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Welcome to the introductory episode of my new podcast, Write With Impact! My name is Glenn Leibowitz, and I’ll be your host and guide.

This is “Episode 0″, my “About this podcast episode”, where I tell you what this podcast is all about and what you can expect to get out of it. I’ll also talk a little bit about who I am.

What am I trying to achieve with this podcast?

I have three main goals for this podcast:

First, I want to help you become a better writer by providing actionable strategies, tips and resources. It’s my hope that with each episode, you’ll learn something new, or get a useful tip or resource, that can in some way help you to improve your writing, to have more impact with your writing (I’ll talk more on what I mean by “impact” a little later in this episode).

Second, this podcast will be a platform for convening writers of all stripes. I’ll talk to them about their work, dive into their strategies and processes, and try to identify the sources of inspiration that fuel their work. I’ll ask them to break things down for us and shed some light on how they approach a piece of writing, how they manage their own workflow, what kind of processes they’ve learned work best for them, and who inspired them to become a writer. Serious stuff, I know, but I also hope we can share a few laughs during the show. Writing can be fun, after all, and talking about writing equally so.

And third, ultimately, I would also like to build a community of like-minded people, people like yourself, who love to write, who love to read about writing, and who love to talk about writing.

Those are, in a nutshell, the goals for this podcast. But there’s more to this, of course. I’ll take a few minutes to unpack these goals and add some more texture around what this is all about, and why I’m doing this.

 

Content

One of the biggest areas I’ll be focusing on in this podcast will be strategies, techniques, processes and habits behind good writing. I’ll be diving deep with my guests into how they approach their own writing, what processes and techniques they use to generate new material on a regular basis, and what they do to turn it into something they feel is ready to publish and share with the world.

Another topic I’ll explore in this podcast is publishing and marketing your writing. It’ll be about how to build a platform, how to attract your tribe, and how to get published. There are a number of great resources out there, including podcasts, that cover these topics. I won’t shy away from these topics just because others are talking about them. I’ll be sharing what has worked for me, what I’ve learned from expert marketers and publishers, and distill these down into a set of strategies, techniques and tips that you can apply to your own efforts.

I’ll also delve into topics that may not seem at first glance as being inherently about writing, yet for which writing is still an essential component. Writing is the the fuel for all other content you create, whether it’s a podcast, video, blog, presentation, social media post, or pay-per-click ad. All of these different types of content start with writing, so I’ll talk about those as well.

A fourth topic that I’ll cover is how to tap into sources of inspiration that can help your writing. I’ll tackle a mix of existential and practical questions like, Why write? How can you discover — and develop — your writing voice? You’ll hear stories from writers who have overcome challenges and busted through obstacles and somehow made it to the end of the tunnel to become the writers they are today.

A final point about the content of this podcast: while I’ve chosen to focus mainly on non-fiction writing, I believe there’s much that non-fiction writers can learn from the craft of fiction, so I’ll occasionally interview authors of novels and short stories, and authors who have written about famous novelists. I’ll delve into the approaches great writers have taken toward the craft, and examine their writing habits and processes, with the hope that we can learn something from them.

 

Format

Let me also say a few words about format. I love listening to all sorts of podcasts, whether they’re interviews with experts or so-called solo episodes where the podcaster dives deep into a particular topic. So I’ve decided to use both formats for the show. And I plan to post new episodes every Monday and Thursday.

To give you a taste for what’s to come, here are some of the people I interviewed for the first few episodes: a best-selling author of ebooks on Amazon; an author of a book about how to write anything; an author of a book about the writing process of great writers; a senior editor at an influential journal on politics and society; a content marketer who publishes across a range of formats and through different channels in order to build community and drive sales of premium products and services. And there will be many more to come.

In addition to interviews, I’ll release episodes where it’s just me and the microphone. I’ll be calling these Write With Impact Coffeecasts. These are episodes where it’s just me breaking down a topic about writing, marketing, or publishing. Something I’ve learned along the way that I think could be helpful to you, the listener. Imagine sitting down in a coffee shop with me, ordering your favorite style of coffee (I like mine black), and listening to my take on things.

You can even ask me questions which I may either play on a future episode if you record it for me, or I’ll read it out, if you send it to me by email. Go to writewithimpact.com/ask for instructions on how to do this.

 

About the name, Write With Impact

The show is called Write With Impact: three compact, punchy words that, by their very sound, connote the meaning and intent of the words themselves.

While I’ll make the occasional dabble into the realm of fiction, in general, this will be less about writing your first novel, and more about taking your writing skills to the next level. Structure, style, usage, grammar — sure, we’ll talk about the tools of writing.

But this won’t just be about the mechanics of writing, as important as that all is. I’ll be talking a lot about getting your writing in front of more readers, and having more impact with them.

I’ll talk about about honing your copywriting skills so you can attract more readers and generate more reader engagement.

I’ll talk about how to write business proposals, letters, and emails that wow your readers and make them want to take the sort of action you’re hoping they will take.

I’ll talk about how to publish your first (or second) ebook — non-fiction or fiction. It’s a topic that’s being covered pretty widely already, I know, but judging by the continuous stream of questions I’m seeing about how to actually do it effectively — and given the fast-changing nature of this exploding industry (the self-publishing industry, I mean) — I think there’s still much to be learned and shared and discussed and debated.

Okay, so that’s what we’ll be talking about with regard to writing. But what about the word “impact”? I think you can interpret “impact” in a number of ways. Impact could mean persuading your reader to take a certain action. Pretty common need I think for all of us, isn’t it.

Impact could be changing how your reader thinks about an issue, regardless of whether they take any sort of action.

Impact could be about evoking an emotion in your reader.

Impact could be motivating your reader to buy whatever it is you’re trying to sell, whether it be a product or service of some sort.

As you can see, I’m defining this word quite broadly, and I do that intentionally. That’s because most of us, at one point or another during our writing lives, need to achieve different types of impact with our writing, depending on our objectives, our audiences, and the forms and channels we use to deliver our writing.

So that’s a little about what the title of this podcast means.

 

Why did I decide to launch this podcast?

So why did I decide to do this podcast? First, I love to write. And I love to publish what I write. I also love to read good writing. And I love to read about how good writers produce good writing.

I remember as a kid I once asked my parents for a printing press for my birthday. Yeah, a printing press, right. I think I was inspired by a biography I had read of Benjamin Franklin, who was by trade a printer.

I never did get my own printing press, but I’m fairly satisfied now that I have WordPress and so many other excellent platforms for publishing my ideas.

I’m very lucky: for me, writing is both occupation and hobby. As an occupation, writing is literally my bread and butter. I write and edit reports, essays, blog posts, video scripts, web copy, and much more.

But writing for me is much more than a job. I love to turn my ideas into words on my screen, and I love to see the reaction my words have on people.

I also love to read about writers: what inspired them, what path they took toward becoming a writer, and how — and why — they continue to pursue their craft in an increasingly noisy and crowded marketplace for ideas.

I’m passionate about spreading the word about the impact of good writing and the potential all of us have to become better writers, from whatever starting point we may be working from.

The other reason why I decided to launch this podcast is because, well, I love podcasts. Podcasts are a powerful medium for communicating complex ideas in a way that — with all due respect to the written word, and the irony is not lost on me here — writing can’t.

The spoken word has such a visceral and emotional and immediate impact on the listener. After listening to a few episodes of a favorite podcast — especially after binge listening to all of the episodes of my favorite podcast — I feel I know so much about the host. They become a friend of sorts, someone who is voicing thoughts that I secretly share, but haven’t had the guts or the time or whatever to share them.

They are also amazingly mobile. I can listen to my favorite podcasts while I’m ironing my shirts before I go to work, waiting in line for my lunch, or a dozen other tasks that would otherwise consume the time in-between work and play.

 

How can you support the podcast?

There are a few ways you can support this podcast.

First, subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, or Soundcloud. That way you’ll get one of those little dots on the Write With Impact graphic that signals when I’ve released another episode.

Second, please leave a rating and review. By leaving a rating and review on iTunes, you’re telling the editors there (and they do have editors behind the scenes) that this is a podcast that people are listening to and want more of. This could make it more visible in the iTunes store, and will give it a fighting chance among the thousands of other podcasts jostling for attention.

Third, go to writewithimpact.com and sign-up for my newsletter so you can find out when I’m publishing a new episode, or a new blog post, or offering something that I think might be of interest to you. You can pick up a free checklist with some of my writing strategies at writewithimpact.com/gift.

Fourth, share the podcast and individual episodes on social media. It does a lot to help introduce the show to people, and I’m very grateful for each and every share. I like to reciprocate the social media “love” you show by following back and sharing your content as well. You can find Write With Impact on Twitter @impactfulwriter Also please head over and like our page: facebook.com/writewithimpact so you can keep track of what’s happening with the podcast and the blog.

 

Who am I?

Well, I happen to do a lot of different things. I’m a writer, editor, digital marketer, podcaster, PR guy, videographer, and more. But let me get more specific.

By day, I manage the external communications, publishing and digital marketing for a global consulting firm in Greater China. Through my work I’ve written or edited hundreds of articles, blog posts, research papers, and books. I’ve been heading up marketing for an Amazon best-selling book about doing business in China over the past year. I’ve also produced a podcast about Chinese business for the past three and a half years with nearly a million downloads so far, so podcasting isn’t exactly a new thing for me.

You can find out more about me by checking out my back story over at writewithimpact.com/backstory.

 

Fine print

One thing I’d like to mention is that I may use affiliate links to some of the books and products mentioned on the show. This means I receive a nominal commission if you click on one of the links in my show notes and on my website, and then buy something. It doesn’t impact the price of the products to you. But it does help cover some of the costs of producing the show and is therefore much appreciated.

Another thing I should note is that this is a personal project that I do completely in my spare time, and is not supported nor endorsed by my firm. So the views expressed either by myself or the folks I interview do not represent those of my firm.

How can you reach me?

I’d really like to hear from you. Let me know what you think about the show. Ask me questions. Give me suggestions.

Go to writewithimpact.com/ask and leave me a voice message, or just drop me an email at glenn@writewithimpact.com

 

Shout outs

I’d like to give a shout out to Roger Houdaille, the lead singer of Ex Norwegian, who allowed me to use his incredible song Something Unreal, portions of which I use for the intro and outro music to each episode. I’ll play the full song here with lyrics, and encourage you to buy it on iTunes. Head over to their website to find their complete discography and other goodies at exnorwegian.com.

John Lee Dumas and Kate Erickson over at Entrepreneur on Fire. John and Kate are helping thousands of people around the world to create great podcasts and webinars, and you can find them at eofire.com.

Tim Paige, the amazing voice talent who did my intro and outro. He has a fantastic podcast called Conversion Cast. You can find Tim at timthepaige.com.

Gregg Clunis provided great help with the intro and outro as well. He’s at greggclunis.com.

Aaron Pierson is my designer and branding advisor who designed the logo and other graphics you see on my podcast and website. He rocks. He’s at aaronpierson.com.

Above all, I’d like to thank my family, who have been incredibly patient and supportive while I’ve been hooking up all kinds of strange-looking equipment and getting tangled in wires and staying glued to my laptop at odd hours of the night.

 

Thank you

Thanks for listening to this inaugural episode of Write With Impact. I hope you’ll join me on this journey. Now on to the podcast!