Several people, myself included, listen to non-fiction podcasts in an effort to learn a new skill or otherwise come away with some valuable knowledge they likely couldn’t find elsewhere. This lust for knowledge is a reason podcasts like How I Built This and Planet Money have grown to the prominence they’re currently at. What separates Masters Series apart from other business- or entrepreneurial-focused podcasts, is their goal for their listeners to have some actionable advice after listening to a particular episode. While How I Built This tells great entrepreneurial stories, listeners often ask themselves how this specifically applies to them or their business.

While Masters Series applies to nearly every business, the podcast might actually pique interests among podcasts specifically as the topic of podcast marketing is so prevalent today. Their first batch of episodes provide insight and tips on SEO, content marketing, and social media — three necessary skills all podcasters (and businesses) need to be successful in today’s market.

Creators, James Brandis and Serpil Senelmis, went to a continuing education course at WeTeachMe, enjoyed the lessons and then approached the company to partner on a podcast. With some ABC background, both Brandis and Senelmis produce a high quality podcast that nicely blends business stories and useful advice.

I got a chance to catch up with Brandis and talk about how the podcast started, why listeners continue to tune in, and the challenges they face as indie podcasters. See below for our Q&A.

Listen: Apple Podcasts

Discover Pods: How’d you get into podcasting?

BRANDIS: I worked in radio with my wife Serpil Senelmis at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation for over a decade. In that time we created many programs and packages together and really enjoyed coming up with something creative and different. In January we founded our own business – Written & Recorded – so we could spend more of our time making creative audio and podcasts. We really enjoy the challenge of capturing the best audio in the right location to bring the listener into the conversation, rather than relying on a quiet studio. This podcast came about when we went to a WeTeachMe workshop to get some advice on setting up our business. We really liked what they were doing and asked if we could podcast their events. It was a match made in heaven!

DP: In your own words, why should listeners tune into Masters Series?

BRANDIS: Masters Series brings industry professionals face-to-face with entrepreneurs and startups to share their wisdom and experience. The masters have great stories to tell and are really generous with their knowledge, handing out tips, tools and tricks that can really make a practical difference for the listener. Every episode is guaranteed to give you something useful you can use, whether you’re in business or not.

DP: Who’s your ideal guest to discuss business and marketing on your show?

BRANDIS: The ideal guest is someone in business who has made loads of mistakes and is happy to share them in front of a live audience. A failure is just a stepping stone on the way to success and a failure shared is a failure halved – or at least it’s something that we can all benefit from. Don’t let us all make the same mistakes, tell us about yours and let us learn from them. If that person has also pitched to venture capitalists, received funding and exceeded investors expectations – that would be good too!

DP: Which do you feel are the most essential episodes so far?

BRANDIS: We started with a really neat set of three – Social Media Marketing, Content Marketing, and SEO Secrets. There is so much information packed into those three half hour episodes that you could hand them over to anyone in business as a 101 in getting your brand out there. You can create a basic content strategy, an SEO plan and a Social Media calendar that all feed back into one another. Then just sit back and watch your website rise to the top of the search engine results.

DP: What’s the most difficult part of podcasting for you?

BRANDIS: Time! We often underestimate how long it will take to edit the podcast to the level that we want to achieve, then wish we had even more time to refine, review and polish. We’re really happy with what we’re able to deliver in the human hours available, but if time was no object we’d love to make it even better.

DP: What podcasts are you listening to now?

BRANDIS: Swipe Left Swipe Left is sharing the most entertaining stories from Tinder dates with some really clever storytelling techniques. Black Hands is a chilling true crime podcast from New Zealand – I can’t believe something so horrible happened in such a beautiful place! The Real Thing is my favourite Australian podcast, collecting Aussie stories that don’t get told in the mainstream media – with audio production to die for. I learn something new about Australia and audio production every time I listen.

DP: Anything else you’d like to add?

BRANDIS: Apparently we can remember information from an advertisement for up to 78 seconds after we experience the ad – so if you have read down this far, thank you. I hope you’ll have a listen to Masters Series and I’m sure you’ll get some practical tips from every episode – even if you can only remember them for 78 seconds.

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