Sensible Woo is the mind. Sasquatch Media Grounds is the muscle.
Hey Reader,
I just got back from SXSW, where I had the honor of closing out the Futures track at Podcast Movement Evolutions… and I’m still processing what I saw, heard, and confirmed in real time.
Because when you spend a few days moving between rooms filled with operators, advertisers, producers, and platform people, something interesting happens. You stop hearing isolated opinions and start noticing patterns. Not trends that come and go, but deeper shifts in how people are thinking, spending, and paying attention.
And this year, those patterns felt especially clear.
One of the sharpest lines I heard all week was deceptively simple:
“If it’s not worth your effort, it’s probably not worth my time.”
That’s the new baseline. We’re moving out of the era where volume alone could carry you. Cheap content, fast content, endless content… people can feel the difference now, even if they can’t always articulate it. The bar has quietly moved from “be visible” to “be worth it,” which means your work doesn’t need to be louder. It needs to be intentional.
At the same time, there’s a very real shift happening in where money is going. Small local businesses that used to rely on newspapers and traditional media are still looking for reach… but those channels aren’t working the way they used to. The dollars didn’t disappear. They’re just floating, looking for new places to land.
Which is why I keep saying this to my clients, and I’ll say it again here… your podcast is not just content. It’s media inventory. It’s a place where attention can be held and trust can be built. And the way we’ve been taught to measure success in podcasting doesn’t fully capture that yet. Audience size is only one piece. What matters just as much, if not more, is relationship depth, conversion, and the ability to move someone from listening to action.
That ties directly into another conversation that came up again and again throughout the week, which is the role of AI in all of this. There’s a growing trend of creators proudly declaring that no AI was used in their work, and while I understand the instinct behind that, it’s already starting to sound a little like saying you don’t use email.
If you’re using modern tools, AI is already in your workflow whether you like it or not. The more grounded position, the one that’s going to age well, is being clear about how you use it. AI can support production. It can make your processes more efficient. But it should never replace original thought, perspective, or creative direction. That line matters, and your audience can feel the difference.
The advertising conversations were just as interesting. There’s been a long-standing assumption that host-read ads are the gold standard, and in many cases they still perform beautifully. But what’s becoming more clear is that format alone isn’t what drives results. Story does. When an ad carries a personal anecdote, when it reflects a real experience from the host, when it feels like a continuation of the conversation instead of an interruption… that’s what increases purchase intent. Not placement. Not volume. Connection.
And then there’s the part that I think a lot of creators are still underestimating.
There are entire audiences that podcasting has barely touched.
Older women are still largely left out as consumers. There are regional and cultural groups that haven’t adopted podcasting in the same way others have. Spanish-language content continues to be a massive opportunity. And when you look at how these audiences discover new things, it’s not through endless scrolling.
It’s through word of mouth. It’s through local networks. It’s through real-life conversations and trusted recommendations.
Which means the strategy of “I’ll just post more online” has some very real limits.
The bridge I kept hearing referenced, over and over again, was YouTube. Not as a replacement for podcasting, but as a companion. A discovery layer. A way to be visible in a format people already understand, while still being very clear that what you’re offering is a podcast. There’s also a strong case for simply educating your audience better… teaching them how to listen, how to engage, and why it matters.
And underneath all of this, there was one idea that kept surfacing in different forms, across different rooms, from different speakers.
Consistency builds credibility.
You have to take your work seriously before anyone else will.
That’s not a glamorous insight. It’s not a hack. But it’s the throughline of everything I saw this week.
And I’ll be honest with you… none of this felt new to me.
I’ve been writing about media ownership, creator-led distribution, and the importance of your voice in this newsletter for the past couple of years. I’ve been talking about First Amendment rights, about financial independence, about why building your own platform matters more than ever.
SXSW didn’t hand me a brand new playbook.
It confirmed that the one we’ve been building together is already in motion.
Which brings me to what you should do with all of this.
There are two things you need right now.
First, you need to build real relationships. You cannot grow a podcast, a show, or a business in isolation. The people who will listen, share, buy, and support your work are not abstract audience avatars. They are actual humans, and they exist in communities that extend far beyond your screen. If you want a place to practice that in a structured, intentional way, I’m co-hosting the next Yes Friend Lab this Saturday.
👉 Sign up for the Yes Friend Lab
Second, you need to build a content ecosystem that can support monetization when the attention arrives. Because attention without structure doesn’t turn into revenue… it turns into burnout. You need systems. You need a body of work. You need a way for people to move from discovering you to working with you. That’s exactly what we’re building inside the Creator Economy Dojo at Sasquatch Media Grounds.
👉 Join the Creator Economy Dojo
Because the opportunity is here.
The question is whether you’re going to be ready for it.
Gossip From the Creator Trenches...
🌌 The Future You Thought You’d Have? Gone.
A producer behind The AI Doc said something that stuck with me: we need to mourn the future we thought we were going to have. Because we’re not getting that version anymore. AI is rewriting the rules in real time, and no one fully knows if the outcome lands in the “good” column or the “oh shit” column. Probably both. The real question is… are you willing to build a future that wasn’t pre-approved by the high-achiever, follow-the-path playbook? Because that’s the new mindset work now.
🔗 Get a new mindset
🤖 Your New Coworker Isn’t Human
Consensus from SXSW, Podcast Movement, and basically every room I walked into: AI isn’t coming. It’s already here. It’s your coworker now. You don’t have to love it. You don’t have to become a prompt wizard overnight. But opting out entirely? That’s going to age about as well as insisting you still need a fax number. This is the baseline shift. Learn how to work with it… or risk getting left out of the conversation entirely.
🔗 See what I saw in Austin
🧨 Media Consolidation = Indie Opportunity
The Warner Bros. x Paramount merger drama is… a lot. And yes, it’s making people side-eye billionaires like it’s a full-time job. But here’s the part most creators are missing: When media consolidates, attention redistributes. Audiences get tired of the same centralized voices. Trust erodes. And where does that attention go? To independent creators. That’s you. So yes, feel your feelings about the state of entertainment. And then get to work building your own channels while the shift is happening.
🔗 Trigger warning
🎬 Guess Who’s Back… And the Stakes Are Higher
School of Moxie is back for Season 3.
This time every guest is bringing their comfort show or comfort movie — the one they rewatch when life gets chaotic and their nervous system needs a reset.
But this season isn’t about nostalgia.
Every founder in these conversations runs a business that carries their entire life. Housing. Health insurance. Groceries. Future. No dual-income parachutes floating quietly overhead.
When the stakes are that real, the way someone watches a story tells you everything about how they lead, how they take risks, and how they survive in business.
The trailer just dropped… and yes, Papi Pascal still has a reserved seat in the conversation. 👉 Listen to the Season 3 trailer on your favorite podcast app!
🔥 Final Call! Next week...
If you’ve ever left a networking event thinking, “I could’ve said that better…” — this is for you.
On March 28, Megan and I are hosting The Yes Friend Lab, a 3-hour live workshop where we practice the actual skills that make rooms work:
- How to clearly tell people what you do
- How to ask for what you need
- How to offer what you can give
- And yes… the art of small talk
This is not a lecture. It’s reps. Breakout rooms. Real-time coaching. Real feedback.
It’s pay-what-you-can (minimum $97, suggested $197) because we know it’s a crunchy season... and better networking helps all of us win.
If you’re serious about getting paid through relationships, this is where you sharpen the blade.
Stop overthinking the room. Start practicing.
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$97.00
The Yes Friend Lab: March 2026
A 3-Hour Live Networking & Conversation Skills Workshop | Live on Zoom
Saturday, March 28th
10am - 1pm PT (1pm - 4pm ET)... Read more |
🔮 You Can’t Take It With You
There’s a moment in business (and in life) where the next level isn’t about doing more.
It’s about leaving something behind.
Not because you failed. Not because it didn’t work. But because you’ve outgrown the version of you that built it.
This week’s reading taps into that exact edge. The part where things feel uncertain, maybe even a little disruptive… but underneath it, there’s movement. Direction. A quiet knowing that you’re being guided somewhere new.
The free excerpt will give you the feeling of it. ⤵️
Want the whole thing?
Inside the full Woo Crew episode, we go deeper into what this transition actually asks of you, how to move forward without dragging the past with you, and how to trust your perspective even when the path isn’t fully clear yet.
If things have felt “off” lately… this will make it make sense.
Join the Woo Crew for $7/month and get the full reading. Because the next chapter doesn’t need more from you… it needs a different version of you.
Let's Hang Out
Did you scroll all the way down here and skip the part where I invited you to the Yes Friend Lab next Saturday, March 28? Let’s fix that. It’s online. Low effort, high reward. And yes, it’s paid… because the things you pay for are the things you actually show up for. (I don’t make the rules.) If you keep asking, “How do I find more people?”… you don’t need another strategy. You need reps. Megan and I built our network by showing up weekly. It works and we can help you do the same. Join us at your worst and we'll help you become your best.
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Participate + Join In
The Creator Economy Dojo ran a killer workshop on 30-second ad spots because monetization is not optional anymore. The March workshop is for members only because we're preparing our sponsor pitch pipelines which builds a critical layer before I start managing everyone's media kits. If your show cannot cover its own overhead, you are bleeding energy into a void. The discipline of building infrastructure is happening now, month by month, brick by brick. Do the work. Get paid. Grow your shit... this year.
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