StoryTrust Media

Most podcasters think the polite thing to do is spend the first few minutes introducing a guest, walking through their background, their credentials, their career highlights. It feels respectful. It feels thorough. And according to the data, it's one of the biggest reasons listeners click away before the episode even gets going. In this episode, Jon breaks down why the first three minutes of a gue...

One of the most powerful and most overlooked shifts you can make as a podcaster has nothing to do with your gear or your editing. It has to do with one simple word. Are you talking to your audience as a group, or are you talking to one person? In this episode, John breaks down why addressing your listeners as individuals rather than a crowd is one of the fastest ways to build trust, deepen relatio...

How much value do you pack into your first minute? If the answer is “not enough,” your podcast might be bleeding listeners right out of the gate. On this episode of The StoryTrust Media Podcast, John Gehring debunks the myth that longer podcasts equal better podcasts. Instead, he introduces the game-changing principle of word economy... the art of saying more with less. From his Syracuse Newhouse...

Think motivation alone will carry your podcast forever? Think again. With over 4.5 million podcasts out there, less than half make it past 10 episodes. Jon Goehring explains the hidden killer behind so many podcasters quitting early: fading motivation and lack of an easy, proven habit... batch recording. Forget the myth that audience will magically find you overnight. Success demands relentless ef...

Think better gear means bigger audience? Think again. Jon Goehring cuts through the noise on The StoryTrust Media Podcast: more expensive microphones or fancy lighting won’t magically grow your podcast or make you more successful. It’s a myth that traps many podcasters into chasing the wrong fixes. Jon shares why audience growth is a lagging indicator—not a cause—of gear upgrades. You can have stu...

Think casting a wide net grows your podcast? Think again. Here’s the brutal truth about niching. Most podcasters believe that by covering more topics and reaching more people, their audience will naturally explode. The reality? That scattergun approach confuses listeners and erodes trust. Predictability isn’t boring... it’s the foundation of trust. Your audience needs to know exactly who you’re ta...

This week on The StoryTrust Media Podcast, Jon Goehring tackles one of the most misunderstood concepts in content creation today: authenticity. Jon calls out the “real talk” and “raw conversations” craze that can often be just an excuse for laziness and unfocused rambling. Authenticity isn’t about dumping every part of yourself into every episode or skipping editing... it’s about showing up as you...

This week on The StoryTrust Media Podcast, Jon Goehring dives into a critical yet sometimes overlooked factor for podcasters: the true impact of audio quality on building trust with your audience. Jon explains why it’s not about owning the most expensive mic, but about getting your audio “good enough” - because studies show 69% of people say audio quality strongly affects how trustworthy they perc...

This week on The StoryTrust Media Podcast, Jon Goehring breaks down a common yet underrated pitfall in podcasting: the trap of overdoing professionalism. Jon explains how trying to sound overly polished or buttoned-up can actually erode trust with your audience. When the camera or mic goes on, many creators tighten up, switch to stiff, jargon-heavy language, and lose the warm connection that build...

This week on The StoryTrust Media Podcast, Jon Goehring challenges the most common, but often misleading way podcasters measure success: vanity metrics. We all focus on numbers—downloads, views, likes, shares—but do those figures truly reflect value? Jon invites you to revisit your original WHY. What was your podcast really meant to accomplish? Jon breaks down three powerful dimensions to evaluate...

This week on The StoryTrust Media Podcast, Jon Goehring dives into an often overlooked trap for podcasters: how blindly using AI to create clips can actually erode your audience’s trust. With short-form video exploding on platforms like YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels, and LinkedIn, it’s tempting to let AI quickly chop your podcast into clips. But when those clips cut off mid-thought, lack context...

In this episode, Jon Goehring dives into the underrated power of consistency for podcasting success... beyond chasing algorithms or fleeting trends. Most podcasters know consistency is important, but Jon reveals why it’s really about building trust with your audience... and yourself. Your listeners develop expectations about when and how you show up, and that trust directly impacts how they engage...

If you’re wondering when your podcast will start making money or how soon you can land sponsors, this episode gets real about the numbers... and what most podcasters don’t realize. Jon shares why less than 1% of podcasts earn recurring sponsorships and why chasing big download counts isn’t the smartest path. Instead, success comes when you focus on attracting a hyper-niched, engaged audience — one...

In this episode of Story Trust Media, Jon Goehring breaks down the common but critical mistakes podcasters make with their intros... those first few seconds that can make or break listener trust. Are you cramming your intro full of calls to action? Repeating the intro after it’s already played? Forgetting that loyal listeners hear the same intro every episode? These missteps aren’t just annoying.....

Welcome to the inaugural episode of Story Trust Media, hosted by Jon Goehring. If you’ve launched a podcast that seems solid... great guests, focused niche, quality content... but the audience just isn’t growing, this episode is a must-listen. Drawing from his experience co hosting The Limitless Leadership Lounge, Jon explains why it’s often not content or niche that’s the problem. Instead, it boi...