Episode 13: Dr. Melissa Detweiler does podcasts

It started with ideas. Dr. Melissa Detweiler, a small animal veterinarian in a Midwestern small town, had a lot of them, and writing blogs, commentary and opinion seemed like the route. But she didn't know, as a veterinarian, which audience to tackle first: pet owners or those "in the profession," vet med.

"I wanted to say the things [in my blogs] to pet parents that maybe I held back from saying in the exam room," she says. Then she started writing pieces for veterinary magazines to her peers.

Her podcasting took a similar route, with her first podcast ("This Vet's Voice") aimed at veterinary clients, but her next aimed squarely at the emotional challenges of life for veterinary professionals ("DVM Divas").

Originally, it seemed a far-off idea. Audio snippets, sure, but a podcast? "Who can do that? That's not something little ol' me can do with my iPhone and earbuds," she says. "I used the voice memo app on my phone [for my first audio]."

And she says she was terrified at the outset, using a podcast alter ego name. Pet owners can get pretty bent out of shape online about things involving their pets. "[The alter ego] was my security blanket," Melissa says. "I can kind of hide under this umbrella here. It felt like it freed me up a little bit."

Now, well, she's out there, with two partners-in-crime (although it's not about crime, people) on her latest podcast.

Find out how she got more comfortable with her voice on audio, how she and her podcasting partners manage the conversation and what small-town America thinks of it. 

(PHOTO CREDIT "File:Veterinary Office with dog.JPG" by MarkBuckawicki is licensed under CC0 1.0)

WANT TO KNOW MORE?

> Voiceover work is getting heavily advertised these days in work-for-home pandemic times. Melissa says she took an online course from Carrie Olsen, and she found it helpful in her podcasting.