Sal Di Stefano hosts Mind Pump, one of the most popular health and fitness podcasts in the world. From humble beginnings in 2014, the show now brings in more than a million downloads every month.
Described as Howard Stern meets fitness, Mind Pump is all about exposing the truth about health and nutrition. And that’s important because the fitness industry is still full of pseudo-science, snake oil, and ludicrous advice pushed by Instagram models.
Fed up with the status quo, Sal got together with producer Doug Egge and co-hosts Justin Andrews and Adam Schafer to launch Mind Pump. Their mission was simple - use their combined years of experience as personal trainers to bring quality fitness information to the masses with integrity and honesty.
The Mind Pump team have been truly prolific in their output, releasing new episodes on an almost daily basis. Alongside podcasting they’ve also built a YouTube channel with more than 390,000 subscribers. Over the years they’ve experimented with their content to hone in on what works and grow their audience. Today, the story of Mind Pump offers a textbook example of how to build a successful business from a podcast.
In this interview, James Deeney speaks to Sal about why podcasting is the gold-standard medium for building trust, credibility, and audience loyalty. They discuss:
- 02:33 - The origins and early days of Mind Pump
- 08:31 - Adapting communication styles for different audiences
- 15:00 - How to simultaneously educate and entertain
- 22:30 - Why podcasting sounds easy but is difficult to do well
- 26:00 - What it means to be “authentic” as a podcast host
- 31:00 - Why podcast hosts are so influential
- 35:30 - Mind Pump’s guide to effective podcast advertising
- 41:00 - Engaging with listeners and building a community
- 44:00 - Gaining 1,000 true fans
- 45:30 - Sal’s thoughts on the future of the podcast industry
- 49:50 - How Mind Pump prepare before episode recordings
- 52:15 - Building your audience by being a guest on other podcasts
- 56:30 - Getting better audio with DIY sound proofing
- 59:10 - How to create great titles for your episodes
Selected Links From the Episode
Connect with Sal: Instagram | Twitter
4 Steps to Creating a Successful Podcast, Mind Pump Episode 1197
1,000 True Fans, Kevin Kelly
The Genius Life, Max Lugavere
Talk Science like Carl Sagan, Medium
DIY Sound-Proofing for Podcasting, Podcastage
Red Light Therapy, Mind Pump
