Today we’d like to introduce you to Douglas Smith.
Hi Douglas, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started my YouTube podcast called, (The Touchdown with Doug Smith) March 2020. Since then, it has amassed over 340K in just over two years with nearly 30 interviews by NFL players around the league. I initially started this YouTube podcast because after only playing college football for one season, I still wanted to be a part of the game plus not to mention, my whole life I have been told that I have a voice for radio and I felt that was God speaking through other people so one day I decided to take the leap of faith and start my own podcast.
Much throughout my life I’ve had issues with being committed to companies, and always wanted to start something that was owned by me and that is original and something that I could see myself doing for the rest of my life. Not only that, I’m very passionate about NFL football and I noticed throughout the years that not only mainstream media but also sports media tends to run with narratives there are many times untrue. Therefore, I felt it was my duty to not only interview the players directly but will also come up with original content and show other perspectives that the audience may not be considering.
Nonetheless, the touchdown with Doug Smith is something that is not only original football analysis, but also features my cohosts (Michael Williams, Adrian Campbell, and my brother Isaac Davidson) where we provide exclusive NFL interviews from around the league. Majority of our base is in the USA, Canada, Mexico, and the UK. In this show I to not only have fun but also to spread a positive message around the world and leave a collection of NFL interviews and analysis for those to see and be inspired by for years to come.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The road to success has been absolutely brutal. But it is a road that is worth traveling. From dealing with trolls who sometimes threatened my life because they don’t like a prediction or opinion I had, to showing up to work in the morning but only had three hours of sleep because I was up late editing lol, I have been through it all.
Many people who stumble across my page don’t realize the hard work that goes into not only creating a brand but maintaining it as long as I have.
For my show, there are many obstacles that go into just making one single episode. 1#Record the episode 2#Edit the episode/upload it 3#Create the thumbnail 4#Market the episode.
Something as simple as a seven-minute clip can take me upwards of two hours to complete. One episode may get me 100 views, and another episode may get me 3000 views, but no matter what, I make sure to create a quality product that the world can appreciate. Sometimes this becomes very difficult because I am a husband, father, full-time worker and trying to find a balance between work life, family life, and my podcasts can certainly be challenging. Not to mention there are some people in the community who do not want to see you win.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I have worked in a multitude of industries, from being a supervisor at USAA‘s corporate office in Texas, to being a business development manager/head of marketing for a drug testing company and all in between. What makes me special is that even though I do not podcast full-time, I use my skills that I have learned from different industries to apply it to my brand. Not to mention, the skills of used from podcast and has also helped me to land great gigs and help build their brand as well.
Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
TAKE CARE OF YOUR MENTAL HEALTH!!! I say this because so many people who are content creators suffer from burn out, self-doubt, and depression. To get into podcasting and to do it for a long time you have to not only truly love it, but to love the process and the journey that comes with it. There will be certain times as well, where are you interview a high-profile person and or spend an extended amount of time working on an episode only for it to flop once it’s released. The advice I would give to someone who is starting their podcast would be to guard their heart because sometimes other content creators will reach out to you because they want something from you. I would also tell the person to keep like-minded people around you but at the same time, make sure their hearts are pure and that they truly want the best for you.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @TheTouchdownWithDougSmith
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheTouchdownWithDougSmith
- Twitter: @TouchdownDoug
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/c/TheTouchdownWithDougSmith
Image Credits
Michael Williams
Adrian Campbell
Isaac Davidson
Nakobe Dean
Danny Gray
Hassan Haskins
Al Young
