Today we’d like to introduce you to Karly Smith and Amber Broughton.
Karly and Amber, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
We have always had a love for podcasts and have consistently listened to other shows throughout the years. One day, we were texting about a podcast competition that Google was sponsoring for minority podcasters. We both agreed that this would be a cool opportunity and regardless of if we were granted the opportunity we would continue with our podcast dreams. It was important for us to start a platform to have discussions that were relevant to us, as women of color. Being avid podcast listeners, we saw an opportunity to create a show that was both relatable, and entertaining to our listeners. Thus, “The Melanin Mix” was born!
From that point forward, we spent months researching and preparing for the launch of our show. We did not win the Google podcast competition but this definitely gave us a jumpstart to develop a podcast that has been amazing thus far.
Great, 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?
Nothing great is ever smooth. Of course, there were struggles that we encountered along the way. The first one that comes to mind is the technology portion of podcasting. As we mentioned, being avid podcast listeners, we have heard all types of shows with varying sound qualities. We agreed that sound quality was something that we would not sacrifice, as we wanted the best listening experience for our listeners. With that being said, learning the ins and outs of recording, editing, and producing a podcast with great sound quality was definitely a learning curve!
There were other struggles, maybe too many to mention! Regardless of the bumps in the road, our passion to create amazing content for our listeners always won.
Please tell us about The Melanin Mix – what should we know?
We are “The Melanin Mix”, a podcast that is available on all streaming platforms. The Melanin Mix is a chatcast that covers a variety of topics that aims to give black women and minorities a safe space to voice their unique experiences. We also offer our perspectives and life experiences on the show and we bring on a diverse set of guests to share their opinions and experiences on topics that are relevant for our listeners. We are known for our ability to have well-structured yet entertaining conversations on relevant topics in relation to our community. We are most proud when we hear that the conversations on our show have positively impacted our listeners.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
We believe that persistence has been the most important characteristic of our success thus far. We essentially started this podcast knowing little about what it took to produce a quality podcast. We spent countless hours learning and facing challenges with the production of our show. Yet, we remained persistent and prevailed.
Contact Info:
- Email: themelaninmix@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themelaninmix/
Getting in touch: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
