Humor, pop culture, and gossip. The team from Zero Dark Nerdy are no strangers to these topics. They host a weekly pop culture podcast that reaches audiences around the world. Thanks to the advent of streaming media, people can listen to their podcast practically anywhere.
The popularity of podcasts continues to grow and you can find a podcast about almost any topic. According to Edison Research in 2020, “podcasts now reach over 100 million Americans every month.”
Through podcasts, stories are being told, both to broad and niche audiences. As technology allows for more curated content, creators are finding new footing that they may not have had before. We recently spoke with Brian Hernadez, the host of Zero Dark Nerdy about the podcast and the ever-growing world of streaming media. Here’s what Brian had to say.
Thanks for speaking with us Brian. Can you tell us about yourself and your podcast Zero Dark Nerdy?
Brian: I'm a father of a great 19-year-old girl who's in film school at the University of North Carolina - Wilmington. I'm also a pop culture fanatic who started a podcast with four of my best friends about all things pop culture.
How did it all start?
Brian: Right after the Eagles won the Super Bowl in 2018, I wanted to make some changes to my life. I've always wanted to start a podcast about pop culture and they opened up a podcast studio in Downtown GSO. So, I asked four of my best friends to join me on this adventure and they all said yes.
What do you talk about on this show?
Brian: We talk about movies, tv shows, bands, hip hop, video games, comics, and more. We also interview celebrities, local and worldwide, but primarily local to support our local artists and entertainers.
What are your audience demographics like?
Brian: Our biggest fan base is here in North Carolina, but we've picked up fans in Chicago, LA, NYC, and overseas, which is crazy to us. Australia, Brazil, Italy, and Ireland also tune in.
That’s amazing you can track all that data. How do you get your name out there and how do you promote the show?
Brian: We promote ourselves all over social media (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram) and promote ourselves on multiple fan groups and pages on the topics that we talk about.
Do you stream on known platforms?
Brian: Yes, iTunes, Pandora, Spotify, Soundcloud, YouTube, and many others.
Now, we know you got a website through Zibster. How do you use your website? Is it for brand recognition, a place to host your content?
Brian: We have a lot of videos and blogs on our website on pop culture topics, and of course, we promote our podcast and over 100 episodes on there.
How has your growth been, beyond locally are you growing followers from elsewhere?
Brian: It's been a great homegrown following at first. Friends, family, and people in and around Greensboro. We are now in year 2, and season 3, and are up to 10,000 listeners a month.
Wow! That’s an incredible amount of listeners. With the website, what’s it like to have a face for your company and show? For something primarily audio-based, how does it portray you?
Brian: Our website portrays us so well. It's the face of what we do as a group. Not just audio podcasts, but videos, blogs, news, events, and more.
Your site was done with Zibster’s We Do It For You package. How has it been working with Zibster?
Brian: We couldn't be happier with Zibster. It looks great, is easy to update, the analytics are great, and our fans love it.
How easy is it for you to update?
Brian: By far this is the easiest website we've ever had as far as adding content. We brag about it constantly and it's truly the best website platform for podcasts and businesses.
What’s your favorite part?
Brian: The analytics are great and seeing how easy it is to see how many people have viewed certain pages on the website.
What does the future look like for Zero Dark Nerdy?
Brian: Looking great! We just got picked up by the Bleav podcast network, and they are the podcast network for professionals. Great feedback, awesome to connect with getting interviews, and we love that we can do and say whatever we want (within reason).
Haha, that’s great to hear! Anything else you’d like to share?
Brian: Zibster is by far the best and easiest website we've ever used. The customer service is outstanding.
Thank you again for speaking with us Brian.
With a podcast, you use your voice to tell your story. Having a website is important so that people have a way to discover the podcast and dive deeper into additional content.
Zero Dark Nerdy had their website built by Zibster and now they can easily manage updates on their own. We are so glad that Zibster is a perfect fit for them. They can focus on entertaining their audience knowing we are here to support them.
Interested in getting a website built? Check out Zibster’s We Do It For You package. Our in-house designers and SEO experts will get your site up and running in no time. Give us a call at 844.353.3412 to get started today.
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