How Watch What Crappens Connects With their Followers By Celebrating Their Uniqueness

It’s humorous how our pursuits can convey us collectively. Some folks love knitting, others love music, and effectively, others simply love Bravo actuality exhibits. That was the genesis behind the Watch What Crappens podcast, co-hosted by Ben Mandelker and Ronnie Karam.

What began as a weblog over time advanced into an online present and eventually a podcast that dives deep into the Actual Housewives sequence, Vanderpump Guidelines, and different Bravo TV exhibits that pique their curiosity.

That was seven years in the past.

Since then, the podcasting pair has seen nice success by utilizing Patreon’s subscription mannequin to attach with followers on a extra private degree and create a secure house for like-minded people that want to debate the ins and outs of exhibits like Mission Runway. They’ve grown their stay exhibits from 10 folks to 750-plus attendees, with folks touring from locations so far as Singapore to see them. Right here’s how they remained versatile by all of it.

The co-hosts heard about Patreon again in 2014 and began exploring it as an avenue to help their podcast enterprise. “I believed, why would anyone give us cash for one thing we’re doing totally free? I didn’t suppose it was attainable to make any cash podcasting in any respect,” says Karam.

After discussing with Mandelker, they determined to leap on the likelihood with low expectations. Not very lengthy after, the duo was pleasantly shocked that their neighborhood and revenue stored rising 12 months after 12 months as that they had carved a specific area of interest for his or her viewers.

“It has given folks a personal place to speak and get to know one another,” says Karam.

Mandelker agrees that the private connection between them and their followers has created a way of pleasure amongst their neighborhood. Relying on the tier, folks get extra entry to their content material, and on the highest tier, the co-hosts give shout outs throughout the present.

“They’re like, sure, I help you on Patreon. It makes them really feel extra linked with us. These in increased tiers, they really feel like celebrities too as a result of everybody hears their title in each single episode. It’s been shocking to see the way it has linked us to the viewers, but additionally the viewers with different members of the viewers,” says Mandelker.

Podcasting is a quickly rising business, however there’s nonetheless no precise customary for the format. From the size of an episode to co-hosting duties, it might all fluctuate relying on the subject or sensibilities of the creators. When Watch What Crappens co-hosts first began podcasting their Actual Housewives ideas, they pushed themselves to launch four-hour lengthy episodes. However how might they identified that it didn’t should be that manner when the business was nonetheless so younger? It wasn’t till podcasts like Serial picked up steam in fashionable tradition that listeners and creators began to actually perceive and recognize the medium.

Over time, the group discovered that being particular and succinct will assist you stand out. Whereas they nonetheless speak about totally different TV exhibits, every episode has a specific theme.

“With the arrival of Patreon and the way we moved alongside to 5 days every week, we separated all the things into topics so folks can discover what they’re searching for,” says Karam. “Patreon is large now, and there’s a ton of stuff occurring there. If you happen to’ve received one thing that’s about all the things, nobody’s actually into that.”

Mandelker says he feels good about their path and natural progress because the timing was proper for them to start out their podcast. Whereas they discovered issues the exhausting manner, he says, he attributes the easy course of behind making the present (episodes 5 days every week plus a bonus Patreon episode) and phrase of mouth from listeners to their success.

They’ve additionally by no means stopped studying and hold their eye for brand new expertise obtainable inside the business to convey extra content material to their followers. They’ve integrated live-streaming, Google Hangouts, and different instruments into their content material creation to remain related.

“I feel that we’re privileged. Now seven years later, it’s loads more durable for brand new podcasts to breakthrough. I really feel actually good about once we began and the way we’ve gotten to the place we’re. And I’m simply excited to see the place it takes us subsequent,” says Mandelker.

Mandelker and Karam communicate very extremely of their followers and their dedication to the trigger — making enjoyable of Bravo TV exhibits, but additionally offering a secure house for everybody to debate and revel in their responsible pleasures with out disgrace. They name it, “the brand new watercooler.”

“Having a podcast is one thing that brings all of those people who find themselves watching Housewives or Vanderpump Guidelines collectively. Much more individuals are watching these exhibits greater than they need to admit and we’re catching all of them,” says Mandelker.

Offering a discussion board for like-minded folks to bond and join over what Karam calls, “outdated rubber faces combating for no cause” has helped folks really feel extra comfy with their responsible pleasure exhibits.

“There are such a lot of totally different folks within the Bravo closet. We’ll say, ‘Oh, we do a podcast about Bravo’ and we’ll all the time get somebody to say, ‘I don’t watch that’ after which they go, ‘I imply, I do watch that present concerning the yacht. Is it referred to as Under Deck?’” says Mandelker.

They’ve seen followers gown up as characters, have shirts made, and even exchanging inside jokes solely identified by precise followers of the truth exhibits. “Cracks us up each single time simply to see how artistic all people is. That’s one of many nice issues about this. You are able to do regardless of the F you need to, and there’s some weirdo on the market who will prefer it and recognize it,” says Karam.

Each infrequently, Karam says, the exhibits “bump into real-life points that make folks mad… It offers some levity to some darkness. It’s like a cartoon model of life.”

Up subsequent, the Watch What Crappens group desires to continue to grow, each their neighborhood and the way they use expertise to create content material for his or her followers. Whereas they work exhausting, Karam shares that it’s enjoyable, thrilling work. He desires to proceed placing it out into the world in numerous methods, like extra stay exhibits to create extra private interactions with listeners as effectively.

“We’re principally simply following you the expertise at this level. , as soon as I discovered that each one I needed to do is open my rattling mouth, I’m simply discovering a unique place to place it in,” says Karam.

However past targets, they hope to maintain the core of the present the identical — friendship.

“On the finish of the day, we’re simply recapping exhibits on Bravo and attempting to place out the most effective, funniest content material. I need to say that we’re placing it out for the viewers, however truthfully, I all the time say on the finish of the day, I’m simply attempting to make Ronnie chortle,” says Mandelker. “It’s nonetheless in the end two associates speaking on the telephone, laughing, ?” Karam agrees.