A show is an extension of its host. The host is the reason listeners come back, guests say yes, and the next show starts with an audience.
The Manifesto treats podcasters and their podcasts the way it treats authors and their books: the show is an extension of the person, not the person. It also treats the title as earned: when you launch a podcast, you are a podcast host, and titles contribute to credibility. The title holds only while the show is current, and the person is the asset that carries on after any one show.
Hosting is also one of the most direct ways to reach people a host could not otherwise meet. The Manifesto's model pitch to an idol is a host's pitch: name what they did, say what the show does, and ask for the interview as a peer. Isaac Mashman, MCG's founder, hosted Chase the Vision with Isaac Mashman, 100 episodes over three years, and recorded his first podcast on an outdated smartphone a friend gave him. The interviews below come from that show.
If you once launched a podcast in 2008 and have not had one since, does it make sense for you to say that you’re a podcast host?
Personal Branding: A Manifesto on Fame and Influence, Second Edition, 4.1
Most new shows are heard first by the host's friends and family and by each guest's own audience. The State Representative is the tier to build toward: the Manifesto's own example is the radio host people listen to first thing in the morning and when they get home from work, known across a region.
Where most stand: Tier 2, Friends and FamilyBuild toward: Tier 4, The State Representative
The tier measures how large a position is. How good it is, is measured by The Five Personal Brand Pillars. Read more about the six tiers.
The moves MCG starts with for podcasters and hosts, grouped by pillar, in order. Each one cites the subchapter of Personal Branding: A Manifesto on Fame and Influence it comes from.
Advice Isaac Mashman has given on his own shows and in interviews that applies to podcasters and hosts, from the same library MCG consultants work from. Each one keeps the words he said it in, and links to the transcript where there is one.
Publish your first episode, video, or post now, even if it sounds rough. Improvement only starts after the first one exists.
Read the transcript ↗ (opens in a new tab)“if i never recorded that one episode”
Chase the Vision with Isaac Mashman, “My First Podcast; Then and Now”, May 31, 2021
If you start a show to raise your credibility or spread a message, commit to it for the long term with a clear intention. Otherwise you will quit a few episodes in.
Read the transcript ↗ (opens in a new tab)“go into it with a long-term vision, with an intention behind it”
Chase the Vision with Isaac Mashman, “Good Deeds”, April 14, 2022
If your show features guests, also publish regular episodes of just you so the audience connects with you and not only with your guests.
Read the transcript ↗ (opens in a new tab)“i don't want to rely just on the guests for you guys to connect with me”
Chase the Vision with Isaac Mashman, “Keep Up Or Get Left Behind”, August 30, 2021
Do not take affiliate commissions from the guests you interview. Bring them on for their story, not to sell your audience a link.
Read the transcript ↗ (opens in a new tab)“i'm never going to be an affiliate for them”
Chase the Vision with Isaac Mashman, “Emotions and Decision Making”, July 12, 2021
All consumed media educates, entertains, inspires, or connects. The Skyline Strategy asks for two pieces about your work for every one about your life. Here is one of each, for each purpose.
| Purpose | Brand Post | Personal Post |
|---|---|---|
| EducateTeach something useful. | One lesson a guest taught you, in a minute. | The equipment you started with, and what you use now. |
| EntertainMake it enjoyable to follow you. | The outtake from this week's recording. | What you listen to when you are not recording. |
| InspireShow what is possible. | Your first episode beside your latest, and what changed. | Why you started the show. |
| ConnectGive people a reason to reply. | Ask listeners which guest to invite next. | Where you record, shown as it really is. |
Draw a Week
Two posts about your work, one about your life, drawn from the ideas above.
Plan the ratio with the free Skyline Planner (opens in a new tab).
Decide the intention and the time frame before the first episode. Without them, a show is usually abandoned a few episodes in.
Guests bring their audience for one episode. Publish episodes of your own between interviews so listeners connect with the host.
Take sponsors you would recommend to a friend, disclose them, and keep your guests separate from your income.
Twenty-five questions, about seven minutes, free. Choose Other on the intake, name your field, and the audit scores all five pillars, places you on The Hierarchy of Personal Branding, and returns the three moves that would raise your score most, each traced to the subchapter it comes from.
The firm’s topic guide on the subject, with the doctrine, terms, tips, and interviews in one place: Personal Brand Strategy, Executive Visibility.
Yes. The Manifesto treats podcasters and their podcasts like authors and their books: separate entities, built together. The show is an extension of the host, which is why the host's name, voice, and record should be known apart from any one show.
Long enough to outlast the rough start. Isaac Mashman's advice is to start a show with a long term vision and a clear intention, and to publish the first episode even if it is rough, because improvement only starts once it exists.
As peers. The Manifesto's model pitch names what the guest did, says what the show does, and asks for the interview; it never opens with being their biggest fan. A record of past episodes, an In the Media sheet, and a media kit make each next yes easier.
A large audience is fame. Whether it buys, believes, or follows you to a new platform is influence, and that is the part a creator has to build on purpose.
A book or a talk is an extension of you, not the whole of you. Authors and speakers who are booked again are the ones whose name is the reason people show up.
The work is the art. The personal brand is why people wait for the next release, share it when it arrives, and still know your name in between.
The last thing you want is to pour your effort into work no one sees. Distribution decides whether it reaches anyone.
Follower counts only get you so far. What matters more is how much the people who follow you trust you.
Every commitment you add to a personal brand asks you to show up and deliver. Habits keep momentum; motivation does not.
Chapter 2 of the Manifesto sets out four laws that build in order. Without familiarity there is no connection; without fame and influence, a personal brand has little reach or weight.
How MCG measures the quality of a personal brand. Five pillars, always in this order, weighted into one composite out of 100.
Engagements are accepted by application and seats are limited each quarter. Tell us who you are, what you are building, and the position you intend to hold.
Consultations are virtual or in person. See what each includes, and what is asked of you: Virtual or In Person.
