In May, 2015 I started The Teacher Learning Sessions, an independent podcast network for teachers. I partnered with Penny Kittle on Stories from the Teaching Life with Penny Kittle and with Jennifer Serravallo on Teachers Ask Jen Serravallo. In 2016 we added The Book Love Foundation Podcast, as well as The Nerdy Bookcast with Donalyn Miller and Colby Sharp of the Nerdy Book Club.
Market research during program development and a successful launch strategy put each show into the New and Noteworthy section of iTunes, and all of the shows have been in the top 10 of the Education > K-12 category of the iTunes charts. To date, the podcasts have had over 650,000 downloads.
For the project, in addition to the audio production, the technical and content editing, and the podcast creation, I designed and wrote the site, building it in Wordpress using the Rainmaker platform.
This included writing all the copy on the site, generating blog posts, and creating show notes. I also tended the Teacher Learning Sessions' social media accounts.
I published a weekly newsletter (currently on hiatus) and built an email list from zero to nearly two thousand subscribers.
Education > K-12 category
The Book Love Foundation Podcast at #1 in the Education > K-12 category
In Summer, 2017, the Book Love Foundation launched its Summer Book Club in partnership with The Teacher Learning Sessions.
In just 21 days, 680 supporters contributed nearly $55,000 to the foundation (exceeding our $50,000 goal).
How? We reached out to Penny's existing audience, the listeners of the Book Love Foundation Podcast, and the Teacher Learning Sessions email list. And we offered them content and community.
From our CommitChange Campaign...
Book Club member-only content:
Podcasts for each book hosted by Book Love Foundation president and author / speaker, Penny Kittle, and Teacher Learning Sessions. We will have a chance to hear from some of the authors discussing their work and their writing process.
Private facebook group that will host live Facebook Chats and permit members to share their thoughts and experiences with each other
Book Club specific discussion topics and writing prompts that will allow you to experience these books on a whole new level
Book Love Foundation Swag! Includes a writing journal, pen, canvas tote, wristband and sunglasses to protect your eyes from the summer sun!
