Big Lash Energy: One Million Downloads Fueled by Coffee and Compliments

Summary

Podcast Summary: School of Podcasting – "Big Lash Energy: One Million Downloads Fueled by Coffee and Compliments"

Host: Dave Jackson
Guest: Jaina Marie (Big Lash Energy Podcast)
Date: March 9, 2026
Episode Focus: How Jaina Marie grew her bold, vulnerable, story-driven podcast “Big Lash Energy” to a million downloads, drawing insights on storytelling, branding, engagement, monetization, and standing out with heart.

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Episode Overview

This episode spotlights Jaina Marie, a makeup artist-turned-podcaster who transformed her lived experiences and deep storytelling into the acclaimed show “Big Lash Energy.” Host Dave Jackson explores Jaina’s journey from launching her solo show to building a highly engaged, ad-free community, achieving industry awards, and sustaining momentum with creativity, consistency, and authenticity. This in-depth conversation offers new and aspiring podcasters valuable lessons in vulnerability, branding, unique marketing, and building a lasting connection with listeners.

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Key Insights and Discussion Points

1. The Power of Vulnerability in Storytelling

• Jaina’s Approach to Episode One ([02:26], [03:08]):

  • Jaina launched her podcast with intense honesty, sharing her personal challenges unapologetically:

    "I just threw myself off a cliff... I'm just gonna say all the most vulnerable things about my life. And I remember telling my mom, I'm either going to land on my feet or splatter all over the pavement."
    – Jaina Marie, 02:26

  • By introducing herself through raw stories, she set the tone for true authenticity, effectively telling listeners, “This is what you’re signing up for.”

• Vulnerability as Connection:

  • The goal: if one person relates, they might stay. Vulnerability ensures real connection, drawing in listeners who see themselves reflected.

2. From Makeup Artist to Award-Winning Podcaster

• Starting the Podcast ([02:59], [03:58]):

  • Storytelling was natural for Jaina as a makeup artist; her clients often said her stories should be a book or movie.
  • She embraced podcasting for its direct, unfiltered access to an audience:

    "Podcasting... I could just be me. Part of the reason I came up with episode one the way I did is because I wanted people to know where my heart was coming from."

• Managing Imposter Syndrome ([04:11], [04:37]):

  • At first, Jaina didn’t feel like an imposter, but as show success grew, she began to seek additional credibility (eventually returning to school):

    "Now I've actually kind of gone back and thought, maybe now I need some credit, more credibility. So I'm actually back in school now to earn a piece of paper to hang on the wall to say like, no, I'm more than just a makeup artist with opinions."
    – Jaina Marie, 04:37

3. Podcast Growth and Recognition

• Awards and Recognition ([05:45], [06:20]):
  • Humorous but proud “humble-brag” moment describing her accolades:

    "I won eight Signal awards. I've been nominated for one Ambi, and I was nominated for two podcast awards... I won gold for best writing in the comedy category, and I actually beat Barack Obama's speechwriter for that."
    – Jaina Marie, 05:45

  • Shows the payoff from storytelling and relentless commitment to craft.

4. Solo Podcast Artistry: Process & Production

• Writing and Editing ([06:43], [07:35]):

  • Jaina meticulously crafts each episode:

    "Some scripts have taken me two straight days... writing, then I'll listen to a recording and rerecord. It’s a major process…late nights until 3 AM."
    – Jaina Marie

  • She emphasizes the difficulty and solitude of solo shows, noting it takes “a certain level of crazy” ([07:35]).

• Soundscaping & Editor Partnership ([08:19], [09:13]):

  • Jaina’s episodes use creative sound design, with Tim Wahlberg (her editor/"podcast performance coach") adding distinct audio effects and character voices to enhance stories.
  • Their dynamic:

    "I just send audio of me making all these different voices and doing all of these things with no notes, and he just listens and changes...it's a very rare thing."

  • Even her intro is voiced by an Australian woman for added brand distinctiveness ([10:38]).

5. Consistency, Audience, and Motivation

• Never Missing a Release ([11:14], [14:21]):

  • 200 episodes in 3.5 years, never missed a Wednesday drop:

    "Been more work than I've ever put into anything in my life, but it's very rewarding."
    – Jaina Marie, 11:14

  • Keeps going thanks to listeners’ heartfelt DMs, with stories of fans listening through cancer, divorce, and daily struggles ([11:46]):

    "I always joke that my show runs on coffee and compliments..."

• Ad-Free Consciousness ([12:42]):

  • Relies on her main career income to fund the pod, avoiding ads that would disrupt the vulnerable, narrative-driven experience:

    "I don't want to ruin my listeners’ experience for a couple bucks..."

6. Indirect Monetization and Relationship Building

• Business Crossover ([13:38], [13:58]):
  • Listeners become clients for her makeup business because they feel connected through the show—even though this was never the intent:

    "My show ends up being a big reason why people want to hire me...just being me, basically."

  • She’s now booked 2-3 years in advance for wedding services.

7. Measures of a Great Episode ([15:05])

• Jaina’s “recipe” for content:

  "You have to either make people laugh, cry, or learn. It’s either one of those three things..."

  • Authenticity and “throwing things on the wall” are key; overthinking kills creativity ([15:31]).

8. Navigating Family and Vulnerable Content ([16:20])

• Even when warning her parents not to listen to racy episodes, her mother is now one of her biggest supporters, proudly sharing her “sexiest” episodes:

  "Now my mom will send my sexiest episodes to her friends and say, you should give this a listen."

9. Production & Confidence Evolution ([17:18])

• With time, Jaina became faster and more confident on the mic, needing less editing and gaining trust in her voice.

10. Authenticity > AI ([19:01])

• On what can’t be replaced:

  "When you put your heart into something...that’s nothing that can be replaced by AI. My show is all heart, a thousand percent."

  • Expresses dismay over consumption of AI-generated podcasts, arguing authenticity is irreplaceable.

11. Rethinking Video and Platform Choices ([20:08], [21:14])

• Attempts at video content for social media only boosted Instagram, not podcast downloads.
• Due to creative editing, her podcast doesn’t translate well to video:

  "It would never be me, just my face talking to a microphone, because that's not what my show is..."

  • Prefers focus on “theater of the mind.”

12. Unique Marketing and Organic Growth

• Nontraditional Marketing Approaches ([27:56], [29:48]):

  • Guesting on other podcasts moved the needle—but she avoids guests who don’t bring clear value.
  • Creative tactics:
    • Added her podcast link in dating bios, driving listens and word-of-mouth.
    • Created a booth at trade shows and distributed printed podcast cards in event swag bags, with QR codes and recommended episodes tailored for each audience ([30:24]).
    • Branded her car with show info and a QR code ([31:21]), and used local print shops for decals.
  • Eschews generic PR companies, preferring direct, ground-level, and personal engagement.

• Social Media Engagement ([36:58], [38:02]):

  • Uses Instagram heavily, sharing behind-the-scenes, listener feedback, and creating “hype” (e.g., celebrities in orange, episode countdowns).

13. Monetization and Community Activation

• Merch Selling ([23:30]):

  • Limited, on-brand merch releases (mainly orange-themed hoodies), sold mostly via pre-orders to avoid overstock and maximize profit.
  • Emphasis on tribe-building and selling a sense of belonging:

    "If I wouldn’t wear it, why would I sell it? ... You have to market the feeling that comes with it, not just the item."

• Live Events ([33:45], [34:38]):

  • Hyper-engaged listeners led to rapid sellouts of live events (hot yoga, pool parties, trivia, DJ, etc.), which also serve as podcast promotion.
  • Events include swag, recording booths for fans to leave messages, activities, and a branded atmosphere, reinforcing community and word-of-mouth.

• Listener Value (“Value for Value”) ([32:56]):

  • Many listeners offer financial support without expecting merch in return due to deep appreciation.

14. Knowing When Content is Done ([39:21])

• Shape every story with a purpose—the “why” or the lesson—so episodes aren’t just emotional venting.

  "If it doesn’t reinforce the point at the end, then it’s just noise to me...does it make you laugh, learn, or cry? Otherwise, it’s just fluff."

15. Unintended Impact and “Because of My Podcast” Stories ([44:28])

• Shared a wild, true story: her podcast led a listener to realize her own husband was cheating—leading to a confession years after the fact.
• Another, more heartwarming impact: a listener funded her daughter’s college scholarship after hearing her adoption story.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On taking a leap:

  "It felt like I just threw myself off a cliff... I truly did stand naked in front of a firing squad."
  – Jaina Marie, 02:26

• On podcasting throughput:

  "I've never missed a Wednesday in 3.5 years. Been more work than I've ever put into anything in my life, but it's very rewarding."
  – Jaina Marie, 11:14

• On authenticity vs. AI:

  "When you put your heart into something... that's nothing that can be replaced by AI. So I think that in my show is all heart, a thousand percent."
  – Jaina Marie, 19:01

• On monetization:

  "My show runs on coffee and compliments."
  – Jaina Marie, 11:46

• On branding:

  "I stuck with orange because I wanted my show to be a bold one for a bold woman... everything orange."
  – Jaina Marie, 22:54

• On being recognized:

  "When I go out in the city that I live in, I get hugs everywhere. People recognize me and it’s just such a good feeling..."
  – Jaina Marie, 11:46

• On getting personal support:

  "It's always in those moments that I'll just get a long essay sent to me, like, hey, I just felt the need to tell you this. And I always see that as a sign from the universe..."
  – Jaina Marie, 14:21

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Key Timestamps

• 02:26 – Jaina discusses vulnerability and the feeling of launching episode one.
• 04:30 – Jaina reflects on imposter syndrome and seeking more credibility.
• 05:45 – Humble-brag: Jaina’s awards (including beating Barack Obama’s speechwriter).
• 07:35 – The reality of solo podcasting and breaking up monologues.
• 08:19 – Jaina demonstrates her soundscaping and character voices.
• 09:13 – Creative partnership with editor Tim Wahlberg.
• 11:14 – Never missing an episode and sticking to her vision.
• 12:42 – Decision to keep the show ad-free.
• 15:05 – Recipe for a great episode (laugh, cry, or learn).
• 16:20 – How her parents respond to her bold content.
• 17:18 – Evolution in editing, recording, and self-confidence.
• 19:01 – The irreplaceable role of “heart” in podcasting.
• 23:30 – Merch success and advice.
• 27:56 – Innovative show promotion tactics.
• 31:21 – Using car branding and QR codes for growth.
• 33:45 – Monetizing community via live events.
• 36:58 – Social media strategies for hype and engagement.
• 39:21 – Making sure every story serves a purpose.
• 44:28 – ‘Because of My Podcast’: infidelity and life-changing listener impacts.

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Takeaways & Practical Tips

• Vulnerability and authenticity are powerful forces; start with your whole story.
• Consistency and commitment build trust—stick to a schedule, no matter what.
• Creative soundscaping and solo production can make even a single voice show dynamic and engaging.
• Develop a strong brand (color, vibe, merch, community language) and be bold with it.
• Unique marketing (dating apps, trade shows, car branding) helps stand out in a crowded field.
• Community events and genuine engagement foster lasting loyalty—and unexpected rewards.
• Audience feedback offers creative fuel and ongoing motivation.
• Avoid overthinking: Trust your creative instinct—don’t let perfectionism kill the vibe.

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Memorable Call to Action

"Everybody can just, you know, blab into a microphone...but when you put your heart into something and let people know who you are, that's nothing that can be replaced by AI."
– Jaina Marie, 19:01

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Resources/Links Mentioned

• Big Lash Energy Podcast: biglashpodcast.com
• School of Podcasting: schoolofpodcasting.com
• Tim Wahlberg’s “Just the Tip”: Podcast Performance Coach

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For Aspiring Podcasters:

Best advice from Jaina:

• Know your “why” for every episode.
• Stand out by being you—unfiltered, flawed, real.
• Build community, not just an audience.
• Innovate—your marketing, sound, and engagement should be as unique as your story.

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Transcript

[Dave Jackson]

Some of the geniuses in the podcasting space have said, well, if you want to be serious about a podcast, you've got to do video. And those same people that are watching videos said, well, it's a podcast because, you know, there's a microphone and it's two people doing chit chat. Well, today you're going to meet someone who started off as a team of one and later expanded to a huge team of two. And she's doing it by creating great content that makes you want to tell a friend. How does she do that? You'll find out today. Hit it, ladies.

[Jaina Marie]

The school of podcasting with Dave Jackson.

[Dave Jackson]

Podcasting since 2005, I am your award winning hall of fame podcast coach, Dave Jackson. Thanking you so much for tuning in. If you're new to the show, this is where we help you plan, launch and grow your show. I'm going to tell you today's a little longer, but it's not how long should my show be? But how long can you hold their attention? And today I'm talking with Jaina Marie from Big Lash Energy. Find her@biglash podcast.com. she's an amazing makeup artist who is doing an amazing podcast. Strap yourself in and get ready for Jana Marie. I remember once I was speaking at the University of Dayton at an Irma Bombeck writers event and one of the kind of bumper stickers there is. It takes courage to tell a story. It takes a lot of courage to tell your story. And while most people's first episode is not good, I went back and listened to Jana's and she explains how she has had five last names. And I will paraphrase without spoiling it, anything that can go bad for women, she's lived through. And so I asked her because she talks about this and not in kind of a sympathy porn kind of way, like, oh, I'm just going to throw myself. No, not like that. In fact, when people talk about keeping it real, this is what this should mean. Not, hey, I'm, you know, a lazy editor and I like to swear. And so I asked her about putting out this extremely vulnerable first episode.

[Jaina Marie]

Honestly, I still remember day one when I knew when I saw my show went live on Spotify and Apple, it felt like I just threw myself off a cliff because I truly did stand naked in front of a firing squad. Like, that's what it felt like. I'm just gonna say all the most vulnerable things about my life. And I remember telling my mom, I'm either going to land on my feet or I'm going to splatter all over the pavement. And I just kind of took that risk and just went all out day one so that people really knew what they were getting into when they hit play.

[Dave Jackson]

What inspired her to even start a podcast?

[Jaina Marie]

The main reason I started a podcast was because I'm a makeup artist. Like, that's my full time job.

[Dave Jackson]

Wait, timeout. She's an amazing makeup artist and had

[Jaina Marie]

all these crazy stories of all these wild things that have happened in my life and this wild life that I've lived, and. And I would just be telling people these stories, just so nonchalant, and they'd be like, are you going to write a book? Are you going to. This should be a movie? And I kind of found podcasting as a medium where I could tell my stories quickly without a lot of red tape. I could just say it and not have to worry about getting it approved by. By someone or worrying about publishers or editors, whatever. I could just. I could just be me. And part of the reason why I came up with episode one the way that I did was, is because before I moved on to life advice or, you know, anything, anything else, I really wanted people to know where my heart was coming from. And I really believed that vulnerability and just being my true authentic self would be the thing that would draw people in and maybe have them stay a while.

[Dave Jackson]

And going back to the heart of

[Jaina Marie]

a servant, whatever that thing was missing for me, I need to be that for someone else.

[Dave Jackson]

So Jayna even says in her first episode that she's not really certified to give out life advice. So did she have any imposter syndrome?

[Jaina Marie]

I would say when I started, I didn't because I was just like, I'm just going to be me. And I know that if I've been through something, there is someone else out there who's been through something similar or maybe worse, or maybe not as bad, but they could just at least relate to me being vulnerable, at the very least. But now I would say that now that I've had this show for about three and a half years and things

[Dave Jackson]

are starting to escalate, there it is again, my friends. Three years. The magic number in podcasting.

[Jaina Marie]

Now it's like, okay, am I just a makeup artist with opinions? A makeup artist with life experience? So now I've actually kind of gone back and thought, maybe now I need some credit, more credibility. So I'm actually back in school now to earn a piece of paper to hang on the wall to say like, no, I'm. I'm actually More than just a makeup artist with opinions.

[Dave Jackson]

Now I'm going to peel back the curtain here. When I was listening to her and she said, my show starting to escalate, I wrote down on a piece of paper, escalate and went back to listening. And then I asked her, well, what does that mean?

[Jaina Marie]

More listeners, more guesting opportunities on podcasts. I have a vision for myself and for the show that in order for me to get there, like, for example, I've been on. My show's been on pretty huge platforms lately with the awards that it's been winning and stuff. And I've been compared to. I mean, I don't. But I have beat Mel Robbins in the awards and a few different things. And so I am seeing really big things for myself and my show, and I just want to personally be ready for whatever is next.

[Dave Jackson]

Now, I knew the answer to this, but I wanted to usher her up to the stage to do at least one scene from Humble Bragg Theater. Take it away, Jayna.

[Jaina Marie]

I won eight Signal awards. I've been nominated for one Ambi, and I was nominated for two podcast awards as Best Female Host and Best Storyteller, Most Inspirational Podcast. The one that I'm the most proud of is I won gold for best writing in the comedy category, and I actually beat Barack Obama's speechwriter for that.

[Dave Jackson]

I always say a good song, me being a musician should be good, no matter if you're playing it on an acoustic guitar or a full band. So she starts with great content and then turns it into a podcast. But this has led her to somewhat of an identity crisis.

[Jaina Marie]

I don't know if I consider myself as much of a podcaster as I would a storyteller. And I don't know if I'd consider myself a storyteller as much as I'm just sharing my writing, right? So at the very core, it's my writing. And so to be acknowledged for that was. I mean, I bawled my eyes out. It was a very exciting moment.

[Dave Jackson]

So obviously, these are great scripts. These are great stories. How long does it take you to write a script?

[Jaina Marie]

There are some scripts that have taken me two straight days of sitting and record, sitting and writing, and then I'll listen to a recording and rerecord. So it's a pretty major process, for sure. A lot of late, late, late nights, or I'll Write until about 3 o' clock in the morning, and then I'll nap for two hours and wake up and write again at, like, the witching hour. So.

[Dave Jackson]

And that's why I. Especially on your first few episodes, when you record the very first thing you recorded, maybe step back, put a day between you and the last time you heard it, and try to listen to it through fresh ears. Which is why this is going out on Monday, and I'm recording it Friday night. I'll have a few days to kick it around and see if there's any way I can make it better. Now throw. On top of that, she's doing a solo show. And I know people who say, there's no way I could ever do a solo show.

[Jaina Marie]

In order to have a solo show, you have to have a certain level of crazy because you have to be able to sit and talk to yourself, you know? And whenever my listeners go, I really wish your show was longer, I go, how long could you talk to yourself for? You know, as you know. Right. You just talk. And when you make a joke, nobody laughs. It could be a pretty lonely thing.

[Dave Jackson]

Absolutely. So how do you break up a monologue of you just talking into a microphone? Well, you add some soundscaping to your show. So let me give you an example of how this is really. Again, just her talking into a microphone with a little, you know, sprinkles on top. Little icing. Check out the intro of her latest episode.

[Jaina Marie]

Okay, my friend, I'm gonna need you to lean in because there's something that I have to say that cannot leave this room. This is just between me and you. Oh, it almost hurts to say it out loud, but I was wrong. Yep, that's right. I said it. I was wrong about something. Oh, why did I twitch when that came out of my mouth? Historically speaking, I've been operating at about a 98.7% accuracy rate, but today, I'm admitting that I was wrong about something. Let's get this over with.

[Dave Jackson]

So some really interesting soundscaping there, and we're gonna hear about Tim in just a second. But also, do you notice what she did? How many of you are going, wait, what was she wrong about? What a great brain tease there. But when I talked to her about that, she talked about her editor, and that would be Tim.

[Jaina Marie]

So essentially, the whole soundscape came from me trying to have conversations with myself. So I would say something, and then I would respond with what I thought the listener might be thinking about what I just said. Because I'm sitting here by myself, and my editor, Tim just picked up on that and was like, okay, well, if this is supposed to be another voice, I. E. The listener, we'll put a separate sound on it. And then it got to me doing episodes with multiple characters, and now I'm doing accents, and now I'm doing different weird voices. And Tim would enhance my weird voices with the sound effects. So now we have episodes where there's like six to ten characters, and Tim's over here. I always joke. He's with the trumpets and the kazoos and the. And the cymbals being like, who's this talking now? It's a very, very, very special relationship that I have with my editor, where I just send audio of me making all these different voices and doing all of these things with no notes, and he just listens and changes and does all the things he needs to do. It's a very, very, very rare thing that we have.

[Dave Jackson]

And that Tim is Tim Wahlberg, better known as the podcast performance coach. And he does a show called Just the Tip.

[Jaina Marie]

And.

[Dave Jackson]

And that's why he. He put on the artwork Podcast performance coach, because he was giving podcast tips. But I will just say, as a bonus tip today, don't name your show Just the Tip, because when people go searching for it, they don't find things about podcasting.

[Jaina Marie]

The actual soundscape, the way things are done has all just truly come about organically. So, for example, I hired an Australian voice actor to do my intro because I wanted someone. I just wanted to feel like I was being introduced, but I needed it. I wanted it to be a woman because it's like girl tribe, vibes. And then I didn't want her to sound like me, so I was like, well, it needs to have an accent. And then I was like, well, I don't want it to sound too serious. So I didn't want to be British. I was like, how about Australia? So I hired an Australian voice actor. Welcome to Big Lash Energy.

[Dave Jackson]

So here again, you can see where she's not afraid to play with an idea and go, what if we did it this way or that way or this way? But through the whole thing, she's had a plan for the show.

[Jaina Marie]

And when I listen back to episode one, I'm like, I really did stick to exactly what I said I was going to do, because I. I had a very distinct vision for what I wanted for my show, and it was there from the very beginning, and I'm still doing exactly that now, 200 episodes later, three and a half years later, I've never missed a Wednesday in three and a half years. Been more work than I've ever put into anything in my life, but it's very rewarding.

[Dave Jackson]

Now, did you catch the thing there for a follow up question? She said it was the hardest thing she's ever done in her life. So what keeps her coming back?

[Jaina Marie]

My listeners are thankfully, thankfully so dedicated. I always joke that my show runs on coffee and compliments and every week, you know, the amount of DMS that I get, it's so inspiring. And people, the long, long, long letters that I get about people saying, you know, I went through cancer treatment and I listened to your podcast every day while I was in the hospital, or I went through a divorce and everything that you talked about was what I was going through, or I'm single, feeling bad about myself, and now I feel better about those things. You know, everybody wants to know how much you're making from something, right? Everything comes down to money at the end of the day. And I'm always like, it's not only money. That can be like the only form of, you know, compensation does not come in, you know, dollar signs. When I go out in the world, in the city that I live in, I get hugs everywhere. People recognize me and it's just such a good feeling knowing that I am giving back to women in a meaningful way. And that's something that really matters to me.

[Dave Jackson]

The other thing I found very refreshing about Big Lash Energy is the fact that I've listened to probably 10 episodes now and haven't heard a single ad.

[Jaina Marie]

It was a conscious decision. Thankfully, I work very hard at my other job as well, so that is doing well enough to the point where I don't want to ruin my listeners experience for a couple bucks. So for me, I just felt like for what I pay my editor and for how much work I put into the quality of my show, and it doesn't appeal to me to interrupt a very interesting conversation, you know, about recovering after heartbreak with an ad for cat litter. That just doesn't, it just doesn't do it for me.

[Dave Jackson]

Now, Jaina is a world class makeup artist and she travels all over the world doing makeup, especially for people's weddings. And I always say a podcast builds relationships and those relationships lead to opportunities to. So I wasn't surprised when I heard her say this.

[Jaina Marie]

People who listen to my show feel like they get to know me really well. And I found that my show ends up being a big reason why people want to hire me to do their hair and makeup for their wedding as well. They're like, you, you have to have this woman, she's so funny or her stories are so great.

[Dave Jackson]

And I always say the most profitable Thing is to sell your own services. And that's what she's doing.

[Jaina Marie]

That just happened to happen. That wasn't even the goal.

[Dave Jackson]

And it's not just working.

[Jaina Marie]

Sorry. With my wedding business, I'm booked, like, two to three years in advance. I'm not trying to sell my bridal services, but if somebody hears my stories and wants to work with me, hey, I love that. But I'm not. I'm not trying to, you know, hawk my wares. I'm just being me, basically.

[Dave Jackson]

200 episodes, three and a half years. Is it always puppy dogs and rainbows?

[Jaina Marie]

Of course, there are times when I feel, like, a little bit disillusioned or exhausted or looking for, like, you know, a reason to keep going. And it's always in those moments that I'll just get a long essay sent to me, like, hey, I just felt the need to tell you this. And I always see that as a sign from the universe. Like, here's a little more wind in your sails. Like, keep going. You're doing exactly what you're supposed to be doing.

[Dave Jackson]

And I always advise the students at the School of Podcasting, when you get one of those emails, when you see a comment on social, take a screenshot, Save those emails someplace, because there are going to be those days when you're like, ugh, I'm not sure I should be doing this, but we heard how she's staying up late to write these episodes and rewriting them. What's the recipe of a great episode?

[Jaina Marie]

Because I always think you have to either make people laugh, cry, or learn. It's either one of those three things that they really feel it in their spirit and want to share it with somebody or talk about it or reach out.

[Dave Jackson]

So in that way, she's a little bit like South Park. Yeah, Maybe a little wild and crazy, but at the end, you go, you know what? I actually listened to something. And when it comes time to figure out, well, do I go left or right? Or what do I say? Here she has a simple formula, but

[Jaina Marie]

that's why you can't overthink it. You have to just create and just throw it out there. And you have to know that part of being a creative person is trusting your gut and not overthinking. Because if you overthink it now, it's not really creative anymore. Now it's contrived, right? So I try to just be like, hey, if I feel this way about something, somebody else probably does, too. And just trust that instinct. See if it sticks when I throw it on the wall, you know?

[Dave Jackson]

Now, the fun part of throwing things on the wall, gentlemen, if you've ever wondered what women talk about when they go into the bathroom together, that's kind of what this show is. And as a male, there are times when it just scares the bejesus out of me. And then I was freaked out when I heard because sometimes, again, it gets a little adult oriented. And then I heard this secret. And that was her mom listens to her show.

[Jaina Marie]

So initially, there were episodes that I came out with that were exceptionally cheeky. And I would even put at the beginning of the episode, mom, dad, this is not for you. But unfortunately, mom and dad are unfortunately very, very supportive, even when I don't want them to be. And so when I first started the show, my mom goes, listen, Jana, you don't need to be talking about all those hot dogs and donuts. You know, you don't have to be out there with all of that. And I said, mom, I really appreciate your feedback, but I am a grown woman, and you are not my target audience. I only have one mom and one dad. This is for the rest of the world. You don't have to listen. Then initially they were just like, you know, kind of cringing. Now my mom will send my sexiest episodes to her friends and say, you should give this a listen. It'll help you in the bedroom. So now my mom's just like, if this is what it takes for you to get in the private jet one day, Jana Marie, you tell your stories. That's what she always says.

[Dave Jackson]

I mentioned she's had 200 episodes. What's changed over that time?

[Jaina Marie]

Ooh, that's a good question. The editing is. I mean, you could hear the difference. You listen to episode one, right? And you listened to the most recent episode. The editing is completely night and day. Different in terms of just how elaborate the production value is. For sure. I would say my recording process is faster. I'm more comfortable on the mic. I remember episode one I record. I recorded probably 10 to 15 times before I finally sent it to Tim. And I was like, okay, is this good enough? And then I just learned to trust myself and trust the microphone. And now I can read very comfortably and send, you know, 10 minutes worth of audio all acted out and performed without overanalyzing, criticizing myself. There's just less self doubt, I would say.

[Dave Jackson]

So she's got the confidence to say just about anything. Is there anything she's ever held back?

[Jaina Marie]

The only thing that I don't feel comfortable maybe with is I Don't like if I don't know the why yet. So I'm not going to just sit and boo hoo into the microphone just for pity. I won't boo hoo into the microphone until what the reason was why afterwards, so that I know what I learned from it and I can share what I learned from it. But I'm not here for a pity party. I'm not going to just sit and be like, why? It's more like, hey, this horrible thing happened. But now I know why it had to happen that way. And I'm actually low key thankful for it because of how I came out on the other side.

[Dave Jackson]

Wow. For me, in a world where if you accidentally bump shoulders with someone at a concert and now they have to go get therapy, I love that attitude. So I wanted to get her attitude and her knowledge and her tips for new podcasters.

[Jaina Marie]

So everybody can write a story. Everybody can just, you know, blab into a microphone any kind of advice. But when you put your heart into something and you really let people know who you are, that's nothing that can be replaced by AI. So I let people really close to me, I share my personal life on my Instagram stories. People really feel like they get to know me. And so it's a relationship that my listener has with me personally that could not be replaced by a robot. So I think that that's a really important thing right now with the, I mean, there's fake podcasts now, which I'm in school now, and they make us listen to podcasts, but they're AI generated. And I'm just cringing the whole time like, you're really supporting AI generated podcasts when I'm here busting my butt trying to create a real human made human written full of heart podcast. It's, you know, it's really icky. But the thing that I will never be able to take away from us is heart. So that's, I think in my show is all heart, a thousand percent.

[Dave Jackson]

And speaking of AI, well, we have to talk about, of course, video. Video.

[Jaina Marie]

So the tricky thing with video, I did a couple where I, I went to Atlanta and I did some interviews and we did them in a set and we filmed it and we got the little, you know, the little snippets to put on Instagram and, and the snippets went viral and that was really cool. But I found that the snippets only helped my Instagram, it didn't help my podcast. So when I got, let's say 250,000 impressions and 3,000 likes. On the real post, it didn't. I didn't get more downloads on my podcast because of it. I just got a nice ego boost on my Instagram. But because of the way my show is with all of this editing, it's not like I'm just sitting, talking into a microphone with all the process that goes on behind the scenes. The only way I could put my show on YouTube would be if I created a player. You know, and maybe I make a cartoon avatar of myself and I put a player so you could have it on YouTube, but it would never be me, just my face talking into a microphone, because that's not what my show is.

[Dave Jackson]

And in my opinion, I think the show on video might be worse because the fun of her storytelling is it really triggers the theater of the mind, especially with Tim throwing in some sound effects.

[Jaina Marie]

I just want to be on the microphone. Not worried about is this. My best angle is my lighting, right? Can I really be myself if I'm worrying about how I'm looking the whole time? I love just being an ugly gremlin with my hair up in a messy bun, no makeup on. Maybe I'm crying, but I'm not worried about the appearance, you know, and that's just another part of the heart to my show is I just don't want that extra level of concern.

[Dave Jackson]

And for those of you that are saying, yeah, but everybody says you have to do video. Everybody has a name, and Its name is YouTube. And of course they want you to do video. The other thing about doing video is if you are going to do video, ladies, I would come up with a surname, which is a weird way of, you know, a fake name, because guys are creepy. And speaking of creepy guys, Jayna, have you run into any situations?

[Jaina Marie]

The one place that it does get kind of squeamish, I guess you could say, is just in the dating world, like, if somebody wanted to get to know me, they start listening to all these stories about me, and then they have these expectations of me based on what I've told. But I'm going, that was me 10 years ago. I'm not that Jaina anymore. Or like, the cringy things I've done for exes in the past. Like, I'm not doing that anymore. So there is that. Because people now, they'll meet you with an expectation, or, you know, I'll meet someone, and they treat me like I'm a celebrity, which is hilarious to me. But I'm like, no, I'm just a. Just A girl in a microphone. That's it. But so it does. It has. It would affect my dating life.

[Dave Jackson]

And one of the things that Jayna is great at is branding. And aside from Joe Pulizzi and Home Depot, Jayna owns the color orange.

[Jaina Marie]

I loved orange. I stuck with orange because I wanted my show to be a bold one for a bold woman. Right. And I felt like pink was too soft and red was too something. But orange is all about being eclectic, being a little bit weird, standing out, unapologetic, like the psychology behind the color. And so I just thought everything about orange was just. I just loved it. And so I started day one with everything orange.

[Dave Jackson]

And I mentioned we're going to get into some unique ideas. I've always told people that merch doesn't really work, but it does if you have a strong brand and you follow these steps from Jana.

[Jaina Marie]

I'll say that I'm doing a merch release, and then we take orders. And I've sold out twice within like 48 hours. Both of both times I've done it. And I would say if I was going to give advice to anyone trying to do merch, the number one thing is, like, if I wouldn't wear it, why would I sell it? It has to look cool enough. So I did this. I have big, lush energy on the chest, but I have a lightning bolt on the sleeves. Then I've got on the back, it says a podcast, a mindset, and a vibe on the back side corner. So it's not just like a typical, you know, and I did them in three different colors. So I do orange, black, and then gray with orange writing. And it's very, very on brand. Everybody knows that I do orange. So I get a lot of people being like, well, I have to have orange. So. And I wear my own merch a lot on my social media. So people see it and they're like, oh, well, I need to have that hoodie that she's always wearing. So if you're not going to be all in about it, you're not going to make it look cool, you're not going to actually promote it or wear it, then why would people buy it? I can't say the profit margins are great. I mean, let's say my hoodies, I would say, cost about $38 to print, and I was selling them for $80. It's like a. A little bit of a profit. But the main thing is I want people walking around wearing it, telling people about it, even if I made no profit of it. Off of it. I would want people wearing it. Right? And there's people who go, oh, every time I wear my hoodie, somebody asks me, what is that? It's the tribe vibes. It's like, I'm doing this thing, I'm trying to grow a tribe so let people feel like they're a part of it. And the other thing is you can't market it like, hey, do you want this T shirt? You have to market the feeling that's going to come with it. Do you want to feel like you're a part of what we're doing? Do you want to be a part of this tribe? Then grab the hoodie. So it's how you word it and it's how you market it and it's how you design it.

[Dave Jackson]

So again, she's not. Nothing against these places, but she's not using like fourth wall.

[Jaina Marie]

Yeah, I get them printed locally, so I do like a shopify. But as soon as you do a shopify, you only make, I think the profit is like 15% or something. But I knew that if I printed them myself, I could make double the profit. And the other thing is that what you can do if you're nervous about ordering them yourself because you go, oh, great, now I'm going to have a pile of extra larges and a pile of smalls. You just take pre orders so you get people to tell you what size and color they want. And then when you put the order in, you only order what is already sold so you actually don't lose any money. It can actually work out really nice if you just plan it properly.

[Dave Jackson]

I just listened to the local Cleveland radio station that is my hate listen. I tune in and go, oh, radio's awful. And that's what they were doing. They were doing pre orders for their hoodies. In just a minute, we're going to get into some of the more creative ways she promotes her show. Are you ready to take your podcasting dreams to the next level? Well, then look no further than the school of podcasting. With over 19 years of experience, I've helped countless individuals plan, launch, grow and monetize their podcasts the right way. My comprehensive courses cover everything from content creation to tackling technology, ensuring that you sound professional and confident. Join our awesome community of podcasters and access weekly group coaching and receive unlimited one on one consulting with me. Don't let your fear hold you back. With my 30 day money back guarantee, you can start your podcast risk free. Go to schoolofpodcasting.com join and be on your way to podcast success that schoolofpodcasting.com join. If you host a podcast, your website should work as hard as you on your episodes. At PodPage, we automatically create a beautiful professional site for your show, complete with episode pages, transcripts, audio players, SEO optimization, and building tools to grow your audience. No design work, no plugins, no ongoing maintenance. In less than a minute, you can see exactly what your podcast would look like on PodPage. Go to podpage.com preview and generate your free preview site right now. See your show the way it should [e-mail] preview and so when I first met Jayna, this was one of the topics we talked about, and that was the interesting way she promotes her show.

[Jaina Marie]

So the advice that you always get is be a guest on other people's podcasts. And I can say that that has spiked my listenership. When I went onto good podcasts with good following and I was a good guest, I didn't just, you know, I was interesting and well spoken and I had fun stories. I did get a spike from being on other shows. However, now that that's the advice that everybody already knows about, I feel like nobody really wants guests on their show. Or say, someone like me, for example, I get probably three to five people trying to pitch themselves on my show weekly, and I don't even have a guest show.

[Dave Jackson]

All right, you know, I gotta pop in here because I'm doing the show now. If you get a bad pitch, fire up your microphone, record the bad pitch, explain why it's a bad pitch, and, and then let me know what your perfect guest would be. And of course, tell me a little bit about your show and your website. Find [e-mail] Back to Jaina.

[Jaina Marie]

So I had to find unique ways to market because if I want to be on someone's show, most of the time, they want to be on my show in return. But if I don't see that person as bringing value to my listener, I don't even want to do that exchange because I just don't want to do my listeners dirty just for the simple fact of me being on someone else's show. So first up, probably the weirdest thing that I've done is I started because my show is a relationship and dating podcast. I started dating bios in like, Tinder and Bumble and stuff, saying in my bio that I am a podcast host with a link to my podcast. And so all these guys who are like, interested in me listen to the show in order to, in order to Approach me. So I get downloads from people being like, I listen to your show. I'm like, oh, that's nice. Keep listening. So I have dating bios with the links on it. And.

[Dave Jackson]

Or.

[Jaina Marie]

And lots of those guys will say, I told my sister about your show, or I told other girls I'm dating about your show. So that works really well in church. When I grew up in church, we called it flirt to convert.

[Dave Jackson]

As I always say, go to where your potential audience is, make friends, and then tell them about your show.

[Jaina Marie]

So I made dating bios. I've also gone to trade shows that would have a lot of potential listeners at them. And I made a booth at a trade show, and I sat there and talked to basically one person at a time and told them about my podcast. I did that. I did that in Atlanta, and it did really well.

[Dave Jackson]

How do you grow your audience one listener at a time? I love that one. What show was it?

[Jaina Marie]

So this was actually called the makeup show. And. But it's mostly. It was mostly all women there, and I knew that because I'm a makeup artist with a podcast, obviously, that did really well. I've also paid to have little marketing cards for my podcast put in the swag bags at other trade shows. So wedding shows, women's empowerment trade shows. So I will put. I have these little cards about my podcast, and on the back it says five episodes we'd like to recommend for whoever that audience is. So we put these little cards into the swag bag so people go home with information about my podcast in five, and it'll say, here's something to listen to on your drive home, and it'll be five episodes that we recommend that are relating to whatever that. Whatever they're at trade show for. That's been really, really helpful as well. And I know because I keep track of the QR codes.

[Dave Jackson]

Got to jump in here. My favorite QR maker and link tracker is Switchy. I'll put a link in the show notes. You buy it once and use it for Lifetime.

[Jaina Marie]

Also putting the branding on my car because people are sitting in traffic listening to podcasts. So if you put your podcast on your car with decals, people are sitting in their car needing something to listen to. So that's been very helpful.

[Dave Jackson]

I know I've used Sticker Mule to make a sticker of my website that goes across the bottom of my back window. You're talking about putting a QR code on your trunk or something.

[Jaina Marie]

Yeah, and branding, like, here's some hype for your drive home. From work with a QR code on the back of my car. Listen on Apple and Spotify Big Lash Energy, because we're sitting in traffic. Why am I not gonna advertise my podcast?

[Dave Jackson]

And I just looked up my sticker mule order. It was 13 bucks for the decal from my back window.

[Jaina Marie]

So I have come up with some things. Cause I was paying companies to advertise my show or to do PR for me. Just felt like people didn't really know where to put me because I have such a variety of content. So I was like, all right, I guess I gotta do this myself. So that's what I've been doing. And it has been working well so far. I would say I get well over 10,000 downloads a month, like, easily. And my show, I'm at close to a million downloads, I would say now for the course of my show. But.

[Dave Jackson]

And you heard at the beginning, she's never missed a Wednesday. So when you consistently publish, this happens.

[Jaina Marie]

My downloads are so consistent. Every single Wednesday, the exact same people, a number of people listen on Wednesday. The exact same people listen on Thursday. They show up, they notice if my episode's late, they give me feedback. So it's like, I feel very, very blessed to have a very hearty, robust, and engaged audience, which is very rewarding.

[Dave Jackson]

And when you have that engaged audience and you start to sell merch, you might get comments like this.

[Jaina Marie]

Because my show, like I said, I've never put an ad on, and my listeners know very well how hard I'm working. There were people who were like, can I just. I'm just gonna send you $100, I don't even need a hoodie. Or, or I want a hoodie, but I'm sending you $200. Or like, people just wanted to give me money as a thank you for, you know, the entertainment.

[Dave Jackson]

In podcasting, you'll often hear this referred to as value for value. I've given you value. You give some of that value back.

[Jaina Marie]

It's nice to give people the opportunity to do that if they want. I mean, it's a, it's a exchange of energy, right? They're like, I listen every single Wednesday. The very least I could do is pitch in.

[Dave Jackson]

And here's one that makes a lot of people nervous. But I'm here to tell you that John Lee Dumas, who made so much money he moved to Puerto Rico with his podcast, had a meet up. And I believe he had somewhere between four and six people.

[Jaina Marie]

Last year, I threw an in person event. It was called a Galentine's hot Yoga. I gave a little talk. The tickets sold out in 48 hours. That made like some really good money. I think I probably made $3,000 that day from ticket sales. So those sorts of things can also be a good way to brand your show because then what happens is people go to these events and then they post. I'm at this big lush energy, you know, Galentine's yoga thing. And then people, what's big lush energy? So it's just creating hype around everything you're doing. I also threw a mariachi. I threw a taco party at a big beautiful house with a big pool and I had a mariachi band come in and tacos and all my BLE listeners were there. There a hundred people came out. So there's, there's things you could do where I might not have ads, but if I say I'm doing something, people show up.

[Dave Jackson]

So when I heard how lucrative that was, I was like, well, give me some more insight into this private party.

[Jaina Marie]

So the first live event that I did was my friend was kind enough to lend me her giant backyard in this big beautiful home with her pool. So that one my, the venue was given to me and for that I just was like, okay, what would I want to do if I came to a party? So we did a trivia game where we had like who's the best blee bestie? And then we did like a game and then you won merch and there was food and drink and there was stickers and stuff for everybody in swag. And we had a deejay so as a dance floor and everybody ended up in the hot tub. It was, it was so much fun. Everybody came wearing orange and I had a huge printout of my podcast cover beside the pool and orange balloons everywhere. It was really, really, really beautiful. The Galentine's event there was the hot yoga, but I gave a talk beforehand and then I. It was because it was Galentine's. I gave sexy toys away to people based on questions that I asked and stuff. So there was some kind of games and then all the ladies got a permanent bracelet with a lightning bolt because that's in my logo. So every woman left with like a permanent gold bracelet that was included in the price. So it was this beautiful. And a hand tied bouquet of flowers. So everyone got a bouquet of flowers, the hot yoga, a bracelet, a pep talk, and a really beautiful hot yoga class.

[Dave Jackson]

This is a great lesson. When you get your community together, give them something that they can then share with their community. This comes for, at least for me, from Penn and Teller. The magicians out in Las Vegas, they spend hours in the lobby taking pictures with people to share out on social media. And Jayna did something very similar at

[Jaina Marie]

the first party I threw. At the pool party, we had a recording booth area where listeners could go and record a little message to me or to the other bla besties. And then I put those in an episode. So it was like, hey, oh, my gosh, I'm a huge fan. I love your show. So we had little. Like, a little recording area for people.

[Dave Jackson]

When I was in a band back. I mean, way back in the day before, like, when digital cameras were measured in megapixels, because, you know, it's like, ooh, your camera wasn't in your phone yet. I would take pictures of people that came out to my band and put it on the website, and people would go to the website to see their picture and then tell their friends, look, I'm on the Internet. And speaking of the Internets, what does Jana do between episodes to promote her show?

[Jaina Marie]

I will do throwback links to episodes that, for example, someone sent me a DM going, oh, my goodness, I just went through a breakup with a best friend. I've had your episode 75 on repeat because it's helped me through this hard time. So I take a screenshot of that. I put that in my Instagram story with a link to that episode and a link to another episode about friends that I did. So I'm like, oh, if you like that, you might also like this. So I'm constantly posting my engagement with my listeners on my stories. So the more engagement I get about an episode, the more my viewers go. Everybody seems to be talking about this episode. I think I need to listen to it. So I kind of use the feedback to help get more downloads. So I don't put any compliment from anybody to waste.

[Dave Jackson]

And if you're thinking, crap, I need to start writing these down, they'll be out at schoolofpodcasting.com 1026 and. And notice the makeup person who is female is doing a lot of stuff on Instagram. Go to where your audience is. People always ask me, what social should I use? I'm assuming Jane is on Instagram, and so that's where she is, and that's where a lot of her audience is.

[Jaina Marie]

I also show people the process of me creating my next episode. So I'll be like, all right, guys, I'm sitting down. I'm writing. It's on the way. So I just build up hype throughout the week. For the next one, I'll also post, like, celebrities wearing orange pretending, like, here's Drake waiting for Wednesday. Like, I do all these kind of things. Like, I bet you didn't know that Alanis Morissette is a huge, big, lush energy fan because she's in an orange leather jacket or whatever. So I'm constantly just, like, creating hype that's, like, not even necessarily there, but I just create my own hype around everything.

[Dave Jackson]

I actually just forwarded a picture of Steve Stevens, better known as Billy Idol's guitar player, and he had a T shirt on that said Based on a True Story. And Dan Lefebvre does a great show called Based on a True Story. If you're into history and movies, Based on a True Story podcast. But I'm like, dan, look, you have a fan. And I think that's a fun little way. That's kind of cheeky, but fun to say. Look, they listen to my podcast even when, like, in the case of Alanis Morissette, maybe not, but she was wearing the colors, and that's close enough. I wanted to go back to her storytelling and her writing because we can edit and edit and edit, and when we're done with that, we'll edit some more. So how do you know when something is done when you're like, yep, this is ready for the public?

[Jaina Marie]

I remember at the end of every episode of Full House, they always end up ended up in Michelle's bedroom. And she would teach everyone a lesson, and it was always this, like, I don't like to sound like every episode has a lesson, but there has to be a purpose to the story.

[Dave Jackson]

All right, brothers and sisters, I have to bust in here. I always hear people go, yeah, it's me and a buddy or whatever. We're doing real conversations. But I'm just here to tell you that not every conversation needs to be public. I talked to my friend earlier today. We talked about guitars, what he's going to play in church, and the fact that I had to pay for a new tire on my car. Not every conversation, even if it's real, has to be public. And I love the fact that, yes, she has a story, and yes, it's real, and yes, hallelujah, it has a purpose. All right, back to Jayna. I'll calm down.

[Jaina Marie]

So I'm always. I always have the purpose to the story. For example, Seema's story. It was.

[Dave Jackson]

I'm gonna break in here. Seema was a friend of Jaina's who was in a pretty bad relationship, listening

[Jaina Marie]

to the voice, that your inner voice, and knowing, you know, knowing when to listen or when to stand up for yourself. So I'm thinking about that through the whole story of pointing out the times she didn't point, you know, and I have all these little through lines. So if it doesn't reinforce the point at the end, then it's just noise to me. Or if it's not really entertaining, like, again, does it make you laugh, learn, or cry? Otherwise, it's just fluff.

[Dave Jackson]

In her last episode, which just ripped my heart out, Jayna was talking about how she went to a podcast event. And while she was there, one of her biggest supporters of the show and a really good friend died suddenly. And she just talked about it on the show. And yep, you hear her cry. It was real, it was kind of sweet, and it was brutally honest. And at the end, there was again, kind of a point, which was, you don't know when your number's going to get called. And it really had me thinking and feeling. And yes, even on an episode about someone dying, she had me giggle in a couple places. So I always say, right, if you can make people laugh, cry, think grown, educate, or entertain, if you can save them time, if you can save them money, you can do multiples of those like she did, you're gonna find yourself in a good episode. And so, yes, I, a male, am listening to Big Lash Energy, which makes me one of the enlightened males.

[Jaina Marie]

I always call the men who listen the enlightened ones because there is a lot of advice that it could be very, very, very helpful.

[Dave Jackson]

And it may also scare you away from dating ever. There was one episode about hot dogs and donuts and how some women pretend to that they really don't like hot dogs. And I was like, I am. This is information I didn't want to know. I kind of thought it, but I was like, oh, my goodness. So, yeah, there's some really interesting information there. And one of the things that happened during this talk was I always say, you never know. You know, you're talking into a microphone in a spare bedroom and you have no idea the effects you have on people. We've had people, and we'll have Janus because of my podcast story here in a minute. But things happen because you had a podcast and this made. She talked about coffee and compliments. Well, I didn't have any coffee, so she supplied the compliments.

[Jaina Marie]

No, thank you. I do have to, before we run out of time. I have to Say that before I ever hit record, I knew that I had a decent enough audience that people would listen, but they'd only give me one shot. Very Eminem. You got one shot to make an impression. So I was very afraid of hitting record and not having at least a certain level of, you know, good quality. So I studied podcasting for a full year before I ever hit record. And I was, like, probably your number one student that never sent you any feedback, because I listened to every one of your episodes, trying to learn as much as I could about podcasting before I hit record because I didn't want to disappoint people. I didn't want them to listen and then turn away. So I have huge thank you to you for. There was your show, and then just one tip by Tim Wahlberg, who ended up being my editor. These two podcasts I listened to morning, noon, and night. Yeah. So honestly, I just didn't want to waste a good opportunity of a first. A first. Pray sorry. A first play. Right. And so you mean so much that you talked about knowing your avatar and knowing who you're talking to and being direct with your message and all the. Everything you talked about. I've listened, took notes, and then when I finally hit record, I had you to thank. So I guess I didn't send any feedback via a DM on Instagram, but I figure I may as well just come on your show and say it myself.

[Dave Jackson]

I'm so glad she did, but there's more. That's right. Probably one of the most unique. Welcome to because of My Podcast, where we spotlight the results people are achieving because of their podcast.

[Jaina Marie]

Because of my podcast, I found out that my husband was cheating our whole marriage. So someone had my show recommended to them, and she was listening to my stories, and the more she listened to my stories, the more she realized I was sleeping with her husband. And so she just messaged me one day and was like, hey, I just wanted to let you know, like you mentioned in one of your stories, you had a feeling that your husband was cheating on you. Well, he was, and it was with me. And it was seven years after I'd been separated from him. And so seven years later, I found out that I'd been being cheated on my whole marriage.

[Dave Jackson]

And, wow, that is definitely something.

[Jaina Marie]

Because of my podcast. I would have never known.

[Dave Jackson]

Definitely gets most unique, as always. If you're talking Jana, you're talking unique.

[Jaina Marie]

Thank you. That's what I'm all about, being unique. I love that.

[Dave Jackson]

And now it's time for a Twin spin.

[Jaina Marie]

Also because of my podcast, a listener heard my story about adopting my daughter and gave her a fully paid scholarship to college. Hooray. That's also because of my podcast.

[Dave Jackson]

Holy cow. Well, Jaina Marie, BigLash Podcast.com is where you can find her. The show is called Big Lash energy [e-mail] and thank you so much for coming on.

[Jaina Marie]

No, thank you. I can't wait to hear the episode. Hopefully it's okay for you.

[Dave Jackson]

Are you kidding me?

[Jaina Marie]

Bye.

[Dave Jackson]

Now, I know I broke in a lot, but I have a lot of other things I want to say about that talk. Things that you might have missed, and I'm going to get to that right after this.

[Jaina Marie]

Ooh, now that's a good question.

[Dave Jackson]

This is a oldie but a goodie. We do this at least once a year, usually in January. We kind of put it off a little bit so you can think about it. Here we are in 2026. What are your top podcasting pet peeves? Just the one that, like, ugh. Either makes you hit fast forward, some cases makes you swipe left, and then hit delete. Sometimes makes you hit the unfollow button. What are those top podcasting pet peeves? I need your answer by March 27, 2026. And of course, don't forget to tell us a little bit about your show and include your website address. Simply go to schoolofpodcasting.com? by March 27th. The link is in the show notes. All right, the first thing I want to talk about, she said she didn't have imposter syndrome and she shouldn't, and I know she's going to school. And look, I did the same thing when I had been teaching for decades and I went to get an actual job in teaching. My original degree was in electronic engineering, and I had to go back to school to get a teaching degree. But in my head, she's got a doctorate from the school of Hard Knocks, and so if anybody ever gave her any kind of, you know, crap about that, it'd be like that. The other thing I wanted to point out is this is a podcast that's not a chat show. And so if she did video, she'd have to completely change the way she did her show, which might make it worse. So keep that in mind. And the key to merch is pre orders. Yeah, I love that. And the last thing, we didn't even talk about this. She has great titles that just make you want to click. Everything we talked about will be at schoolofpodcasting.com 10:26 I'll have a couple links to some episodes that I listened to. I mentioned her first one. There's some really great episodes about how she adopted her daughter. It's just a really. And this is the bottom line. She's interesting. And I think part of that is just her personality and she is just being herself. And that's weird because I can't teach get a personality. I can tell you to be more outgoing. I can tell you. But some of this I think is just that's what makes you you. If you're new to the show. I'm a guitar player and it's not the gear, it's the hands that make a guitar player a guitar player. One of a story where I know two people that got to play through Eddie Van Halen, one of the world's most popular and greatest guitar players. They got to play his guitar through his stuff. And and when they did, they're like, crap, I still sound like me. Because it's not the gear. And I think in Jayna's case, just it's her personality that shines through along with the heart of a servant and the fact that she's either going to make you laugh, cry, or educate you in some way. And I love the fact that she doesn't turn on the microphone until she's ready and she knows what she's going to say where I think so many people are like, well, let's get together and we'll just have a chat and then we'll edit out the boring parts. I think that's probably the person that's like, man, it takes me 12 hours to get a finished episode out. Yeah, because you don't know where you're going when you have a clear idea of who your audience is and what would educate, entertain, make them cry, laugh, grown, think grown. You know, my whole thing on that, I think she's really hit the nail on the head and that's why her show is growing. When you say you have a million downloads and she's only been going three years. Holy cow. So I will have links to everything [e-mail] 1026 and it is kind of weird to think there's a little bit of my thumbprint is on that. It was so nice of her to say those nice things. And if you would like some help with your podcast, you know where to go. Schoolofpodcasting.com use the coupon code listener when you sign up for either a monthly, quarterly or yearly Subscription now running on PodPage. If you haven't seen the PodPage town hall, we just released six new features. And if you're tired of WordPress plugins and tired of backups and Word fence and everything else, you might want to look at PodPage. So thanks so much for tuning in. I'm Dave Jackson. I help podcasters. It's what I do. Been doing it for over two decades, and I would love to see what we can do together. And until next week, take care and God bless. Class is dismissed. If you like the show, please share it with a friend. If you like the show, pretty, pretty please share it with a friend right now. All right. Not really a blooper, but more of a behind the scenes. And I was going to start the show off with this story, and it's not a good opener, but it's a decent closer, I think. And that is the first time I went to interview Jana Marie, I had, to be completely honest, not done my homework. And so I ran to ChatGPT and I said, hey, I'm interviewing Jaina Marie from Big Lash Energy. Give me some questions that no one has asked her. And it did. And they seemed like good questions. And then that night we had technical difficulties, so we rescheduled. And during that time, I then went and did the work and listened to our episode and realized that, yes, those questions had never been asked, but they weren't anywhere. It had totally. If we were mining for oil, it completely like that was a dry well. When I knew what her show was about, when I'd listened to quite a few episodes, because once you listen to one, you want to listen to more. And so here again, it seemed like AI had come to the rescue. Want to use it to polish what you already did? Well, the problem was I hadn't did anything. I didn't do my homework, and I knew she had some stories and we were going to go from there by doing the work. I had much better questions. Why? Because I have a heart and emotions and I don't think AI really got the gist of her show. One more tip from the school of podcasting.

[Jaina Marie]

Yeah,