The CTO Podcast · Insights & Strategies for Chief Technology Officers Navigating the C-Suite while Balancing Technical Strategy, Team Management, & Innovation

Joel Beasley, Modern CTO: Mastering the Art of Podcasting

·49 min·3 clips

Joel says he ranks past guests by episode performance and whether he remembers and likes the person.

Etienne opens by framing the show around CTO leadership and practical learning. Joel joins as the host of the Modern CTO Show and founder of ProSeries Media. The conversation quickly settles into the mechanics of podcasting. They joke a bit about the awkward reality of remote recording, which gives the episode an easy start before the advice turns more tactical. Joel argues that the first job is knowing exactly who the show is for. He treats audience definition as the foundation, not a branding exercise. From there, he says the host needs to understand the target well enough to hit it consistently. He recommends making content that brings real value to the people you want to reach. He also warns that overly narrow topic choices can run out of steam fast. A show built on one problem set may get through only a couple of episodes before it starts repeating itself. His answer is to build a hierarchy and priority list of related issues. That hierarchy becomes the basis for topic planning. One of the strongest moments comes when he explains how to study conference websites in your space. He suggests ranking the topics from talks at the top conferences in that space. He also describes downloading speaker lists from recent years and grouping those topics into higher-level categories, then turning that into a pie chart. That exercise shows what is actually getting attention in the field. It also gives the host an editorial calendar instead of a guess. Etienne recognizes that move as a marketer’s instinct. The exchange works because it turns abstract media strategy into a concrete workflow. The episode keeps returning to the same practical idea. A podcast works better when it is built from observed demand rather than personal hunches. The closing stretch shifts toward the business side of podcast production. Joel talks about service pricing and package levels. He mentions a full-service offer around $8,000 a month for about two episodes a month. He also notes a lower-priced option at $4,000 a month for one episode. That detail reinforces the broader message of the conversation. Podcasting, at least at this level, is a system you build, price, and run. It is not just a microphone and a lucky idea.

As heard by us

A practical look at turning podcast planning into a repeatable editorial system.

Joel Beasley and Etienne de Bruin spend most of the episode on the practical work behind a podcast: choosing an audience, deciding what deserves attention, and keeping an editorial rhythm that can repeat week after week.

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Why you'd press play

Turn your next podcast idea into something people will actually finish.

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