A podcast is not a nice-to-have; it’s a strategic brand asset that compounds over time.

Networking pro and PR agency founder Zoe Weisberg Coady, host of Not Perfect Networking, joins me in the Podcast Café to make the case that a podcast is an essential owned channel for every modern brand.

We get into how podcasts fuel thought leadership, strengthen real relationships (not transactional “networking”), and plug into today’s evolving media landscape. If you’ve been “thinking about starting,” this one’s your nudge.

In this episode

• Why Zoe believes every business should have a podcast—and how it sits alongside LinkedIn, your website, and other owned platforms.

• How to reframe networking from awkward and transactional to community-building and career-shaping.

• Lessons from 15+ years in PR: timing, cultural relevance, and creating friction in your stories so media—and listeners—care now, not “someday.”

• The power of a podcast to amplify thought leadership, attract media, and open doors to surprising relationships.

• What stops most people from launching (tech, consistency) and simple ways to remove the friction.

• Zoe’s next move: the Not Perfect Podcast Network—and how I’ll be helping bring it to life.

  
  

  Connect with Zoe: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zoe-weisberg-coady-57aab37/

  
  

  Connect with me, Hayleigh Hayhurst:

  Apply to work with us: https://hello.dubsado.com/public/form/view/6521a4cc8fdeed003a859a44

  Steal my Podcast Launch Checklist for free: ⁠https://www.espressopodcastproduction.com/⁠checklist⁠

  Website: ⁠https://www.espressopodcastproduction.com/

  ⁠Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/espressopodcastproduction/⁠

  YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@EspressoPodcastProduction⁠

  My favorite podcast tool, Descript: https://www.descript.com/?lmref=KkInCQ 

  Produced by Espresso Podcast Production: ⁠https://www.espressopodcastproduction.com