When the Oh, Deer podcast began one year ago, it was being recorded on a deck in one of the hosts’ backyards.
It’s now recorded in a studio, where the hosts continue to chat about all things Red Deer, life in Alberta and the general grievances that come with being an adult.
“The podcast has grown way beyond what we ever expected. It’s still a local podcast and for us to be going with 20-plus episodes and doing the things we’ve done and to work with the local businesses and the people we’ve been able to work with, it’s pretty incredible,” said Ted Emmett, who hosts the podcast alongside Dustin Moore, Kevin Walsh, Ryan Lund and Erin Zatylny.
“It’s been a lot of fun, but at the same time it’s been a lot of work. It is a business and when you go into business with your friends you’re going to have some ups and downs. But we’re still standing, we’re still pumping out episodes and we’re still friends.”
Since its launch in December 2020, the podcast has published 22 episodes and has nearly 20,000 total listens. More than 30 guests have been interviewed between the podcast and social media videos.
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The podcast team has learned so much over its first year, said Emmett.
“The way we deliver it, the way we record, the technology we use have all changed a lot,” he said.
“We’re in a studio now, which is something we didn’t think would be a possibility when we started…”
The most surprising thing after one year of Oh, Deer is the growth of the audience, Emmett added.
“We knew when we started this we’d have a bit of a following through our friends and people we know,” he said.
“When people we didn’t know started sharing it we thought, ‘Holy crap, other people are interested in this even though they don’t know who we are.’ Every now and then we get to meet people who listen to the podcast and tell us how much they enjoy it. Making your friends laugh is always fun, but to provide entertainment for people you’ve never met before is a pretty cool feeling.”
Emmett said there were several special moments during the podcast’s first year, including a live show, a community treasure hunt across the city and a photoshoot for charity.
Moving forward “we want to keep doing what we’re doing and avoid getting stale. We talk about growing an audience, but for a niche podcast like this … it’s about retaining our audience as well,” said Emmett.
The Oh, Deer podcast is available on several streaming platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube. For more information visit linktr.ee/OhDeerPodcast.
sean.mcintosh@reddeeradvocate.com
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