Today we’d like to introduce you to Lisa Miller
Hi Lisa, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Cleveland Rocks and so does Podcast Sista. I was born and raised in the heart of rock and roll in Cleveland, Ohio and I started my solo podcasting career from my home studio in August 2024. Podcast Sista features the stories behind the music told by singers, songwriters and musicians. I am very fortunate to have the opportunity to work with some of the best publicists from across the country who book their clients on Podcast Sista to promote new song releases, music videos, tours, and more.
The 30-minute podcast features a pre-recorded, audio and video interview along with three song snippets for listeners to get a taste of the artist’s music. It’s one thing to talk about music, but it is another when listeners get to hear it.
Starting a podcast was a natural transition for me based on my prior public relations experience for over thirty years. I am passionate about having my audience discover and experience new music. My audience is continuing to grow and Podcast Sista is available on YouTube and all streaming platforms.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Never give up on something you really want, even if it takes longer than you think. Go after it and stay the course despite the obstacles and challenges you may face along the way. Things take time and perseverance is a strong indicator of a person’s character. Here’s one of the many stories about the road I have traveled to get where I am today.
A defining moment in my life was graduating from college with a bachelor’s degree in public relations and promotional communications. The road to earning a degree wasn’t a smooth one. In fact, it was full of twists and turns going as far back as my time in high school.
The traditional classroom wasn’t for me. I was placed in a two-year vocational program in the eleventh and twelfth grade. This non-traditional approach to hands-on learning provided me with the skills needed to enter into the clerical and secretarial fields. Keep in mind, it was in the early 1980’s. Back in the day, we actually used electric typewriters because computers weren’t incorporated into the classroom during that time. I excelled in the program and ranked at the top of my vocational class with all of the necessary credits to graduate successfully from high school.
At the age of nineteen, I enrolled at Cleveland State University and after completing a series of placement tests, it was determined that I would need to take one year of remedial college courses to learn the basics that I should have grasped in high school. This non-traditional way of starting college was frustrating at first, but over time it gave me the confidence, tools, and foundation to successfully pursue a bachelor’s degree.
I commuted to school as my divorced parents couldn’t afford to send me away to college. During my second year of college, I began to take the required core classes and was pleased to have earned B’s and C’s. By my third year of college, I decided to major in Communications, Public Relations and Promotions. However, God had a different plan for me at that time because I was going to have a baby. I got married, moved into a home with my new husband, finished out the semester, and had a beautiful baby girl.
With my growing responsibilities as a new mom along with having a husband who worked third shift I thought I would never have the opportunity to go back to school again. However, I was determined to finish college even if it meant taking the long road to get there. With my family’s support I was able to return to college, not on a full-time basis, but was able to take one class for the semester.
Keep in mind, at that time there was no online learning, computers used big floppy, the internet was unheard of and reference books were forbidden to be checked out of the library. The closest thing to using technology was setting up my cassette recorder to tape a lecture to later go back and listen to and take notes.
With one course completed, I once again was able to register for another class. My daughter was nine months old and I thought things were going to work out even if it would take longer than I thought to get my degree. However, God had another plan in mind. I was pregnant. I stayed strong and completed the course followed by giving birth to another baby girl. My daughters were true gifts from God.
Now a mother with two children, I took some time off and then decided to once again re-enroll in college. I could only handle taking one class at a time, but that didn’t stop me. Once the girls got a little bit older I was able to up it to two classes per semester. Finally, I was able to take courses that applied towards my major and I earned mostly A’s with an occasional B.
For my last semester before my internship, I enrolled in a course called Women in Corporate America where I was placed to shadow three different women in the business world.
The first woman was about my age, high strung and slightly miserable and annoyed with everything throughout her day. The second woman was middle-aged and a lonely old soul with nothing but her career to talk about and seemed disinterested in anything I had to say. The last woman was also middle-aged, but she talked to me about how she didn’t start diving into her career until after her children were in high school. We talked in her office and I couldn’t help but notice the many pictures of her grown children, grandchildren, parents, husband and family beautifully displayed on a wood credenza directly behind her leather chair.
She showed me around the organization, asked me about my future goals and I mentioned that I was looking to land an internship before graduating. She offered me an internship and I gladly accepted. She took me under her wing for the next several weeks giving me support, advice and guided me through small public relations projects that she assigned to me.
It wasn’t until later on in life that I realized that the third woman was truly my mentor.
I am happy to say that I graduated from Cleveland State University in 1992 and also was named the Outstanding Student in Promotional Communications. At my commencement, my husband, two little daughters, my parents and sister sat in the audience and watched me proudly walk across the stage to receive my bachelor’s degree in my cap and gown.
It’s been almost 33 years since that day. What should have taken me about 5 years to finish college ended up taking almost eight years. The long, hard road to earning my degree was worth it because to this day that degree has never let me down and has opened many career doors for me. Ironically, just like my mentor, I landed my dream job in the highly competitive professional sports industry. At the age of 44, I worked as a full-time Guest Relations Specialist at the Cleveland Browns for five years. And guess what? My children were in high school and my desk at the Browns was full of their pictures. Now that’s what I call the circle of a business life.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am no stranger to the world of generating publicity as I have over thirty years of public relations experience. I earned a bachelor’s degree in public relations from Cleveland State University and my career has been full of valuable experiences including owning a public relations consulting business.
At the heart of any successful podcast is how you promote it. I bring that “PR punch” to my podcast’s pre- and post-interview promotions on social media by incorporating reels and posts to enhance the artist’s promotional mix. According to Jeffrey Panzer, Music Executive from Los Angeles, “If you’re an up-and-coming artist, Podcast Sista Lisa does great interviews and gives you great exposure as well.”
At the end of the day, all podcasters have the same goal to engage their listeners, build followers, subscriptions, likes and shares. My future goal is to take this podcast to the next level and take my listeners on a musical journey, one great song at a time.
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
It takes time to arrange all of the moving parts to produce Podcast Sista. I handle all aspects of my podcast from booking guests, researching my guests, hosting the show as well as designing posts and reels for my social media accounts on X, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook. I even designed my own website and secured posting my podcast on YouTube, Spotify, Amazon Music, IHeart and Apple Podcasts.
Through a lot of research along with a lot of trial and error, I taught myself pretty much everything I know about starting a podcast. I like a good challenge and I think of myself as a lifelong learner. To this day I am still learning and I enjoy the process of making each and every episode better for my listeners.
My advice to anyone interested in starting a podcast is to learn as much as you can and just do it. There are many online apps that can make the process of recording and editing easier for little or no cost. You won’t know unless you try.
Another important thing to know about podcasting is that it takes time and a considerable amount of preparation. I plan, organize and coordinate all the necessary booking details to schedule my podcast guests. In addition, I am known for doing my homework and researching my guests’ background, listening to their music, watching their music videos and previously recorded interviews. It is important to me that my guests know I have done my research and I will deliver a genuine, personable conversation rather than just a cookie cutter interview.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://podcastsista.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/podcastsista/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Podcastsistas
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-miller-podcastguests4u/
- Twitter: https://x.com/podcastsista
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@podcastsista
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/show/1aRWKGjCdW4agBOJ3oW4VQ
