pod bites: Making mediumship the Norm with Melissa Espinasse
“As long as you stay true to what you love, trust that other people will love it too.”
Melissa Espinasse went from idea to episode in just two days, despite not knowing the first thing about podcasting.
She was so keen to get her message into the world that she didn’t let technology get in her way.
Her first podcast was Rise With Love, but after a name change and a new content pillar to her business, she started again from scratch with Making Mediumship the Norm.
In this episode you can learn how Melissa got started, why she loves the podcasting medium and which podcasts she likes to listen to.
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Prefer to read? Read the transcript below.
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Alison: So welcome to the podcast Melissa Espinasse, who is the host of Making Mediumship the Norm. So welcome Melissa.
Melissa: Hello, everyone. Hi, Alison.
Alison: I am so intrigued by your podcast. So can you tell us what it's about?
Melissa: Absolutely. I feel everybody should be intrigued about my podcast.
So Making Mediumship the Norm kind of came about because that is my hashtag and working as a medium, as an intuitive, and being someone who really, you know, I want to bring mediumship to the forefront of society. And so just in case someone's like, what's mediumship? So mediumship is when we communicate with life beyond this earth.
So whether that is loved ones in spirit, whether it be angels, whatever else might be out there, we're open to it all. And so I have been working as a medium for 11 years. And I decided to do the podcast because I kept seeing so many people grieving on their own and not having a place where they could find answers about how their loved ones are communicating with them.
If other people have had the same kind of thing happen, also just to have a place for people, where they can find some solace.
I kind of say my podcast is like a warm cup of hot chocolate with marshmallows, where you can go to the episode where someone has their dad in the spirit world, and you might be like, well, my dad's in the spirit world and listen to that podcast episode.
And so I use it as. interviewing people and their connections to the spirit realm, but I also use it as an opportunity to share my experience, my knowledge, what I know of the spirit realm so that people can kind of demystify all of this because it is a very interesting topic.
It's not everyone's cup of tea. And I totally know that, though, I will say the podcast has already had two top rankings. So it's probably, you know, a topic that people want to dive into in the secret or the comfort of their own little hideout,
Alison: It sounds like you know what you want to talk about, and I can hear the passion in your voice when you're describing the episodes you've had. How long did it take you to go from idea to episode?
Melissa: Two days? Maybe . I'm one of those people, like if I've got an idea, I jump. So the hardest part of the podcast, as I'm sure most podcasters will know, is the editing part. I find that for me, I self edit everything, so that takes me ages. Otherwise I'd probably have way more episodes up and running. So from idea to actually having live episodes, I think it probably, yeah, two days, and then I try and release one or two episodes a week, but my podcast is still reasonably new.
I think I started it in May, 2023, maybe something like that. So it's still, it's still a baby, baby podcast.
Alison: But you're not new to podcasting though. Are you, do you want to tell us about your other podcast?
Melissa: So I had a podcast for maybe two and a half years called the Rise With Love podcast.
And that podcast got to be a top 30 podcast ranked in the world for spirituality. And I interviewed a whole bunch of people from all walks of life that have a connection, either working as healers or how they see life, all of that kind of stuff. So the point of the podcast was to share how we can bring more love into the world.
And the reason I closed that podcast down was because I had a name change. So for most of my career, I was Melissa Mills, which is my married name. And now I've gone back to being Melissa Espinasse and I felt like I wanted a clean slate. And I wanted to talk more about mediumship because along the way, the hashtag came along making mediumship the norm.
And so I wanted to kind of dedicate it as a podcast, cause there's not really a lot on mediumship out there where I just thought this would be really cool. So no, this is my second podcast now.
Alison: But the exciting thing about podcasts is you can still get listeners on the first one. And so that audience will keep growing and then they'll find your other one.
Melissa: I would say normally yes, but I literally burnt that podcast to the ground.
Alison: But you can still find it on iTunes. Can you? Yeah, I found it.
Melissa: Can you?
Alison: Yeah, I found it!
Melissa: Oh, well, that's, that's buzzy. Um, well, there you go. People go listen. It's still there. I thought I totally burnt it to the ground, but there you go. Um, how cute. I learned something new every day.
So I'm just going to put it out there to anybody who is wanting to podcast. I am technologically challenged. So I still didn't even know my podcast exists on iTunes. So if I can do a podcast. Anybody can do a podcast.
Alison: What tip would you have for a beginner?
Melissa: Just start. I literally had the idea. I wanted to start with the rise with love podcast. So I Googled and watched YouTube videos and I fumbled my way through it all. One of the tips that I did see that I kind of took on was to be on a podcasting platform that is. A paying platform as opposed to a free platform.
And just because there are more benefits to that in terms of, you know, then they might transcribe your podcast, all of that kind of stuff. But also it was more of a security that if the free platform came crashing down, you know, you've got, you've lost your podcast. So that was something that I took on.
And I don't know if that's necessarily the way to go, but that's what I did. And I know that it made my life so much easier because it like dispersed it to all the things without me having to do anything. And it would give me, you know, those audiogram things. You know, so, uh, that would be a tip, but also I use acute, no, I do not use acuity.
Is that what it's called? Audacity. Acuity is my booking calendar. Um, audacity is an amazing app. So that you can edit anything on there. And then my other recommendation is get a really cool microphone. Really important. My one, I know no one can see it, but I'll show Alison looks like a golden globe. It is gold.
And I just thought, Ooh, that's like anchoring in winning something. So clearly it works cause I've had lots of top rankings with my podcasts,
Alison: But also the, the content's good.
Melissa: Probably, but let's just say it's the gold microphone. Okay.
Alison: Can you tell us a memorable moment that has come about because of your podcast?
Melissa: People from countries I'd never heard of in the world reaching out and just saying how they tune in and how, what you're putting out there is completely changing their lives. And I think that is the greatest impact of podcasting is you will not necessarily know all the people in the world that are tuning in.
And for me, I do it because I know I'm here to be of service to the world. And I can't serve everybody necessarily through all the paid work that I do, but this is a way that I can give back and receiving those messages. It just makes it so worth it on days where you might be like, why do I bother?
No one's listening. They totally are. And it does take time to build a podcast. I mean, unless you have, you know, already kind of been there or so I want to say to people like, keep going. I remember when it was like, not just my mum listening anymore and it would be like, well, there's this country now on the map and this country's on the map.
And I think I had over 40 countries when I was doing the Rise With Love podcast. And I was like, wow, how are these people even finding me? And then of course, depending on, you know, what your podcast is, and they might jump into some of your paid offers or whatever else that you do. So that for me is probably the most memorable thing.
And of course the people I interview, they just, they fill my soul. With just so much love and gratitude and I just feel so blessed that this is what I get to do.
Alison: That's so cool. I can see the joy on your face there, Melissa.
Melissa: I honestly, I love to talk. So podcasting kind of like is the greatest thing for me to do.
Communication is like my, my top strong thing that I'm here, you know, to do. So. I love talking into a microphone and I think the opportunities that also come with collaborations is quite amazing with podcasts and you'll, if you are a podcast host, you can interview really cool people, depending on your topic and people that you just never even thought would say yes to being on your podcast.
I mean, when you have. I know in the spiritual world, you know, celebrities aren't necessarily like a list celebrities, but when you have people that you truly admire, say yes to being on your podcast. Oh my gosh. You know, I just feel the possibilities are far and wide. They're infinite with podcasting and even though I'm really passionate and I seem like, you know, a good talker and all that kind of stuff, it still doesn't come easily. And I'm going to say, I spend a lot of time taking out ums and breaths and all of that kind of stuff and editing. And that's the best part is if you are doing a podcast where you're not keeping the video recording, you can edit stuff out.
It is so good. I just love it.
Alison: And you can record from your bedroom and your pyjamas.
Melissa: That's right. Absolutely. So there's really, you know, no, nothing stopping you for anyone that's listening and wants to start a podcast. I would say, go for it. The market is not saturated. You're not too late. You can have a top podcast, burn it to the ground, maybe it stays on iTunes and start again.
You can have multiple podcasts. It is so fun. And you honestly will never know unless you try and just see where it goes. And I would say, you know, use the power of collaboration to help you reach different audiences. And as long as you stay true to what you love, trust that other people will love it too.
I'm sure there are like podcasts on unicorn lovers or knitters are us or something. Do you know? Just go for it.
Alison: That's the thing. There's a podcast, I think for pretty much any niche. I Googled the other, I say, Googled, I went on them on my podcast app the other day and I just typed in ice cream and there were at least six podcasts that were just called ice cream.
Melissa:Oh my gosh.
Alison: I mean, some of them had zero episodes. So that shows, you know, you can't just have the idea and load a podcast onto iTunes unless you've got the episodes to go with it.
Melissa: And now, you know, it's so easy. You can make a Canva. Um, what'd you call it? Podcast image. There's templates. There's seriously no reason why you can't do a podcast.
As I mentioned, Audacity, the program that I used to edit is free. And you can seriously, every question you could want on it is on YouTube because that's what I did. I was like, oh my gosh, how do I take out the arms? How do I do an intro outro? So the costs really are going to be to get a good mic, that would be what I would seriously invest in.
And then your intro music, make sure that that is something that you buy legally, because you don't want that to be something that you get in trouble over.
And then if you want, I would say putting it on a proper podcasting platform, that's going to give you all the bells and whistles because eventually, once you start having lots of episodes and your podcast gets traction, you're going to wish that you had already done all of those things, especially because I think some of those free ones are only limited to a certain amount of listeners or stuff like that.
So, those would be my recommendations on where to put your money. And then just, just go for it. Speak into the mic, even if you think you sound like a doofus in the beginning, I had to practice my speaking speed. I don't know if that's something you've ever thought about. But when you do a solo episode, I was like, Oh, I talk really slow.
Well, no, I talk really fast. like, Oh my gosh. So it took me a fair few times. I used to type out my podcast episodes and then just read them and talk. And now I just. I don't, I just speak from my heart, but just know we've all done it. We've all been there. We've all been beginners.
Alison: Those are some awesome tips, Melissa.
So thank you so much for sharing that. I've got one more question for you. Can you tell me a podcast that you enjoy listening to, like one that's on your playlist?
Melissa: I love Simply Be by Jessica Zweig, I think it's how you say her name. She owns the Simply Be agency in America. Yeah. She's really awesome. I also love the She Wolf podcast by Michaela, this is quite a spiritual podcast.
I love it. I'm trying to think who else I listened to that's like on replay for me. Those are my top two, though. I do listen to money podcasts as well and to be honest, I listened to my podcasts a lot. My own podcast, as crazy as that is, because when I'm interviewing people, I'm in the moment.
So I like to listen back and see it from a listener's point of view. So if anyone else listens to their own podcast, you're not alone. I do it too. So those are my top two.
Alison: Awesome. Thank you so much for your time, Melissa. We will put the link to your podcast in the show notes and give you a big shout out on social media so everyone can follow Make Mediumship the Norm.
Melissa: Oh, thank you so much. I will say one more thing. When you do have your podcast, don't be embarrassed to ask for reviews because reviews do help. So when you do listen to making mediumship the norm podcast, give it a five star review so that, you know, we can help more people.
And of course, Alison's amazing podcast and all these people, she's getting to share these tips for you, go and give her some reviews.
It honestly helps. And you have no idea how happy it makes us. I don't know about you, Alison, but I do a happy dance when I get a review.
Alison: Super happy.
Melissa: So thank you so much for having me. Loving you so much.
