Paul Engel of "La France Baladeuse"

Why did you decide to explore podcasting? Why not blogging or video?

I already had a blog before, but after more than 6 years of blogging every day, I was starting to go in circles. I couldn’t really renew myself anymore. And most of all, my creativity was blocked and a bit constrained by the format…

In addition to traveling, I have always been a music lover, especially electronic music. I was a DJ in another life and I composed music on Ableton Live. I spent my nights there when I was a student!

And then one day, I said to myself: how can I combine these two passions: music and travel? I was already listening to a lot of audio travelogues and I liked the format. So I said to myself: I’m going to do that too and I decided to start a podcast.

In fact, audio allows me to increase my creativity tenfold. It’s a medium that really helps me to express myself and especially to deliver a very personal format that really corresponds to me. The fact that there are no established codes, no imposed formats, allows a real freedom of tone. You can go from documentary to interview, from portrait to fiction, from comedy to drama. It’s great!

How do you make your podcast visible?

That’s the big question on everyone’s mind! I think there’s some of it you get right and some of it you don’t. I was lucky enough to create my podcast at a time when many travelers are questioning long distance travel and the need to return to a more local tourism. And that’s exactly the theme of my audio: going to meet the people close to home! Of course it resonates…

I was also lucky enough to have a lot of press coverage over the past year, which allowed my podcast to become known. And I was almost alone in the travel podcast niche in France (at least at the beginning).

Otherwise, I obviously use social media, mainly Instagram, Twitter and Linkedin. I’m gradually abandoning Facebook…

I was already listening to a lot of audio travelogues and I liked the format. So I said to myself: I’m going to do that too!

What is your communication strategy when a new episode is released?

So that’s a big question, especially since I’m in the process of revising it entirely for the coming year. But roughly speaking, I start thinking about my strategy when I build the upcoming season. Right from the start actually…

The idea is really to couple the sound experience and the travel experience. Before the release of the episode, I prepare a media kit with all my publications on the different networks according to the formats (post, story, video with audiogram,…). I have already accumulated a lot of content during the recording sessions (photos of guests, locations, smartphone videos).

Then I imagine different formats:

beautiful travel photos that feed the blog and Insta;
content captured on set to show the story behind-the-scenes;
excerpts of the podcast in audio, slide, photo version for social networks.

And finally I prepare a specific press release that I send to the media and tourist offices, depending on the destination covered in the episode.

How do you engage your community around your podcast?

I’m in the middle of thinking about this very question! I create a lot of interactive story content on Insta, it works very well…

What’s new this year is that I’m involving listeners in the choice of topics and guests for season 3. It’s working really well and people are generally very motivated to give their opinions and help me build the next episodes.

I launched an answering machine from the end of the world to create an episode for listeners, which will give them a voice via an answering machine. The messages received will be mixed into an original sound. I’ve had a lot of positive feedback on this format and many messages on the networks praising this initiative. I can’t wait to share this collaborative episode with my community.

What statistics do you follow in particular on Ausha?

I basically look at the episode rankings to see which episodes work best. Then I try to figure out why, either by comparing content to each other to find similarities, or by asking my community why they liked a particular episode best.

The Ausha Academy gave me a real framework to move forward step by step and mature my concept. At the launch, I already had a pitch, a strategy and a vision for development!

How does Ausha help you get your podcast off the ground?

First, by promoting my podcast on these networks and this blog (like this article for example), it allows me to take advantage of Ausha’s community to expand my audience… all these little nudges and highlights on different com’ channels are real assets for me!

Initially, when I launched my podcast in 2019, I was hugely inspired by all the content offered by Ausha Academy. It gave me a real framework to move forward step by step and mature my concept. At launch, I already had a pitch, a strategy and a vision for development!

And thanks to all the turnkey tools offered by Ausha, I don’t have to worry about how and where my podcast will be distributed. I save a lot of time when I put my podcast online and I can concentrate on other things, especially communication. Of course, it helps me to develop my audience and to promote my podcast.

What are your favorite Ausha features?

I really like the Ausha player that I put everywhere on my blog. It’s a nice change from my old wordpress plugin that displayed a player from the 1990’s. It’s super simple to use and allows me to easily relay my podcast wherever I want on my website.

The other really cool feature I see is the almost automatic broadcasting on all podcast platforms. I used it just yesterday for a new podcast I’m producing. I remember at the launch of season 1 of La France Baladeuse, I had to shift the date because I couldn’t manage with my feed to submit everywhere…