Pulling Back The Curtain: Year One of Washed Media
Today, January 14, 2020, is the one-year anniversary of the official launch of Washed Media. Exactly one year ago today, we published three episodes of Circling Back to kick this venture off, a standard Monday episode and two interviews that we recorded in Carlsbad, California.
You won’t find any other podcasts doing interviews with Chris Harrison and then-Bachelor Colton Underwood on its first day. But we did, and it would be the beginning of our first amazing year out on our own, a year I think we all agree exceeded any expectations we could have set for ourselves had we actually had any idea of how to set them.
When we began planning what this thing was going to look like, we didn’t have goals set in place or milestones we hoped to hit. We weren’t entirely sure what the content was going to look like, either. We were pretty sure we could earn enough income recording podcasts that these would be our full-time jobs, but just how successful Washed, and our flagship podcast Circling Back, would be, we didn’t have a clue.
After the overwhelming outpouring of support Will, Dave and I received from all of you following the cancelation of a former small-to-midsize podcast called Touching Base, one thing was for sure: We had to give this a shot and keep the content going. We would continue giving you the same fun and easy banter that brought you to Touching Base and just kind of see what happens from there.
Today, one year in, we have worked with 31 sponsors and five different ad agencies. We recently eclipsed 4,200 patrons on Patreon, most of which have opted for our Optimized Tier. We’ve sold merch, even some “I Was Inverted” Christmas sweaters somehow.
We’ve talked current events, discussed our personal lives, recapped episodes of The Bachelor/Bachelorette series, shared user-submitted ghost and “Worst Of” stories, steamed on every minuscule inconvenience our lives have thrown at us, answered hundreds of voicemail questions from our patrons, organized meetups, seen a Reddit community come to life, and Dave has made up countless, embarrassing stories about me.
Oh, and we hired someone? I still can’t believe we hired someone just eight months in. That was certainly not on my radar the first half of the year. Brett Merriman, of The Toges, left a tiny media outlet you’ve never heard of called Barstool Sports to move across the country and help us grow the business. We didn’t have an office or any employee bennies to speak of at the time, but he believed in what we were doing and took a chance.
We thought we were only playing a round of golf with him the first time we met, but he had other things in mind. After golf, he came to us with a spreadsheet and a pitch over Matt’s El Rancho margaritas and we would soon agree it was only a matter of time before we’d be extending an offer. His outlandish valuations aside, he’s a bright dude with a lot of drive who’s going to do great things with us.
In December, we signed a lease for our first office space. Nine-hundred six square feet in a building that feels like a ski lodge, in Westlake. Once our furniture gets delivered and we sound proof our studio, I swear we’re going to start recording there. The studio chairs arrive today, actually.
What’s next for Washed Media in 2020?
We now have a better feel for the direction in which we’re heading and the resources we’ll have with which to put actual plans in motion. Some exciting things are going to happen this year. Let’s talk about them.
A sports pod. You’ve been asking for it, and yes, it’s happening. We still have plenty of details to sort out, but it’s going to be a sports podcast hosted by Dave Ruff. So there’s that.
Video. We purchased a camera in the spring/summer that I don’t think we’ve even used yet. It’s actually been at Human Randy’s house for months. At some point in the first half of this year, we’re going to begin offering videos of our episodes. Again, a lot needs to be finalized before we can share more about this, but you’ll be able to watch our handsome faces speaking into mics in the near future.
Something female centric. For those who listen to The Mail-In, you know that Will’s fiancée Sally is my co-host. You may also know that for two episodes in 2019, Sally hosted them herself, along with her sister Lily and Dave’s wife Alyssa. These were very well received by our listeners. Adding more all-lady-hosted episodes or even launching a brand new podcast hosted by ladies potentially broadens our reach and brings us to new audiences and attracts new sponsors. This, too, is still in the concept stage, so be patient with us.
Other podcasts under the Washed umbrella. Much like we did with Club Cool, we will remain open to adding other on-brand podcasts to our network and representing them with potential sponsors.
More listener meetups. We have Dallas in three days (Katy Trail Icehouse 4-7pm) and other cities -- Chicago, Houston, New York, Nashville, and others -- are being discussed.
Aside from all that, we are always trying to make the content better, funnier, and more relatable.
Thank you all for being along for the ride during our first year and for making everything we do possible. We couldn’t do it without your support.