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Kelly Palace talks about Champion’s Mojo Podcast and digital age (Includes interview)

“We just recorded our 42nd episode, where 38 are published,” she said. “We are almost one year into the podcast and going strong. Our show is weekly, coming out like clockwork every Tuesday morning. We are really looking forward to 2020 being an amazing year for Champion’s Mojo.”

On her inspiration to start this podcast, she said, “As an avid listener and lover of podcasts myself, I could not find a swimming/motivational podcast that dug a bit deeper than the X’s and O’s of swimming and unlocked the mindset, motivation, and magic or ‘mojo’ of champions. I wanted to listen to deeper conversations with Champions and what sets them apart. We saw a need in this area and decided to start our own show to fill this niche. My podcast co-host is my best friend and sister-in-law, Maria Parker.”

“Besides our family connection, Maria and I share the commonality of both being world-class and world-record-holding athletes, successful businesswomen, and leaders that enjoy helping others. For decades we have had conversations that support one another to achieve big goals. We wanted to share our own conversations, and conversations with other champions, with a wide audience to inspire and motivate them,” she elaborated.

On her proudest moments with the Champion’s Mojo Podcast, she said, “Our ability to book big names on our show by making the guest’s experience first-class. We love making our guests look good and allowing them a great venue to share their magic (or mojo) with our listeners. We’re probably most proud of the quality product that we produce.”

“We put a lot of time and effort into pre-interview prep and research, into professional production from sound engineering and design to having a paid production team. But the guest and listener experience is most important and the feedback has been excellent, so we’re proud of that,” she said.

When asked about some of their stand-out interviews, she said, “We have so many great interviews, but I think the top three interviews so far are Mel Stewart, Olympic Gold Medalist and co-founder of SwimSwam; Summer Sanders, Olympic
Gold Medalist and TV Broadcast Personality and Lewis Pugh, Endurance Ice Water Swimmer and UN Ambassador of the Oceans.”

“Also, it was a pretty cool moment when management from one of the International Swim League’s (ISL) Pro Teams reached out to us saying they loved our podcast,” she exclaimed.

On the impact of technology on the contemporary media/podcast landscape, she said, “On the upside, because of technology we can produce a great show with contributors in four different places at once. We can have the interviewee be at one location, Maria and I in two different locations and then our production team with audio engineer and producer in a fourth location; and it all comes out like we were in one place.”

“This is just fantastic and gives us access to almost anyone around the globe. When we first wanted to interview Lewis Pugh for the show we assumed it would be over the Internet because he lives in South Africa. Then after a little communication, he said he would be in Boston in the next couple of weeks for a visit. We decided to meet him in Boston instead. The honor and energy of meeting him in person was amazing,” she said.

“This brings me to the downside of technology which is that no amount of Internet or technological connection can beat a face-to-face with a fellow human being. Another downside of new podcasting technology is that everyone and their brother can produce a podcast, which can result in some poor quality products. I think this is why quality is so important to us,” she underscored.

Regarding the key to a good podcast, she said, “No doubt first and foremost is great content on each show. Talking about what you had for breakfast won’t hold listeners for long, so great content consistently. Delivering what listeners are hungry for is important. People like stories, laughter, motivation, inspiration and to be educated, but in a way where they can draw their own conclusions. As Hosts, being really prepared, knowing your guests and being willing to go off script and go where the interview takes you instead of moving down a list of questions is important. This is something we strive to do.”

On being a podcaster in the digital age, she said, “For me, the digital age is an age of infinite possibilities. Because of the digital nature of podcasting, it is a product that is evergreen and can be consumed at the users’/listeners’ desire giving a choice of time, location and device. We can reach people via ten different podcast platforms, YouTube, Facebook, and all the social media outlets. Podcasting is like a radio show on your own schedule and I think that is part of the magic of podcasting.”

For young and aspiring podcasters, she encouraged them to “have good content.” “Choose a topic that you are passionate about. Be consistent, building listeners takes time. According to Todd Cochrane from Blubrry, 75 percent of podcasts are no longer in production, a phenomenon known as ‘pod fade.’ Separately, Chartable’s hosting data suggests only 16 percent of podcasts on the podcast host Anchor have published more than nine episodes. So keep doing it,” she said.

She listed Caitlyn Jenner and Rich Roll as her dream athlete interviews for her podcast.

To learn more about Champion’s Mojo Podcast, check out its official website, and check out their YouTube page and follow them on Twitter and on Facebook.

Markos Papadatos
Written By

Markos Papadatos is Digital Journal's Editor-at-Large for Music News. Papadatos is a Greek-American journalist and educator that has authored over 20,000 original articles over the past 18 years. He has interviewed some of the biggest names in music, entertainment, lifestyle, magic, and sports. He is a 16-time "Best of Long Island" winner, where for three consecutive years (2020, 2021, and 2022), he was honored as the "Best Long Island Personality" in Arts & Entertainment, an honor that has gone to Billy Joel six times.

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