E34: Today's episode is a masterclass in audience building by none other than podcast legend David Hooper. He's worked with big clients including AT&T, RunDMC, Victoria's Secret, and Fedex. David and I spoke at length about how his career shaped up over the years and discussed several things, such as how living and growing up in the Music City influenced his career, the long journey from a college radio host to podcast marketing consultant, ideas and strategies to grow a big audience, which he picked up from his years in the radio and podcasting business, as well as several anecdotes from his interactions with celebrities in the music business. Let's get down to business! *** SPONSOR:  I love using Riverside.fm to record all guest interviews like this one with David Hooper. Try it out 100% free here and when you're ready, use the code FIRSTCLASS to get 20% off any paid plan. *** EXCERPTS: Building a Smaller But More Engaged Audience: "You can be more successful having a smaller operation. So that's kind of the counterintuitive thing for podcasting that I think people miss." — David Hooper (27:55) The Power of Niche Podcasting: "But I will tell you that I've gone with the production that I've done as niched down as a per neighborhood podcast only for this neighborhood. And we have made more money CPM cost per thousand out of any other thing I've ever been involved with." — David Hooper (28:38) ***  TOPICS: [00:07:03] David Hooper: From American Bandstand Fan to Radio Jock [00:08:35] People Don't Care About Your Stuff As Much As You Do [00:11:12] From Radio to Music Conference to Podcasting [00:15:49] Lessons for Founders: Pivoting for Audience Engagement [00:17:40] Be Open and Flexible in Your Creative Journey [00:21:40] Winning by Twinning: Be Relatable, yet Aspirational [00:27:12] How to Increase Your Sponsorship CPM by Niching Down ***  LINKS:  BigPodcast.com Justin Gordon's Episode JOIN: First Class Founders Premium Membership *** FOLLOW / REVIEW: - Follow - Leave 5-star review *** CONNECT: - Twitter - LinkedIn - Newsletter *** ABOUT THE SHOW: In today's digital age, anyone can start a side hustle and grow it to millions. We explore proven strategies to grow your business each week through the lens of a successful founder, creator, and CEO. Past guests: Arvid Kahl of The Bootstrapped Founder, Tyler Denk of Beehiiv, Khe Hy of RadReads, Andrew Warner of Mixergy, Nick Huber of The Sweaty Startup. If you're a creator, solopreneur, indie hacker, startup founder, or CEO looking to grow your business, this show is for you. *** ABOUT THE HOST: Yong-Soo Chung is a serial entrepreneur who bootstrapped from $0 to $20m in over 8 years. Yong-Soo is the founder of 3 businesses in e-commerce and now, he's documenting his own journey of building an 8-figure business.