Transcript
What's up, my bloggy friends? Famous Ashley Grant
here, and holy cow, I can't believe it is about
to be the new year. It seems like just yesterday,
2025 began, and yet... We're just upon 2026.
When did this happen? So... I just want to let
you know that what you're about to hear is probably
the most unhinged interview I've ever done. I
interviewed Robert Yannis Jr. He and I have known
each other since we were both working at the
theater. I think I was 16. He may have been 17,
maybe 16. I'm not sure. But we've worked together
forever. We were working at the theater. Then
we both got into freelance writing. He worked
for me whenever I was working for a magazine
for a little bit. And we've kind of just hung
out and known each other ever since. We're both
content creators. And so I wanted to sit down.
with him and talk about our new year's goals
because I feel like it's important to kind of
reflect on where you are right now and where
you want to be in the new year. I feel like if
you do that, you're setting yourself up for success
for the new year. So I tried to not edit this
as much as possible. So it's very unhinged, but
I find it kind of entertaining and I hope you
will too. And I hope you'll glean some sort of
insights from it and hopefully it'll get you
to think about what you want your 2026 to look
like, what you want your new year to look like.
Happy holidays from all of us here at the Bloggy
Friends show. And let's get into it. Robert,
the reason I wanted to bring you on is because
you and I have known each other forever. And
you kind of were both in the same boat in the
sense that we're both content creators. We're
both writers. We're both trying to figure out
what we want to be when we grow up. And so, like
I said, I kind of wanted this to be an accountability
thing of what are you doing in 2026? What do
you want to do? What do you want to? see happen
in your career? And the idea being, maybe we'll
inspire other people who are listening to figure
their shit out too. Yeah. I mean, for me, I just
keep running into a roadblock when it comes to
the content writing side of things. I think the
proliferation of AI, as we've sort of been talking
about, has kind of decimated in large parts the
reliability of that industry. You're seeing journalists
and... And writers kind of laid off left and
right. So since leaving my last job about, I'd
say a year ago, but it was also more like January
because I did stay on part time for a few months
to kind of help transition to the new person
and everything. But it's I've really been focusing
on kind of other skill sets and like developing
my skill set. I think that's even in the last
role that I did. I was writing, but I was also
editing, but I was also doing social media, but
I was also, you know, working on a podcast, but
I was also hosting webinars. Like that was kind
of the day to day workload was kind of all of
that on and off. And I think that was sort of
a good crash course and a good sort of way to
shake things up. So I've been leaning a lot more
on the video side of things, on the audio side
of things, kind of developing skill sets. I've
kind of been toying with editing. I've actually,
for most of this year, been kind of doing a little
bit of content editing for test prep materials
and things like that. And it's not a reliable
paycheck, but it's new experience. So what I've
really been doing the last few months is kind
of exposing myself to a variety of different
types of content creation. I've even done a little
bit of voice acting for AI training, ironically
enough. Being like, hey, this is how this should
be read based on the prompt, et cetera. So it's
been that's kind of been where I've been really
turning my focus to in addition to my own podcast
and all that other stuff. But like just trying
to sort of spread my wings and embrace the new
multimedia landscape that we're all facing and
try and familiarize myself with some of the tools,
including AI that are. slowly creeping in and
I think just kind of becoming, well, not even
slowly creeping in, quickly creeping in and sort
of becoming the norm because, you know, I've
seen two extremes, the people that are just like,
well, we're going to have AI do that. And the
people that are just like, nope, I won't use
AI. I won't work with anyone who uses AI. I am,
you know, complete anti that technology. And
I think there's got to be some more nuance in
that conversation and there's got to be more
of a balance because it is. It is here. It is
growing. It is developing more sophisticated
responses all the time. And I think it's really
become more of an art of how to properly use
it. We're focusing so much on should we use it?
Should we not use it? That we're not educating
people on, okay, it's here. It's infiltrating
everything anyway. What is the best way to implement
it? And how can we apply it to improve things
or improve efficiency? Without getting lost in
the shuffle, because those people who are so
anti are, I think, going to really wake up one
day and find themselves at a disadvantage. I
agree completely. I mean, and, you know, it's
funny you said the skill set thing, because five
years ago I started working for a client and
I was required to start a podcast as part of
like, you know. being able to write for them.
And I started trying to build that skill set
myself. That's how the bloggy friend show came
to be. You know, I started it on April Fool's
Day in case it was awful. I could say it was
a joke. And, you know, I too have been like I've
been hard pivoting lately, like really trying
to do a lot more audio, looking for gigs that
are audio related, because even though there
are an annoying amount of people that are using
AI for podcasting now, too, I still feel like.
You can still tell when it's actually a person
that's recording it, you know, because you don't
have those robotic sounds and you don't have
those monotone in the, you know, although I will
say it's scary how good it's getting. I mean,
I heard I heard an overdub of of someone that
that I kind of respect. And when I was listening
to it, it sounded like him. I was like, I couldn't
tell that he didn't record it live. And that's
scary as hell. But at the same time, I feel like
if we're going to be bloggers, we, you know,
I said this about a year ago. I can't remember
who I was talking to, but well, I've said it
to several people. Let's be honest. You can't
just have a blog anymore. You need so much more
than that. You need to build like a full media
brand behind yourself. And I think podcasting,
it's kind of just like. the next evolution for
us content creators. We have to all have a podcast
or something. And I feel like if we have a podcast,
maybe that's the way we build community now.
Maybe that's the way we can talk directly to
our people because it is intimate, right? It's
intimate. I'm in your ears or, you know, well,
I'm probably in your ears because we're not doing,
we're not listening to podcasts passively. In
a way, we're sort of actively listening to it.
But at the same time, we're we're doing our grocery
run or we're doing our commute or we're, you
know, doing laundry while we're listening to
a podcast. So I guess that is passive, isn't
it? At the same time, it's like active, passive
listening. Does that make sense? Yeah, absolutely.
Because like you're still listening to the person,
even though it's sort of it's sort of the whole
parasocial thing where you're like, oh, I feel
like I know these people because it's like. You're
a fly on the wall on their conversation, whatever
the topic may be. And so it's like, you know,
it does feel like that intimate connection. And
I think the fact that a lot of times, you know,
especially if you're listening to it with headphones
or AirPods or whatever, it's like no one else
can hear you. It's like you're let in on that
conversation. Yeah. I think and I think that's
you're seeing a lot of not only, you know, independent
podcasters enter the fray, but like. All the
celebrities now have podcasts. I mean, if you
if that isn't an indication that that's where
the industry is going, that's where the money
is. Everyone like literally every time I turn
around, I'm like, oh, that's right. Kiki Plummer
has a podcast. I forgot. Oh, Amy Poehler has
a podcast. Oh, Dax Shepard has like every famous
person who was an actor, a singer on movies,
television, whatever authors. Reality. There
was all of them. Yeah, exactly. Like my guilty
pleasure is gravy. level podcast girls next level
podcast is um holly and bridget from the girls
next door circa you know the 2000s and uh and
i i was one of those annoying people that watched
girls next door because okay fine i wanted to
be a kept woman i thought it was cool you know
and just hearing the background of what was really
going on behind the scenes that's fascinating
you know It's all these nostalgia things that
are happening as well. Like we have the House
of Hallowell podcast. That's the charmed rewatch.
Or the office ladies that are doing an office
rewatch. And it's kind of funny how all these
people that are doing podcasts that are rewatch
ones, like even the Full House one. I can't even
think of all the ones that are probably in existence
right now. There's a How I Met Your Mother one
that I think just started. It's like one of the
co -creators of the show and Josh Radner, who
played Ted, just like How We Made Your Mother,
I think it's called. It's terrible. Of course
there is. Okay, so all these people that are
starting podcasts, all of them are also starting
websites, and many of them are starting blogs
to go with the podcast so that they can get the
SEO, so they can, you know, hell, get into the
AI agents, to get into ChatGPT browser, to get
into ChatGPT browser. I've not tried it out.
I don't hate. But but yeah, I think I think as
content creators, if we are not adding more skill
sets to our repertoire, to our toolbox, you know,
we're going to be that much more difficult to
employ. And I mean, I used to joke that I had
to get fired seven times before I was unemployed.
And that number is dwindling and that scares
the shit out of me. And so it's like if we don't
find new avenues, new ways to bring in revenue.
oh i'm scared for us yeah yeah i mean and and
when i officially left full you know uh my last
in office full -time role was 2014 and i was
like i gotta get out of here and that's when
i first took the jump and was doing freelance
and was kind of started with entertainment writing
and then was doing some content marketing stuff
in there and then kind of trying to balance the
two of them and so for a lot of the last decade
I was kind of bouncing back and forth between
entertainment journalism or features and or content
marketing or like business journalism and back
and forth and back and forth and some combination
of the above. And now it's I doesn't feel it's
it suddenly it doesn't feel like it's enough.
Like all of that experience is kind of like,
yeah, OK, but what else can you do? I'm like,
oh, OK, well, I spent the last decade kind of
focusing on the writing part of it and these
particular sort of subsets. And now I feel like
a lot of that is devalued in a lot of ways because
of the technology, because of the world that
we sort of find ourselves in today. It's 100
percent right there with you. I mean, you know,
it's it's funny because I, too, have written
about all kinds of different things. And I make
it sound like a prison sentence when I'm like,
yeah, I did two years of security, you know,
writing for security, which it felt like a prison
sentence because it was bloody awful. It was
boring as hell. Don't get me wrong. I was very
good at writing it. Yeah, but I didn't like it.
You know, it's like there are certain pieces
of content that I'm so glad no one knows I wrote
that they were ghostwritten because I would just
be ashamed if anyone knew like some of the stuff
I've written. But no, it's just like it was dark
content, like really like suicidal ideation and,
you know, depressing. And it's like, thank God
I had those gigs because it paid the bills. But
thank God my name's not on it. But I find myself
now like trying to really dive into what do I
even like? Like it kind of reminds me of that
scene in Runaway Bride whenever Julia Roberts
character is trying 27 different types of eggs
because she has no idea what type of eggs she
likes. Do you remember that movie? It's been
a long time since I've seen it, yeah. Well, basically
every guy that she has ever dated, that's her
favorite type of ex. She dates one guy, she wants
scrambled. She dates another, she wants poached.
Right, right. She dates another, she wants ex
-Benedict. But, well, I guess that is poached.
But you get the idea. So she likes different
eggs depending on who she's with. And so it's
kind of like that for a freelance writer. We
fall into this, oh, where that's what we like,
but do we really? So I'm sitting here with 27
plates of eggs trying to figure out what kind
do I even like? Yeah. Yeah. And so that that's
kind of been one of the things that I've been
trying to figure out myself. You know, at the
time that this comes out, it'll have been more
than 100 days, like well, well over 100 days
that I've been kind of getting obsessed with
fitness. I had my. 100 day mark in October. So
thank you. Thank you. I busted my ass and lost
three pant sizes and 20 pounds. Go me a little
attaboy right there. But but so that's kind of
become my passion right now is talking about
fitness and talking about movement. And so I
did start a I soft launched a podcast called
More Movement, Please. By the time this airs,
I will be going public with it. That is the plan.
So hopefully future Ashley can. Be excited. But
it's like, OK, if I love that right now, do I
then go after fitness blogs to write for? Or
do I start talking to more fitness podcasts?
Because I was actually doing some ghostwriting
for a fitness podcast. I was writing all their
show notes. And so it's like, OK, so since I've
since I've acquired the tool of being able to
podcast and I can also can do kind of decent
graphics and Canva for social media. Right. What
else can I do? You know? But at the same time,
I'm really at that point in my career, and I'm
sure you can relate to this because we've had
similar conversations. I'm at that point in my
career where I'm like, I want to build something
that is mine that no one can take away from me,
even if it's ghostwritten in the sense that it
has a pen name. I don't want to have to keep
chasing people to tell me I'm worthy of being
paid. I want to find ways to acquire sponsors,
to acquire affiliate partnerships, to acquire
all those things to feel like I matter. I want
the people to love me. I just need external validation.
And a paycheck. Yeah, and a paycheck would be
nice. And, you know, if that paycheck happens
to have seven zeros, that's fantastic as well.
find another number that is higher than zero
right and not in the negative what yeah i was
gonna say what if it's on the right of the decimal
point no i don't want it no need a couple million
and i'll be good but yeah no that's i think that's
the thing i was thinking of when you were talking
about the 27 different kinds of eggs it's like
okay what am i interested in one and then two
how can i pursue that like that's that's the
that's the The real challenge is like, OK, I'm
interested in this. Where is there space for,
you know, in the marketplace for me to kind of
go after that topic or pursue it? Or and or is
it something like you like you're doing with
the other podcast? Like, is that is it something
that you create on your own? And then my challenge
has also been, one, I have the creative mind
and I have the interest in all the crooked table
stuff that I've been doing with my podcast. But
it's like I don't have the business mind. So
I'm like, I can. plan podcasts and get guests
and create content and then I put it out into
the world and then I'm like now what because
I don't have the I don't have the knowledge or
the direction like or I you know I need to try
and work on that but then it's also like but
in the meantime I also need to bring in things
that are going to make money now not eventually
you know and that's the big challenge with the
podcasting but then also with like any sense
of creative writing because every once in a while
the people in my life will be like you should
work on that that's that novel that others that
whatever creator I'm like yeah when like exactly
with what time with what energy because I you
know my wife and I have two small children for
people listening and don't know that I know Ashley
does and with what time with what energy with
what money yeah am I gonna sustain doing that
and not and justify that focusing on creative
writing rather than trying to pursue some form
of income, even if it takes the form of taking
online courses and skills development, because
that at least will lead to presumably better
opportunities down the line. So I've kind of
been trying to focus more on the skills development
side of things and then sort of to dovetail off
of your fitness goals. I've been working on a
lot of trying to get my mind and body and spirit
all aligned because everything's been really
thrown out of whack the last several years and
so using this sort of forced downtime um to to
kind of get everything in order so that when
the next big thing does arrive or at least or
i create it whichever the case may be um i'm
more and i'm in a better i'm in a better you
know personal space to actually devote time and
focus to it Yeah, it makes perfect sense to me.
And I mean, that's one of the things I was saying,
like you and I have that in common that we we
have these goals, but then trying to figure out,
OK, how the hell do you make it happen? Because
we can sit there and write, you know, 20 blog
posts. We can sit there and record 20 podcast
episodes. But you want me to monetize it? What?
Like, how do I how do I tell a person, hey, this
is worthy of you sponsoring me for 20 grand for
the year? Right. Madeira and headlights going
I don't think I can do this man right and if
you're like me and I know a lot of creative people
are you're you get really passionate about the
things that you're creating but then as soon
as it turns time to convince people to to you
know take it in to read it write it or to read
it listen to it watch it whatever suddenly you're
like uh I made this thing I hope it probably
sucks I don't know check it out like all you
completely retreat all that self -worth stuff
starts bubbling up and then you're like, oh,
I made this thing. I'm so sorry. Yeah, you know,
yeah. Even if you're proud of it behind the scenes,
it's it's a very different energy to put forward
that that level of confidence, at least for me,
it is. Oh, I same boat, bro. I mean, and funny,
though, is because of the fact that, you know,
the the new podcast that I'm working on, the
more movement, please, for some reason, something
about it. it feels like it would be easier to
sell than to sell like the bloggy friend show
because I guess the bloggy friend show it feels
like it's my baby and and it's my story of of
um of how I became a content creator and all
that stuff and how people can do the same thing
that I'm doing but something about the more movement
please it feels more like this is so cheesy it
feels more like a movement in in some weird way
like I I feel like there's a passion and a um
purpose behind it because, you know, I'm watching
right now as, as family members are dealing with
health problems that I, you know, I don't want.
And that was actually one of the things that,
that started the hundred day fitness journey
is I, I got word that someone close to me was
having a medical issue. And I remember whining
to my instructor. I'm like, I don't want to be
like that. I don't want to, you know, I don't
want to be that age and having all these woes.
And she's like, so change it. You're the only
one who can. Yeah. And I'm like, damn it, woman.
Why do you have to always be right? You'll have
to ask her that on the podcast. That's the plan.
That is one of the many plans. But but yeah.
And then and then, you know, she said that phrase
to me of, you know, the exercising is a choice
just like anything else. take the time for it
and it's like well damn it hit me again with
another dagger yeah but um i guess it's just
a matter of figuring out okay now that i have
this skill set number one how do i do it to bring
money in and number two how can i build something
that i own like i i just i keep coming back to
that because like i've been in the game since
2007 and i have nothing to show for it except
for famous ashleygrant .com yeah and people still
ask me if it's a porn site Which I always say
yes. You're like, not yet. No, I always say yes.
And here's why. It's because whenever I was working
for Metromix, huh? You'll get more traffic that
way. Exactly, exactly. You're just going to check
it out. Back when I was working for Metromix,
I gave this guy a card and he looked at me and
said, famous Ashley. Does that mean it's a porn
site? And I said, absolutely. And he sent me
an email, no, no, a text message at three o 'clock
in the morning. And he's like, I have been to
every single page of your website. There are
no boobs. And I was like, I literally texted
back. You're the boob, but thanks for the traffic.
Yeah. Yeah. Right. It's the only thing I could
think to say, because what do you say to that?
But especially at three in the morning, he's
like, I've all set up. I have my station ready
and nothing. I'm not finding any material to
work with. In a drunken stupor, he's like, there
is nothing here. Well, I can just imagine. I
didn't use any explicit terms, just to say. You
can put onto that whatever you think. He had
his station ready. All right. He had his station
ready. Audience, take from that what you will.
I'm over here blushing. You can't see it because
I'm not going to show this video to anybody,
but I'm probably as red as a tomato. Phew. Oh,
man. Okay, so let's kind of reel things back
in. Sure. If you woke up tomorrow. Well, I hope
you wake up tomorrow. But if you woke up tomorrow
and. It feels like a threat. What is it that
if you tell someone to have a good day, it's
sweet. But if you say have a good 24 hours, it
sounds like. Yeah. The countdown begins now.
The countdown begins now. Have a good 24 hours.
OK, if you woke up tomorrow and money was not
an issue, what would you do? I would still be
doing the podcasting stuff that I've been doing
mostly unpaid for the last decade. I would still
be doing that and I would hire people to do the
promotion stuff for me and doing at least marginally
better than I'm doing now. And that's why that's
been such a passion project for me because it's
really the connections that I've made from doing
all my Crooked Table podcast stuff because it's
like I made real... IRL friendships from, from
those, from those podcasts, like people that
I only met on Twitter, which I'm not on anymore
at all. Cause I backed out of Twitter slash X
after events occurred. Now your ex got it. Yeah,
exactly. X is my ex. And then, um, you know,
I've met some of these people in real life. I've
started my, have a, uh, my, my podcast back to
Bluey that I, my cohost and I. met online and
then a few months ago met in person for the first
time and we've been doing that for a couple years
and that's been really fun so i mean i would
continue doing the entertainment coverage that
i've been doing on my own podcasts and videos
and stuff and i would probably crack open the
creative writing thing again it's like it's i'd
be doing the stuff that i want to do that i don't
feel like i can justify because i'm trying to
do the stuff that will get me paid i mean it's
tale as old as time right So it's like trying
to find a balance between those two or even better,
having them be one in the same is the, you know,
the long term like pipe dream, maybe, but at
least like the goal, like in the back of my mind,
that's always kind of nagging at me. I hear you.
And I mean, it sounds very similar to some of
the stuff that I've said that I, I too would
be still podcasting. I still would be writing
in some capacity. I'm not sure what type of writing
I am. I do love writing about food. I get a kick
out of that. I like figuring out recipes and
then telling people about them. So, you know,
one of the things that my husband and I were
talking about doing was launching a food blog.
But then when I watched the helpful content update,
which was anything but and it killed all the
recipe blogs that I loved. Like, I mean, one
of the girls I know, she was getting a million
page views a month and she went down to ten thousand
a month. And that's kind of a big deal. Yeah.
I mean, that is a that is a business killer.
And so it's like, OK, so if we know what we're
passionate about and what we would do. with not
getting paid considering well that's what we're
already freaking doing how do we now take that
and turn that into an actual revenue stream because
you know they say oh if you if you do what you
love you'll never work a day in your life yeah
but we still gotta eat yeah exactly we still
gotta eat sharon so if we have to eat how the
hell do we get paid and i don't know if you've
noticed but things are not getting any cheaper
out there in the world i don't even want to talk
about it And that's all I'm going to say about
that. Well, I will say one thing. I agree completely
because I remember when ramen noodles were less
than 30 cents a package and I just saw them for
$1 .50. What the hell? I'm not bitter. Ramen
noodles are pretty good, though. So, like, if
you got to eat for $1 .50, you could do a lot
worse. Yeah, you're not wrong. Have you seen
the ramen noodle cookbook? No. Oh, my goodness.
The recipe's in there. Like, I have one that
I still use. And we call it Thailand noodles.
Because there was this recipe that we tried when
we were in Thailand. And it was, well, interestingly
enough, $1 .50 on the street. Anyway. But, yeah.
So, we still make that here at home. Because,
you know, it's a cheap meal. Yeah. So, no. There's
nothing wrong with Thailand noodles. There's
nothing wrong with ramen noodles. But I don't
want them every day. Right. I like some variety.
Yeah. Because I'm a bougie bitch. And you can
cover food on your More Movement, Please thing.
That's like a whole, you know, if you're doing
a lot of movement, you want to eat right, it
complements it, the whole fitness thing. So there's
opportunities there. I've had this discussion.
Same page, best thing for everybody. It's just
a matter of figuring out, okay, how the hell
do you pay for it? And so, like, I've been looking
into new affiliate opportunities. Yeah. Yeah.
So I was looking at that. I was looking at Commission
Junction. I was looking at Warrior Plus. I was
looking at JV Zoo, you know, the joint venture
affiliate network company. And I actually now
that I've started trying to put out affiliate
offers, I actually have made a little bit of
money, but not as much as I need to pay King
Bill. Right. Oh, yeah. And that's always the
problem. Right. And I just I interviewed a blogger
yesterday who said that, you know, oh, you know,
I started my blog back of this and back in the
day and and I wasn't making any money. And then
then last year I got serious and now I'm making
between a grand and two grand. And I just wanted
to reach through the computer and be like, oh,
how? Because, you know, we've been at this forever
and I'm not making two grand a month on my own
shit. Right. Exactly. But I would like to. Sure.
Gimme. Yeah. There you go. So I'm curious, because
you do so much with entertainment, have you considered
doing a Patreon? I have considered. I have a
Patreon. I have not done much with it. Yeah.
But I do have a Patreon. I even put a couple
like bonus content things on there. Yeah. Because
I had this big plan of like, oh, I'll have the
Patreon and then like the older episodes of the
show that are either not on Apple podcast because
there's so many episodes in the. crooked table
podcast slash now close watch feed um kind of
dropped off or before the rebrand and just post
them on the patreon as a as a kind of a a perk
there or like uh bonus content from specific
episodes and that kind of thing i just haven't
kept up with it yeah and it's one of those things
that it's also like well there's nobody there
so It's a chicken and egg thing. There's not
going to be anybody there unless they put content
in it, into it. But it's hard to, again, to justify
putting content into it. If there's nobody there.
I get it. I totally do. But I, yeah. So I've,
I've had that in my, I had that in my script
when I do the whole welcome to close watch or
welcome to French's detours or whatever. And
then as my sign off, I had the whole thing about
support us on Patreon. I've just been like skipping
over it the last several months. Cause I'm like,
there's not anything there. It doesn't feel disingenuous
to promote it. So. I hear that. That's something
I need to I have a lot of things, even in the
crooked table space that I want to pursue that
I haven't because I keep scaling back the number
of episodes I want to do because I don't want
to overwhelm myself. So it's all about balance
again. This is my whole. Yeah, this is my whole
journey of this this year, especially is how
do I fit everything together? Like, how do I
make all these things work internally and externally,
personally and professionally? And so. That's
been a real kind of puzzling together situation.
Hey, I get it. Are you using ads on your CrookedTable
.com? No, I have not. In fact, I haven't even
kept up with CrookedTable .com. CrookedTable
.com now forwards to the link tree with all the
different links. And CrookedTable .com is officially
even a fully active website at the current time.
It's a holy whaty? Sorry. It's not even fully
active at this current time. Not fully active.
I thought you said something else. Sorry. That
too. Probably that too. Been a long day. So,
okay, if we were to reverse engineer this to
figure out how to get you paid, because we're
going to figure you out first, and then maybe
we'll think about it. Oh, boy. Others have tried.
Best of luck. All right. So if you were to revive
kirkatable .com, basically it would entail taking
every single episode that you have created and
writing a blog post about every single episode.
Yeah. What say you? So, okay. So writing a blog
post, do you mean like, hey, in episode such
and such, we talked about the show notes blog
post? Basically show notes. Yeah. I had done
that. And then. So I'm probably have most of
like up until the last year or so, most of them
written and on the, you know, the the WordPress
site of all of that. OK, haven't been that posted.
So now how could you refresh that to include
affiliate links to every single movie you talk
about and include like a donation button to support
the show or things like that? Like, how could
you how could you do something like that? I mean,
the obvious thing is buying things on physical
media or merch connected to each film, that kind
of thing. And then. Yeah, I don't know. What
do you mean? What do you mean buying? Why would
you buy it? Well, you're talking about affiliate
links to services or to purchase products or
purchase products. Like, do you have to actually
purchase the product to be able to? Oh, no, I
don't have to purchase. I'm saying for other
people to purchase it. Yeah, yeah. No, no, no.
OK. Because it would be like, you know, I did
an episode on The Wiz just recently that's about
to be posted. Probably by the time this is up,
it will be live. And there's a 4K Criterion collection
of The Wiz that retails for like $39 something
on Amazon. So that's kind of on the smaller end
of things. But still, it's something. That would
be the most obvious one to add. And I had an
Amazon Associates account at one point that I
did not. keep up with. And I think I tried recently
and they were like, no, thank you. And I was
like, oh, okay, thanks. So then instead you should
sign up for like Rakuten and then instead of
using Amazon as your, you know, your video links,
you could link to Walmart and Target, buy the
video there. Yeah. Yeah. Just a thought. Yeah.
These are all things I have not been putting,
not been focusing on because I've just been creating
the content and then praying that it does something.
What does that mean to you, praying that it does
something? I don't know. Downloads increase on
their own, basically. I don't know. I haven't
been doing that as strategic with it as I probably
should have because I have more of the creator
mindset. And I've been kind of putting so much
focus on the content creation that I haven't
put the same amount of care and effort into what
happens next. And also, I've been doing full
-time jobs in the midst of all this. So when
I edit stuff, it's usually at night or whenever.
So it's easy to slip through the cracks. Sorry,
go ahead. No, no worries. I was just going to
say, who is it that you host your podcast with?
Well, right now it's with Speaker because I'm
also part of a podcast network. That's only been
the last year or so, less than a year that I've
been doing that. So now I do have... some ads
on throughout my episodes because of that. That's
what I was going to ask you. So you have dynamic
ads that are OK. So if you if you needed to increase
revenue, the fastest way would be to increase
your downloads. Sounds like. Yeah. OK, so if
you were going to increase your downloads, what
would you do? How would you go about it? I mean,
it feels like the most obvious answer is social
media marketing, which is, again, as we've established,
not my strong suit. OK, so no, no, you're not
going to social media instead. I think what you
should do is go back to all of your past episodes
and refresh the SEO on them, like make them more
searchable. And they all need to be on YouTube,
too. And if you're not on all the podcast directories,
you need to get your show on all the podcast
directories. Yeah, that's another thing. So.
I don't want to say social media is like the
is like the worst thing to do. Instead, I think
what you should do is be strategic if you are
going to use social media, maybe instead. write
some LinkedIn blog posts, like write articles
on LinkedIn about the different episodes, maybe
make them related to something business oriented
or I don't know, anything really. And then link
back to the episodes. Maybe that would help build
your integrity, make you look marketable. Because
I've actually been playing with that myself.
That's actually how I landed some of the affiliate
commissions I did this year. I was repurposing
some of my posts about how to be a podcaster.
and actually made some sales. Who knew? So, I
mean, it's just, that's a thought. Yeah. And
it's one of the things I'm playing with. Like
I'm playing with all kinds of different ideas.
Like one of the things that my husband and I
were talking about is we were talking about starting
an actual website for the food blog that I was
telling you about. But the more I talk to people
and the more I discuss things with like how everything
is moving, I can't help but wonder if my better
way. of moving forward is just to have everything
on my own personal website, famousashtagrant
.com and have categories of all the things I
give a damn about. That way, it's only one thing
to take care of. Yeah. So like the More Movement
Please podcast. Yeah, OK, it's a new podcast,
but it redirects, you know, to famousashtagrant
.com slash more movement, please. The podcast
I deal with podcast. It will go to famousashtagrant
.com backslash podcast I deal with or bloggy
friends show. Even that has the same thing. And
so I'm like, OK, so. If I if I'm creating all
these things and it only goes to one place, maybe
that'll be easier. Yeah. Yeah. Like one source
of truth. Like I mentioned Denise Duffield Thomas
earlier. Anyway, she's also my money mentor.
And her thing is she sells a money boot camp
like that's that's her big bread and butter item.
She sells money boot camp and she sells sacred
money archetypes. But money boot camp is her
big thing. And so. Her mantra, even though it's
not always sexy, is all roads lead to boot camp.
And so everything she does, the whole goal is
to get people into her boot camp. So whatever
she's creating, everything goes to DeniseDT .com
because they're all trying to get you into the
boot camp. And so I'm looking for my all roads
lead to moment. I'm trying to figure out what
the hell that looks like. And the only thing
I can keep coming up with is all roads lead to
famoushushagrant .com. I don't know what else
to do. Like, I really do not know what else to
do. I know there's all kinds of things I want
to write about. I know there's all kinds of things
I want to podcast about. But the idea of creating
a single website for every single thing that
I want to do just sounds exhausting. Yeah. It's
funny that you mentioned that because one thing
that I've talked to Kai about, obviously, all
of this, she hears most of my... grievances throughout
the years as you may assume um she'd be like
well why don't you use crooked table for like
if i'm doing the my own shows on crooked table
.com why don't i just when i do work for other
people like have that be as like as have crooked
table be like the hub for all of that stuff and
then the more that i've gotten into video and
audio production for like clients or as a as
on more of a freelance slash contractor basis
the more i'm like yeah does crooked table productions
doesn't have to just be me talking about movies
it can be audio video production period and so
that's one thing that i'm thinking about is just
expanding that scope to include production services
that i do for other uh, for other shows outside
of the ones that I've already kind of created
under that banner. Then it sounds like you already
know what you need to do. Create a page with
your services. Uh, cricket table .com. Yes. So
what do you want to do with it? It sounds like
you need to add a production services page to
site and, um, then start promoting the shit out
of yourself. So if we, if we get a, um, a services
page. then at that point we just need to promote
you to other podcasters. And do you feel like
you're in a position that you have enough experience
that you could actually sell this stuff? Do you
feel like you're in a position you could actually
sell this stuff? Could I do the job? Yes. Could
I sell it? I don't know. That's the problem.
Because I'm not, as we were saying, selling myself
is not a strong suit. How'd you get your writing
gigs? Yeah, I know. Good question. That's what
I wonder a lot of the time. Other than me emailing
you one day randomly and saying, hey, you want
to write for the magazine? Me emailing people
randomly? Me emailing other people randomly?
I got my, well, my first like major post -college
online entertainment thing was with Screen Rant.
And that was literally me just tweeting out one
day, man, I wish I could write for at Screen
Rant. And the guy who ran the who owned the site
at the time responded and was like, hey, send
me an email, blah, blah, blah. And that's how
that happened. And I worked with them for several
years. And that kind of was the starting point
for that. So I think I'm just not vocalizing.
I'm not manifesting things as much as I should
be. I'm keeping all my cards close to my chest
and saying, like, I want this and this and this
and this and dealing them out. And I think I
need to. I need to try and meet the universe
halfway. I'm working on I'm working on a lot
of stuff internally, actually, that it's hopefully
going to help with a lot of this thing. A lot
of the confidence and the self -worth and and
the putting myself out there of it all. I do
think that's been holding me back quite a bit.
Absolutely. So here's what we're going to do.
You're going to get the page up, get the page
up and I'll promote it. Damn it. OK, sounds good.
Yes. So this is your accountability reporting
for duty telling you that, yes, get the page
up and I will promote it to my network. OK. And
then you're just going to retweet it or not retweet
it, reshare it. How do you do it? Repost it.
Repost. You're going to repost it. Yes. That's
step one. I do think this is also like all of
this is coming at a really good time, too, because
I usually take like the end of the year, the
beginning of the next year, like November, December,
January to kind of. not be recording podcasts
constantly and to kind of be in more of a regroup
and refresh type of mode. So maybe that's a good
window to sort of do some of these things and
make some of these changes and kind of prepare
for the future of Crooked Table Productions.
Okay, so you're going to do your page and I'm
going to do mine where I'm going to say people
can hire me as their voice. There you go. And
then you're going to put it on your page and
I'll put yours on mine and then we'll promote
each other. That works for me. Digital high five.
that's the cheesiest fucking thing i've done
all day it's but we both participated so we're
both equally uh guilty yes we're we're cheese
and cheese whiz who's who is anyway um so yeah
i think that could be a fun way to play uh that's
one idea and then i'm already harassing you about
whether or not you're working out so maybe i'm
going to start harassing you about other things
too i know i was even going to say i'm like oh
she's going to have a new question every monday
Did I tell you you're in my calendar? Am I really?
Yes. What I did. I appreciate that. I literally
put in my calendar every single Monday at I think
it's 730 a .m. I get an email that says harass
Robert and ask him his fitness goals for the
week. And every Monday or Wednesday, depending
on how soon I sheepishly respond. It's usually
me being like, not much. I have two small children.
They drain me of all my energy. Yeah, you're
like, I open Facebook and I see she's messaged
me. I ain't fucking touching that. I know there
are people that do that because they've told
me. I open my phone and I see I got a message
from you and I don't open it because I don't
know what it holds. Now I know. I know that feeling.
I know your game, Robert. I'm going to make you
work, damn it. That's the plan. More movement,
please, and more work, please. I mean, yeah,
there you go. That's one of the tabs on, you
know, one of the things you can have on Famous
I Should Grant. More movement, more work next
to it, whatever. You just go with the more blank.
Right. Anyway, I don't even know if we have enough
meat on this bone to come up with something good,
but I'll edit it so that it sounds good. The
magic of editing. Yes. That guy said, we'll fix
it in post. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. So, okay. Bringing
all this back together, you're going to make
a services page. I'm going to make a service
page. So we're going to promote each other. What
else? What can we do in 2026 to finally be the
rock stars we deserve to be? I like your creative
writing thing. I might want to do, I might brush
up more on some of that. I think there's a lot
of catharsis from. And I think I want to refocus
some of that. Also, the fact that I have these
podcasts, it has not eluded me that that's an
easy place to put ads for, I don't know, if I've
written a book or if I have another podcast,
which I've been cross -promoting my Back to Bluey
podcast that I co -host on episodes of Crooked
Table stuff as well. And I think also just cross
-promoting in general with more people because
I know a lot of... Podcast people, obviously,
because I've had a lot of them on my show. And
maybe just being more vocal about cross -promoting,
not just by being on each other's shows, but
like, you know, you see every once in a while
on social media, like, hey, anybody up for an
ad exchange? Because I have a 30 -second spot
of me being like, hey, listen to the Crooked
Table, Close Watch, and Franchise Detours, and
blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. So being more open
and more vocal about collaboration and tapping
into the community more. I think that's a great
idea because if we don't ask for what we want,
it's definitely a no. So I think we just start
just asking who knows what could happen. I mean,
we have no idea where our conversations could
take us. We have no idea where, you know, if
we just start finally putting ourselves out there,
who knows, maybe, maybe by the, in fact, I'm
going to bring you back at the end of 2026. We're
going to rehash this out, find out where we've
been. and kind of just see what's next. I mean,
that is, of course, if Bloggy Friends Show even
still exists. I kind of hope it does because
what I'm kind of thinking is with Bloggy Friends
Show, it's kind of like my business more than
photographs. It was the beginning of everything.
Like I named it more than photographs because
at the time I literally was, well, doing more
than photographs. That's why I named it that
because, you know, people are asking what I do
and I'm like, well, you know, I do a little of
this, a little of that. And they're like, well,
aren't you just a photographer? I'm like, no,
I do more than photographs. And so that's why
that stuck. And so now it's like, OK, well, if
I'm doing a little bit of this, a little bit
of that, maybe I keep the bloggy friend show
because blogging is how it all got going. Yeah.
But I keep saying it and I'm still going to I'm
going to sing it. You know, this is the hill
I will die on. You cannot just have a blog. anymore
like if you want to make money online as a content
creator in 2025 2026 and beyond for god's sakes
brandon you need there it is you need to have
more than that it has to be more than that you
have to have things that drive people to it you
have to i mean yeah okay social media but i we
both have already made it pretty clear we hate
social media like it's it's a it's a time suck
it's a it's a no Even though I have to do it
because I'm on it all freaking day. Like anybody
knows that they can send me a message and I will
be on social media for now. Yeah. But it's like,
okay, if that's the case and we have all these
things at our disposal, surely to God we can
figure out how to funnel them into a way that
we can make money. Yeah. Doing things we love.
Exactly. Yeah. And I mean, I think that at least
with the more movement, I think that that, like
I said, it's becomes more than just a passion.
It's also got purpose behind it. Anyway. So we
talked about all that. I know where I'm going
to go with the episode. I'm going to make it
sexy. I'm going to wrap it up in a bow. It's
going to be awesome. Enjoy your next 24 hours.
Have a good 24 hours. Have a good 24 hours. So
where can people find you online, Robert? Are
we really doing that? Because I'll do it. We're
really going to do that. We're really doing that.
Find you online, Robert. You can find me on social
media at Crooked Table. I'm on Blue Sky, Instagram,
and Threads. You can also find me at CrookedTable
.com, which will mostly forward you to the link
tree where you can find my podcasts, Close Watch,
Franchise Detours, and the one I co -host, Back
to Bluey. And you can find me on LinkedIn and
all of that good stuff, Robert Yannis Jr. Well,
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