Quill is an award-winning production agency specializing in corporate audio, and we also own a product called CoHost, which is a podcast hosting, growth, and analytics tool.
We produce podcasts for enterprise-level brands that are looking for content that achieves maximum impact and results. Through high-quality audio and strategic podcast marketing tactics, Quill helps to boost your company’s podcast ROI.
CoHost enables brands and professional podcasters to understand the data behind their podcast. Through innovative industry analytics, measurement and hosting tools, CoHost is your all-in-one tool to launch, grow, and measure your podcast.
Tell us about yourself?
Like many Canadians, I didn’t even know what a podcast was until a few years ago when I fell in love with the true-crime podcast, Serial. At the time, I was handling sales for a marketing agency, and while I loved listening to podcasts, I also realized how powerful podcasting could be for brand storytelling. Unlike reading a book or watching a show, you can listen to podcasts while you cook, clean, work out, or commute, which makes it an attractive medium for brands to reach an audience.
I left my six-figure sales job to launch a podcasting agency and software. Our tech platform helps Fortune 500 brands and individual creators with the infrastructure and distribution needed to not only create their shows but to find their audiences.
If you could go back in time a year or two, what piece of advice would you give yourself?
It’s not always a bad thing to get negative feedback and criticism on your work, even though I think as a society, especially in Canada, we are told it’s a bad thing. I often try to remind myself what venture capitalist Dave McClure once said in a presentation: “you can’t iterate around indifference.” It’s better that someone dislikes your work over not reacting at all. If you don’t get any criticism of what you’re doing, you’re probably not pushing your creative boundaries enough.
What problem does your business solve?
Much like entrepreneurship and entry into the startup world, the barrier to starting a podcast is quite low; however, the resources and support available to podcasters are scattered and extremely limited. Because of this, many podcast hosts enthusiastically launch with a great idea but are soon overwhelmed by the technical aspects of production and audience growth. Quill has made entry into podcasting more streamlined and has become the go-to company for help throughout a podcaster’s journey.
What is the inspiration behind your business?
2014 was the launch of Serial, the true-crime podcast that, in my mind, defined the entire industry. Ever since then, I’ve been a huge podcast consumer, listening to, on average, 10 shows a week. What fascinated me about this medium was the intimate nature of building a relationship with your global audience and customers, inevitably leading to high conversions at a fraction of the cost you’d spend on your other marketing efforts. I was scaling an agency for four years and started noticing a massive trend with companies looking to start their own branded podcasts. So I decided to productize the services that we were offering, and that’s how Quill was born.
If you’re looking to start a show, it’s often easier to have a team of podcast experts around you, especially if you’re a brand. So we also provide full-service podcast production with our in-house team. Our services include everything from pre-production, creative, production, post-production, and the marketing of your show. We want you to feel like we are an extension of your marketing team. Some of the clients we’ve worked on include PwC, Expedia, RBC, TD, CIBC, and SickKids Hospital.
What is your magic sauce?
We are the only production agency that created an analytics tool for our clients. Our innovative podcast hosting product is used to drive marketing insights and analytics for the brands we work with. Our daily mission is to help brands gain a superior understanding of who their podcast audience is, the impact their content is making, and the ROI their shows are bringing in to simplify their podcast workflow to drive reach, growth, and revenue. We’ve also been featured in publications like Forbes, Fast Company, Entrepreneur, and Inc for the innovative work we are doing in on-demand audio.
What is the plan for the next 5 years? What do you want to achieve?
We believe that for podcasts to continue to be a growing industry, we need to create solutions that better equip brands and podcasters with actionable data. We are providing those solutions through our agency Quill and our product, CoHost. CoHost proves the value of podcasting through actionable audience, content, and growth insights. Our unified platform provides brands and podcasters with easy access to key podcast data right at their fingertips.
What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced so far?
As an entrepreneur, every day brings a new set of challenges, and your problems will never look the same. I’ve been tested many times, and it’s my responsibility to keep the lights on. It’s a lot of pressure. Being the founder and CEO is a very thankless job with a lot day to day obstacles, but you have to keep putting yourself out there.
How can people get involved?
Visit us at www.quillpodcasting.com or www.cohostpodcasting.com