StoryTrust Media

Most podcasters measure the wrong things. Downloads feel good to look at but they tell you almost nothing about whether your show is actually building the trust that drives real business results. In this episode John breaks down the real difference between reach and trust, why they are two completely separate metrics, and why a show with 100 devoted listeners can outperform one with 100,000 passiv...

There is no shortage of podcasting advice on the internet. YouTube videos, blog posts, influencer courses all promising to help you grow your show. And a lot of it is garbage. In this episode, Jon calls out three specific pieces of conventional podcasting wisdom that are not just unhelpful but actively working against the people who follow them. If you've been consuming a lot of podcasting content...

Here's the lie most of the podcasting internet is selling you: you need a bigger audience. More downloads, more subscribers, more reach. And so you pour time and money into SEO, paid ads, and social sharing trying to drag new listeners in. But what if more listeners isn't actually the problem? In this episode, Jon makes a counterintuitive but data-backed case that for most podcasters, the real iss...

Even if your podcast never grew a single new listener, it would still be worth doing. Because every episode you record is a public speaking rep. And if you're intentional about it, your podcast can accelerate your growth as a communicator faster than almost anything else. In this episode, Jon shares three specific, practical ways to use your podcast to become a more confident, more credible public...

You book a guest, record a great conversation, send them the Spotify link when the episode drops, and never speak again. Sound familiar? Most podcasters treat their guests as one time content contributors and miss one of the biggest growth opportunities available to them. In this episode, Jon breaks down five specific ways to maximize every guest relationship before, during, and long after the rec...

More is not better in podcasting. More points, more tactics, more information packed into a single episode does not equal more value for your listener. It usually equals less. In this episode, n uses a basketball analogy to make the case that trying to do too much is one of the most common and most damaging mistakes podcasters make, and that the episodes people actually remember are almost always...

How are you doing today? How's the weather? Tell me a little about yourself. These questions are killing your podcast. Not dramatically, not all at once, but quietly, one disengaged listener at a time. In this episode, Jon makes a direct case for why the questions you ask as a podcast host are one of the most powerful tools you have for building trust with your audience, and why most hosts are was...

You might have a thousand downloads on your latest episode and feel great about that number. But if 900 of those listeners are gone within the first two minutes, what does that number actually mean? In this episode, Jon tackles one of the most common and most damaging mistakes podcasters make: a long, self promotional intro that delays the value your audience came for. The first 60 seconds of your...

It seems like the right move. You bring a guest on, you spend a few minutes listing their TED Talks, their books, their awards, their credentials. You're establishing their authority so your audience trusts them, right? Wrong. In this episode, Jon shares the story of a client who had a highly produced, well-booked podcast with one glaring problem: she was flattering her guests so much that she was...

There's a difference between an interview and a conversation, and it's not just semantic. An interview is transactional: the host asks, the guest answers, repeat until time runs out. A conversation is something different entirely. The host adds value, reacts genuinely, tells stories, and yes, sometimes pushes back. In this episode, Jon breaks down why the best podcast episodes feel like conversati...

Most podcasters obsess over their intro and their content, then completely fall apart at the end. The outro becomes a rambling, cliche filled stumble toward silence. 'Take care everyone.' 'See you next time.' 'Okay, bye.' It's painful to listen to, and it leaves your audience with a weak final impression of an otherwise solid episode. In this episode, Jon makes the case for why your outro deserves...

Last week Jon made the case for skipping the small talk and getting straight to the value in guest interviews. Not everyone agreed. In this episode, he addresses the pushback head on and does something a lot of podcasters aren't willing to do: admit there's nuance. If you've ever felt torn between keeping things authentic and making sure your audience stays engaged, this episode is for you. There...

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...