Scottye Moore is Trying to Break a Podcast World Record

Scottye Moore is on a mission to break the world record for most podcast guest appearances and he’s using Podchaser to help get there. We caught up with Scottye to see how it’s going and how he got started in his pursuit of podcast domination.

Q&A with Scottye Moore

Getting to Know Scottye

Podchaser: To bring our readers up to speed, can you introduce yourself?

Scottye Moore: I’m Scottye Moore of the BS Network! We do shows that range from improv comedy to theme parks to even a pro wrestling audio-drama! I do 7 podcasts and somehow my brain has yet to explode from it all.

You describe yourself as a “podcast dude,” what was your journey to podcasting not only as a listener but as a creator? How did you get involved in the podcast world?

I had always listened to podcasts even when I was in middle school and they really influenced me and my style of comedy. As I grew up, I found people that related to that comedy and helped me grow as a performer.

Initially, I wanted to be a writer, director, actor, pro wrestler, etc. I wanted to do everything, but as I grew older, I realized that it’s damn near impossible to do everything at once. Something had to be sacrificed… Then I realized that podcasting was a world where I COULD do everything I wanted to do. I act on my audio dramas, I write out the scripts, I direct the actors. Hell, I even have a show where I get to be a pro wrestler!

Many people think podcasting is a limiting art form, but in my opinion, it’s the most freeing because you can do anything you want with it. 

Was there a creator or podcast episode that had a significant impact on you wanting a career in the industry?

Shows like Night Attack, Weird Things and SModcast always had a big influence on me and really helped me shape the kind of shows that I create. My favorite parts of those shows were the insane asides and creative scenarios that the co-hosts would find themselves falling into and I knew I wanted to create a show that was in essence designed to create those bizarre asides. That’s how A Load of BS was born.

Night Attack also specifically influenced me with how I treat our fans. Justin Young and Brian Bushwood are masters of creating a rabid fan base that feels like a family more than a fandom and that’s absolutely how we feel about our fans. We keep in touch with them, we give them advice. Hell, I’m coaching one of our fans on how to be a better pro wrestler. They aren’t just our fans, they’re our family. 

Your show “A load of BS!” is super creative. How do you and co-host Blake Tanner develop your material?

We’re lucky to have known each other for ten years and our minds have kind of melded into some sort of manic homunculus. The show’s entirely improv comedy so there’s very little development to be had. It took us a very long time to realize how good we were at that improv-style, though. We initially had a basic “let’s chat about everything” show, because in college, people would tell us they loved to hear us chat. That’s a dangerous phrase because I feel like that’s how many podcasters feel. “Oh, we can talk about anything we want because we’re SOOOO entertaining” We decided to take it a step farther and dig into WHAT people were enjoying about those conversations and we realized that it was when we would do improv and create random situations and tell stories from them. That’s how A Load of BS grew into what it is today. Digging deep into what we can do best. 

In your view, from the beginning of the BS Network to where it is today, what was the most impactful decision you had to make to set the track for growth?

The minute I decided to treat it like a business. The minute I decided that we needed well-designed merchandise and a well thought-out Patreon page. It’s astounding how quickly your perception of things can change once you begin treating it seriously. Podcasting might be fun, but if you want it to get you anywhere, you gotta work.

You wrote a novel called BS Vs. The Gods, a spin-off of A Load of BS. Can you tell us a little bit more about your experiences as an author and how it compares to being a podcaster?

So I’ve always been a storyteller and to me, writing novels is the only thing close to podcasting when it comes to ultimate freedom. You can do anything in a novel, you can tell any story you want. I remember thinking “I want to write a book where I ride a giant flaming unicorn and Blake has a dragon with a mini-gun on the back” and I DID IT.

The only difference between writing and podcasting for me is the fact that it takes more thinking. I had to figure out WHY I had a giant unicorn and what brought that into the world instead of just speaking it into existence. It’s almost like solving a puzzle, which very much intrigues me. I also just realized I spoiled the ending of the book, my bad. 

Where can people follow you besides on Podchaser?

@Scottyemo on Twitter and all of the shows are online at www.aloadofpurebs.com!

Going for the Podcast Record

You’re going for a world record. Can you tell us a little bit about the record and your inspiration for attempting to break it?

You can almost entirely blame this on my friend, Mega Ran. He’s an amazing nerdcore rapper (Check him out on Spotify) and he set the world record for Most Songs to Reference a Single Video Game Franchise and I thought… “Well if Ran can do it, certainly I can break a world record!” So with my 6 weekly shows and my audio drama that’s about to enter its second season, I thought it’d be more than appropriate to try to get the most podcast appearances in a single year!

How’s it going so far?

Tiring, mostly. We’re up to 130 appearances, I believe. I’m aiming for 500 and that means I’m gonna have to do a lot more guest appearances. 

How have you been finding shows to guest one? How do you reach out?

So I was very lucky to have my pitch video retweeted by this big podcasting website that you may have heard of. It’s called Podchaser. From that, I ended up getting booked on multiple shows but now the well’s slightly run dry. That’s led to a lot of sliding in DMs and chatting with podcasts that I think I’m a great fit for! 

Any tips for landing a guest appearance?

Don’t just ghost into someone’s DMs with them having no idea who you are. Respond to their tweets, give good feedback on their episodes, show that you’re passionate for the show that they’re creating and they’ll want you to help create it.

After your guest appearance, what do you do to promote the episode?

Plaster it over all of social media, give it a quote tweet and talk about my experience on the show then I’ll usually bring it up on one of my shows to help garner more attention.

Talk a little bit about the best experience you have had as a guest on a show. What was something you learned or enjoyed from guesting?

I gotta call out my guys over at Ride Rehab for giving me a great experience helping them on their show. I started out very nervous to jump on, then I realized that we had the exact same comedic style and timing. It was a match made in Heaven. Same thing happened with In Poor Taste, PRRP and Oh No! Lit Class. Those guys are hilarious and they know what their show is. They don’t try to adjust the show to fit me in.

The main thing I’ve learned from the shows I’ve been on is to make sure each show is different. It’s really easy to fall into the trap of saying the exact same thing on each podcast (especially on interview shows), but you can’t. As a guest, it’s my goal to make each episode I appear on the best damn episode they’ve ever had. That means bringing a fresh Scottye to each show I’m on. 

How can podcasters (and maybe listeners) help you achieve your goal?

LET ME COME ON YOUR SHOW!! Hit me up on Twitter @Scottyemo and I’ll do what I can to give you the best episode of your show you’ve ever had. I do voice acting, improv, whatever you need. I actually have a video pinned to my account that has all the stuff I’m experienced in talking about, but in all honesty, I can talk about anything. I’ve somehow done two finance podcasts despite having basically no money my entire life. If you listen to certain shows and you think I’d be a great fit, let me know! I’ll do what I can to jump on!

How have you used Podchaser in your pursuit?

So here’s where things get nerdy and also where I get to talk about how dope Podchaser is. I have a spreadsheet of every podcast appearance I’ve done this year and thanks to Podchaser, I have a readily available URL that I can link to in that spreadsheet. Not to mention, my creator page on Podchaser lets me put all of my appearances on there under my name so people can follow along as I work to achieve my goals.

A Look at Podcasting

How do you use Podchaser? Both as a listener and as a creator?

To inflate my ego mostly. It’s really fun to look at my creator page and see the sheer insane number of shows I’ve done throughout the years. In addition, I also like using it to find what other shows people might be interested in. That’s how I make connections!

In your view, what is the next big thing that will happen to the podcast industry?

Other than a Podchaser app? Well, part of me really loves the DIY, almost chaotic nature that podcasting has currently, but I think we’re moving towards one app attempting to dominate the field similar to YouTube where everything, including ads, is taken care of by them. Is that a good thing? I don’t know. 

What do you think are the three biggest obstacles to achieving success in the podcast industry?

The fact that the market is saturated is a big obstacle for most people. Just about every idea is taken and it’s hard to set yourself apart. In addition, getting your name out there is extremely difficult, especially when compared to other things like YouTube. On YouTube, you can hack that algorithm and get your video to show up when someone searches for a certain thing. It also recommends your videos based on search history. That’s nowhere near as prevalent in podcasting. It’s very 1%-ish. The big names get bigger and the small ones stay small.

The main obstacle I see with most people, however, is simply not knowing what their show is. Not doing the work to break down the show to its base parts and seeing what works and what needs to be thrown away. Everyone’s obsessed with audio quality and making sure the audio sounds perfect, but no one’s willing to do that same precise tweaking with their content.

If you were to listen to one podcast, and only one, podcast for the rest of your life, what would it be?

The Adventure Zone. My wife and I wouldn’t be together right now if it wasn’t for that podcast. Our first dates consisted of long car rides and the McElroy brothers making goofs about Taako the wizard. It’s got a big place in my heart.

For readers who might not be familiar or interested in listening to podcasts, what are they missing out on? How would you pitch listening podcasts?

My favorite quote about podcasting is that “podcasts are the mustard you put on the thing you’re actually doing” which sounds slightly demeaning, but it’s just so accurate for me. Everyone wants to get better, but they also want to be entertained. They want to binge Netflix series and the latest season of Queer Eye (which reminds me, I need to get on that Season 5 train.) Podcasting allows you to get better, to go workout, drive to new places, etc. WHILE being entertained or even learning about new subjects! It’s the best of both worlds, baby.

As your podcasts are continuing to grow, where do you see yourself podcasting self in the next five years?

Hopefully still independent, still making money and continuing to do insane things. Podcasting has afforded me some ridiculous opportunities and I just want to see what happens next. It sounds egotistical, but I really wouldn’t mind becoming the “Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson” of podcasting. Hardest worker in the room and multiple projects to prove it. That might be my pro wrestling mindset speaking though. 

Out of all the podcasts you listen to, who are you a fan of?

As I stated earlier, I’m a big fan of the McElroys. I like to say Night Attack is what made me start podcasting, but the McElroys are what made me take it seriously. Each of them inspire me in different ways and I genuinely can’t thank them enough for all they’ve done. They showed me that you can grow and make great things and that podcasting doesn’t just have to be one thing. It can be amazing storytelling like The Adventure Zone or just having fun with your brothers a la MBMBAM. 

What should we listen to?

Other than my shows? Well, there’s Oh No! Lit Class and Ride Rehab that I mentioned earlier. Radish is a great show based out of Atlanta where four guys just chat about their favorite things and those idiots are so insanely funny that it makes me jealous. If you’re angry at your job, Associates Anonymous is phenomenal. Sidequesting and Relativity are great options for some solid audio-drama. If you want some wholesome humor, check out Horseshoes and Hand Grenades. They’re a couple of sweeties and deserve more love. I could go on all day, but that’s a good starter pack.

Follow Scottye Moore

Follow Scottye Moore on Podchaser and Twitter. All of his shows are at www.aloadofpurebs.com.