Podcasting for a Cause: Using Your Show for Awareness or Advocacy – PCI 463

Podcasting isn’t just about entertainment — it’s a platform for change. Whether you’re raising awareness for an important issue, advocating for a marginalized community, or championing a nonprofit mission, a podcast can amplify voices and create real-world impact.

In this episode of Podcast Insider, we explore how creators can responsibly, authentically, and effectively use their shows to inspire action. From storytelling that sparks empathy to partnerships that fuel momentum, your mic can be a catalyst for something bigger.

Today’s Hosts: Dave Clements and MacKenzie Bennett

Why Podcasting Works for Advocacy

Podcasts build trust — and trust leads to action.

Advocacy-driven shows succeed because they:

• Create space for personal stories and deeper context
• Give underrepresented voices a platform
• Encourage ongoing conversation and education
• Convert listeners into supporters and volunteers

💡 Blubrry helps: Our detailed stats help you understand whether your message is reaching — and resonating with — the right audience.

Best Practices for Responsible Storytelling

With purpose comes responsibility.

Tips for telling stories ethically:

• Prioritize consent and accuracy
• Avoid trauma exploitation or sensationalism
• Center the people and communities affected
• Follow up with resources and actionable next steps

💡 Blubrry helps: Use show notes and episode descriptions to provide clear links to important resources and organizations your listeners can support.

Partnerships That Amplify Impact

You don’t have to lift the mission alone.

Strengthen advocacy by:

• Working with nonprofit organizations
• Featuring subject-matter experts
• Creating campaigns aligned with awareness days/months
• Encouraging listeners to share the message

Even small efforts can lead to collective momentum.

💡 Blubrry helps: Quicklinks makes it simple to share subscription options and calls-to-action across every channel — so supporters can spread the word faster.

Listener Takeaway

Podcasting is personal — and that’s what makes it powerful. When you speak up for something that matters, you can inspire your community to take action, learn more, and make a difference.

🔗 Resources & Tools

• Blubrry Hosting + Statistics
• Quicklinks for sharing and engagement
• Podcasting 2.0 value-driven features

Find episode extras and past shows at podcastinsider.com. And if you’re ready to grow

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Hey, everyone. I am Dave Clements, customer relations

(00:02):
and media specialist here at Blueberry.
And I'm Mackenzie Bennett, marketing specialist at Blueberry.
Today, we're diving into how podcasters can turn
their passion into a purpose
and what to keep in mind when representing
sensitive issues or vulnerable communities. Yeah. Podcasting is
this really personal
thing. When you're recording an episode,

(00:23):
your voice lives in the ears of your
listener, and that is gonna build
trust. And I think a lot
of great podcasts that are out there are
advocacy driven shows,
which is what we're gonna talk about today.
You're listening to Podcast Insider hosted by Mike
Dell, Dave Clements, and Mackenzie Bennett from the

(00:43):
Blueberry team, bringing you weekly insights, advice, and
insider tips and tricks to help you start,
grow, and thrive through podcasting with all the
support of your team here at Blueberry Podcasting.
Welcome.
Let's dive in.
It's one of those things that it's very
easy to
reach your niche audience.

(01:04):
Advocacy
can can really get down into the weeds
about some stuff. It can be as broad
or as small as you want it to
be.
This is really a good way to do
that. And, also, it is still a private
way of consuming media.
It's definitely not like a public one that's
shown on your TV
or your shared laptop necessarily

(01:26):
or books on the shelf
in your house
or in your bag. This is available directly
on your phone. So you can listen to
whatever it is that you want with hopefully
or potentially no repercussions in that matter.
So it's creating a space
for the personal stories and that deeper
context that you're trying to reach with listeners.

(01:49):
In the years I've been doing support, we've
had
several
advocacy podcasts
that have contacted us for various reasons. And
to me, they're always interesting people to talk
to because these are, like, very personal
stories that they're sharing
with
the audience or maybe they're interviewing people or

(02:10):
things like that.
And
that comes across even,
like, on a support side, just the way
that they interact with you, the way you
interact with them.
And you learn a lot about
the best way to communicate with people who
are talking about sensitive subjects.
We've had a lot of cancer podcasts, a

(02:31):
lot of health related or mental health related
podcasts
contact us.
And some of the things that I've noticed
with the way that they speak in their
episodes and just in person is they're really
looking
out for the consent of the person that
they're talking to,
making sure that all of the data that

(02:52):
they're passing back and forth is accurate,
and trying to avoid, like, any unintentional
or intentional
trauma,
exploitation,
or anything like that. The they're very interesting
people to talk to. They're very mindful, much
more mindful than I think I am.
Yeah. It's a really great way to
give people who might feel underrepresented

(03:14):
or their cause,
whatever that may be. It gives them a
platform, and it also gives them what I
would think
in the context of media is an affordable
one.
Besides picking up your phone for a social
media platform
and doing something there or a website,
this is something that easily goes along with
that and can actually

(03:36):
help organize and convert the listeners that you
have into real supporters or volunteers of whatever
it is that you're trying to do. If
you're trying to do your your cancer five
k or something like that as an easy
way to call out those people and say,
hey. We need your help. This is where
we're gonna be. That type of stuff. But,
also,
there's the privacy
is still there. You can learn about the

(03:57):
demographics of who is listening to your show,
but also listeners can rest assured that their
listening habits are not gonna be shared with
anyone besides the host of the show,
besides whoever is paying for this account with
Blueberry,
and that all of that is private and
that we don't share
any of that information whatsoever.
So I think it's just
a great way to do whatever kind of

(04:19):
show you feel needs to be out there.
Yeah. I think that's important.
Just conveying that with sensitive topics,
you're in really good hands and safe hands,
even if you are just a listener,
that nobody's gonna take advantage of you because
you're listening to this specific type of show.
And I think we're being vague because there
are so many
different kinds of advocacy driven podcasts,

(04:42):
and a lot of them can be very
sensitive. Mhmm. Like you said, this is a
safe space where you can put your earbuds
in and
work through something that you're going through, whether
that's a health
thing, a relationship. I think it's a very
niche
genre, I guess. I don't even know if
you'd call it a genre, but I think

(05:03):
it's overlooked.
I personally don't know a lot about advocacy
podcast, but like I said, we have talked
to
advocacy
driven podcasters.
And I'm always very interested in
how they got
into doing this kind of show because I've
always looked at
podcasting as, for me at least, it's always

(05:25):
been more entertainment driven
or even information driven, and this is even
more niche information
driven.
Yeah. I think it's really when you get
down to the weeds of whatever it is
that you are passionate about. And like you
said before, the
why do they want to advocate for this?
What happened to them in their own lives
that is causing them to want to do

(05:47):
a podcast where they can advocate for
their chosen topic?
Why do you wanna do a show about
domestic violence? Why do you wanna do a
show about
something that is happening in the world right
now? These are all things that are very
personal to people, and that's something that podcasting
has always been,
is personal. But that does lead us into

(06:08):
the next part of this is some best
practices for responsible storytelling
within
podcasting in general, but specifically, it does just
talking about advocate
podcast. And the purpose of it comes the
responsibility
of what you're saying out there.
So for telling stories ethically, we wanna encourage

(06:28):
you to prioritize
consent
and accuracy,
avoid trauma, exploitation,
and sensationalism.
There's definitely
some true crime that I will say
crosses that line sometimes.
And you wanna center the people in the
communities affected and not glorify things necessarily. And
lastly, follow-up with real resources and actionable

(06:51):
next steps. That's my biggest thing for a
scenario such as this. Yeah. I think that
those are really good points. And even expanding
that into building out, like, show notes or
downloadables and things like that for your episodes
that have helpful links and resources that people
can access
securely, privately, that kind of thing. I think
that's really good. And that kinda leads us

(07:13):
into partnering,
not just with your community, but other organizations.
I think as podcasters,
a lot of us are especially indie podcasters.
That's a lot of Blueberry customers.
We're doing a lot of things on our
own. We're wearing multiple hats,
and
I think it's really easy
to feel like you're carrying

(07:35):
the entire weight. Like, this is solely your
mission to put out this show, but that's
not really the case. So I think
ways that you can strengthen
your own advocacy and not have to shoulder
everything
is to look for nonprofit
organizations that match up with your topic. There
are a lot of them out there. I'm

(07:56):
sure you could do a Google search. There's
probably a repository
somewhere
that you could find. And
in doing that, you can find
subject matter experts that you could
interview or just flat out just have a
conversation. You don't even have to ask them
questions. You can just dive into their specialty
and come up with some really good content.

(08:18):
You can also, from a marketing standpoint,
create campaigns
that are aligned with different days or months
that would align with your topic. Work some
of those things into campaigns
that should come naturally, but maybe it doesn't.
So that's an idea.
And then, obviously, encourage your listeners
to

(08:39):
share your episodes with people that have that
in common. That's how you build community.
And I think that's how you
avoid feeling like you have to carry the
weight by yourself.
Yeah. Podcasting is definitely something that can start
out as just you and then evolve from
there.
There's definitely a lot of listeners out there

(09:00):
who don't necessarily wanna be solely a listener.
They will be
a supporter, whether that is just word-of-mouth
and consistently listening to your episodes
or if that is saying, hey. I know
how to produce. I know how to edit.
I can do graphic design.
I know so and so at
this center that does that focuses on the

(09:21):
same topic or they're like, I wanna be
a guest on this show. It can really
build like that. It's
your listeners are there, and you're building that
community.
And
we live in a world full of comments,
I wanna say.
People definitely will leave a comment on a
video

(09:42):
or
or your post or whatever it is. So
there's definitely ways that you can build this
out and not have it just be you.
And I think that's also very helpful in
sustaining your show because doing it all by
yourself is exhausting.
And especially if you're doing it about a
topic that is emotional in the sense that

(10:02):
not just a positive one, that can really
take it out of you faster than you
think sometimes. So
this is definitely a good way to prolong
something like that happening to you. Overall, podcasting
is very personal, and that's, I think, what
makes it most powerful.
We've seen a variety of shows over the
years, and it's never gonna stop shows that

(10:24):
are advocating for something, whether that is the
most tragic thing you've ever heard of or
the most exciting, joyful thing that has happened
in the last year.
I think podcasting is a great way to
celebrate and support. Yeah. For sure. Build a
community while you're doing it. It's not fun
to do a lot of these things alone,
so get out there and build something. Thanks
for joining us. We can't wait to hear

(10:46):
about the incredible advocacy and awareness that you
do with your own voice.
Thanks for joining us. Come back next week.
And in the meantime, head to podcastinsider.com
for more information,
to subscribe,
share, and read our show notes.
To check out our latest suite of services
and learn how Blueberry can help you leverage

(11:07):
your podcast,
visit blueberry.com.
That's Blueberry without the e's. We couldn't afford
the e's.