Life of Mine is a podcast all about different aspects of Australia’s underground mining industry, presented by somebody who’s in the industry himself. Matt Michael says that the idea for the podcast germinated from visiting the pub after a shift with other miners on a mining site and listening to all the different kinds of stories the other miners shared. He wanted to record those stories, and that became Life of Mine. Matt says he gets listeners from inside and outside of the mining industry, including people who are outside of the industry but are looking for a job in it. The kinds of stories he features have led him to find out more about different aspects of the business himself. He discusses a series that he did on battery metals that introduced him to people working in a mining fund, and that opened up a whole new side of the business.  In fact, Life of Mine is about to diverge into two podcasts. Life of Mine will continue to focus on stories from miners and general interest topics about mining. Money of Mine will focus on mining news and mining investment and will also branch into premium analysis and interviews.  Links:  Matt Michael: Life of Mine Castos: The Limelight

PhotoCountry is a podcast that brings you showcases of photographers and inspiration for other photographers. Raj began the show as a pitch for a local radio show, choosing the name for his interest in photography and his love of country music. When COVID put an end to the radio show, his producer suggested that Raj keep doing what he was doing in podcasting form.  Raj discusses the different kinds of photographers who guest on his show, including a cliff-diving photographer, a street photographer using an old-school camera, and a photographer who uses a unique method to team up with nature to co-create art. He says finding photographers he wants to talk to isn’t difficult, but getting them to come on the show can take convincing.  Raj’s best advice for both aspiring podcasters and aspiring photographers is to just get started with what you have. Waiting for the next big piece of gear or equipment to come out won’t make you better at it, but doing the thing will.  Links: Rajeev Nedumaran: PhotoCountry Castos: The Limelight

The podcasting world is begging for unique and interesting formats for shows. In this episode we certainly deliver on that with Joe Prata from Roll Play Game. Joe and Craig talk about the origin stories of his podcast, how he got started, and how he's using the unique format of his show to really stand apart. Stay tuned til the end where Joe talks about things he wishes he would've done different if he was just starting from scratch today.  The Limelight is a Castos Originals podcast. Learn more at castos.com/podcasts Check out Roll Play Games

In this episode of The Limelight, Craig chats with Aime Austin of A Time To Thrill. Aime's show is all about showcasing fiction authors. She is a full-time author, and publishes her podcast episodes only monthly. While conventional wisdom may say that publishing episodes every week or every other week is a best practice, you have to know your audience. Aime knows that her podcast listeners are busy professionals, and a monthly publishing cadence fits their listening behavior. There's an interesting parallel between fiction authors and podcasters. With the huge popularity of genres such as True Crime podcasts, the need for great narrative storytelling has never been more important in the podcasting medium. Aime and most of the fiction book world continue to utilize Facebook (Meta) ads as a primary way to grow their audience. While this marketing medium was popular in the late 2010s, it's fallen out of favor in some circles. This is a great reminder to continue to re-explore previous marketing channels for your show. Resources Mentioned Check out A Time To Thrill by Aime Austin View other episodes of The Limelight on Castos' YouTube Channel Learn more about Castos Originals

Thanks for checking out the latest podcast in the Castos Originals series. Here in The Limelight, we are sharing the aspects of super successful podcasts, and just what makes them tick. Whether you're a new podcaster or have been podcasting for a while, here every episode we'll have nuggets of information you can take and implement in your own show.