way to get introduced to a new town, because everybody wants to talk to the reporter. Now, more than 20 years later, everybody’s got that ability. So whether you’ve got a blog or a podcast or whatever, you have access to anyone and everyone because you’ve got a platform to invite them onto.

[00:53:20]  Megan Porta 

 So true. You have a million and one reasons to do it if it’s on your heart. So there you go. Thank you so much, Debra, for all of this. This was amazing.

[00:53:29]  Debra Eckerling 

 Thank you.

[00:53:29]  Megan Porta 

 And for having the words you just. Yes, the words you just shared, were you leaving those for the end, for your words of inspiration or do you have additional quote that you like? Sometimes my listener, my guests have a quote that they want to share, but if that was your inspiration, we can leave the beautiful words at that.

[00:53:47]  Debra Eckerling 

 Well, I will just add that, you know, if. Again, repeating myself. If podcasting is in your heart, you know you’ve got the tools, you’ve got the information. So go for it, because we know you can do it. We know they can do it. Right? Guess what? You know, you can do it, too. It’s just a matter of committing to it to be able to get it out in the world.

[00:54:10]  Megan Porta 

 Awesome. Great way to end. Thank you. We’re going to put together a show notes page for you, Deborah. Putting everything we’ve talked about in the episode on the show notes. And those can be found at eatblogtalk.com/theDEBmethod, which is where people can find you. Correct. Tell everyone where they can find you if they need to scope you out.

[00:54:30]  Debra Eckerling 

 Well, I am @theDebMethod everywhere. Email is Deb@theDebMethod. You can learn more about me and my goal cheerleading at thedebmethod.com and you can learn more about the new book at 52secretsbook.com and if you need a little bit of help or a lot of help with your goals, you can reach out and or grab a copy of your goal guide, a roadmap for setting, planning and achieving your goals and or 52 secrets for goal setting and goal getting.How to stay focused, grow your network and get more done in less time. Either or both at your favorite place to buy books.

[00:55:07]  Megan Porta 

 Awesome. Everyone go check out all of those amazing things from Debra. Thank you again Debra for being here and thank you so much for listening food bloggers. I will see you next time. 

[00:55:19] Outro   

Thank you so much for listening to this episode of Eat Blog Talk. If you enjoyed this episode, I’d be so grateful if you posted it to your social media feed and stories. I will see you next time.