'The West has a distorted view of Middle East': LA-based podcaster on what makes a successful podcast in the age of AI

An American entrepreneur, author, and influential speaker, best known as the co-founder of the billion-dollar venture Quest Nutrition, Tom Bilyeu’s impact extends beyond the entrepreneurial realm. As the co-creator of the YouTube channel ‘Inside Quest’, later rebranded as ‘Impact Theory’, Bilyeu continues to delve into the minds of successful individuals across various fields, providing valuable insights and inspiration, emphasising the importance of mindset, growth, and resilience.

In his own words, he recalls crafting the podcast show initially for his employees, driven by a vision to instill a mindset that would serve them well, whether they stayed within his company or ventured elsewhere. However, his wife Lisa Bilyeu, who now runs her own podcast show called ‘Women of Impact’, turned around and said, “Hey, if we're going to do this, we might as well put it up on YouTube” — a thought that led the couple to officially launch the show to the public and make it into what it has become today. In a conversation with Khaleej Times, the Los Angeles-based podcaster-entrepreneur talks at length about what separates a good podcast from a bad one at a time when there are new ones sprouting up every day, and how Dubai can capitalise on the medium going forward.

Edited excerpts from an interview:

Khaleej Times (KT): You've mastered long-form content in an atmosphere where more and more people are trying to create Reels and Shorts, hopping onto the next viral trend. How do you maintain the sanctity of long-form content?

Tom Bilyeu (TB): We shoot roughly three-hour episodes. Just because sushi exists doesn't mean no one is going to eat a hamburger. Let's say hamburgers are popping off, and you're at a sushi restaurant, doesn't mean you start making hamburgers. I make long-form content. And as long as somebody somewhere wants long-form content, I'll keep making long-form content. In the world of social media, just know thyself. It's always the intersection of what the audience wants and what you are naturally good at and can deliver.

KT: Do you think the podcasting space is going to suffer from the problem of too many? There's a new podcast coming out all the time.

TB: There is, and there always will be a new podcast. Wait till AI comes in, and there are synthetic podcasts where 10,000 are coming out every minute or more. The name of the game is always going to be to capture people’s attention. Whether you're AI or human, that's going to be the job. How do you, as somebody new, cut through the clutter? The easiest way, honestly, if you're a new YouTuber or whatever, is to find what niche is currently being underserved. So if you're a Boomer and you want to launch a podcast, ask yourself, do you want to be a Boomer that speaks to kids? Maybe nobody's doing that, something like giving grandpa's advice. Or do you want to be a Boomer speaking to Boomers that are just discovering YouTube? You're always looking for the place where nobody’s being served. The most obvious place is for people to speak to their own demographic because you're going to understand them better than somebody else.

But no matter how good you are, one day you will be replaced, [Joe] Rogan will be replaced, Mr Beast will be replaced. That's just how the world works. If you want to delay the process, you’re going to have to keep reinventing. What I was doing seven years ago, even though it’s the same show name, is very different from what it is now. And that caused a lot of frustration to my team because you're doing this thing that's working, and you want to start doing this thing that isn't working yet. Can you make it work over time? You really do have to have a vision of where you're trying to get to, how to get there, and then the persistence to see it through.

KT: What do you think separates a good podcast from the rest of them?

TB: You have to add more value than the next podcast. It's that easy. We can give advice on getting good at the algorithm, all that stuff. But the truth is, you're conveying either entertainment or information. If you're trying to entertain, you're either making people laugh harder than the next person, or you're not. And if you're trying to educate, you either know more about that thing and can explain it in a way that's compelling, or you don't. So that's really the key. If you’re better than the next person, you'll build an audience.

KT: If you're speaking to that one person who wants to start a podcast but is going through self-doubt or questioning what they can bring to the table, what would your advice be to them?

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