We Are 14 Downloads From 10K- I'm Calling Out My Listeners

Fourteen downloads. That’s the gap between this weird little paranormal podcast and 10,000 total downloads, and I’m not quietly refreshing the stats until it happens. I’m turning the final stretch into a listener challenge, because the best part of this show has never been the numbers. It’s you, the people sitting on stories that still give you chills.

I talk about what it’s like building an independent, niche show for nearly three years, why “slow burn” growth is still real progress, and how easy it is to compare yourself to massive podcasts that have been publishing since 2017. I also share a bit of what’s working behind the scenes, including why I use Buzzsprout and how it makes it easier to distribute the show and hear directly from listeners through messages and voicemails.

Then we get to the fun part: send me your ghost stories, haunted house experiences, UFO sightings, cryptid encounters, and local legends, or pitch a paranormal topic that’s so strange I need to investigate it. I’m choosing one submission to win a personally put-together mystery prize box, and Michigan listeners get an extra challenge with the possibility of meeting up to join me on a real paranormal investigation.

If you love spooky stories, urban legends, and true paranormal experiences, hit play, share this with a friend, and help push us over the line. Subscribe, leave a review, and send me your story so we can keep this strange community growing.

Transcript

The Push Toward 10K

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Good evening, all my spookies, weirdos, and freaks and all the in-betweens. So I am 99% there. The road to 10k downloads altogether. Now I know it doesn't seem like a big deal, it doesn't sound like a lot in today's world, but for me, it is huge because uh I've had this podcast up for just about three years, okay, and I was getting down on myself for a while, you know, because Buzz Sprout, um, you know, the platform that I use to upload all of my episodes on, and you know, they do all the advertisement for me and move everything around, right? That's what you pay for, and I have not had any issues with Buzz Sprout. In fact, anybody out there looking to get into the podcast game, I do prefer um Buzz Sprout over any of the other ones because I've tried some other ones. Buzz Sprout is very simple, it's easy to use, and again, they are great at pushing your content out and advertising for you. So, um, but anyways, you know, I was looking at what's the one show, Two Girls and a Ghost, I think. And there's another one that I follow. I mean, I follow a lot of podcasts, but anyways, you know, they're they're like super popular, and you know, their content's like everywhere. And I had a night where I was, you know, self-loathing and being like, wow, I'm not really where I want to be with this. You know, I just thought I would be getting more downloads and you know, more feedback, right? Well, come to find out, they have been podcasting since 2017. And I did some like background on them and digging, and I'm like, holy shit, they've been in the game for a long time. And I knew getting into like podcasting, it was it's gonna be a slow burn, right? And I'm a very um, you know, niche independent podcaster, right? And my my name of my podcast is a mouthful, right? And uh, you know, I'm I'm I guess the category that I'm in is independent documentary travel, and that's why too. And and I didn't want to put myself in a box, so anyways, the whole point of saying all this is that I never thought that I would have 10k, right? So listen, you beautiful, strange, strange, beyond, and insane people, listeners, thank you so much. And I had to jump on here and just again, we are officially 99% of the way to 10k. I think I have 14 more downloads to go. You know, and when I'm recording this, we need just a little sliver, and then that's it. 14 fucking downloads between this little weird paranormal podcast and 10k. And instead of just sitting here watching that number, because you know, you get on those moments where you're like obsessively looking, I want to make this fun, and that was like the whole point on hopping on here and doing a quick episode.

Turning Downloads Into A Challenge

SPEAKER_00 3:14

So I am officially putting a challenge out there. I've been watching where you guys are listening from, and some of you are showing up from places that have me going, Who are you? You know, and and then again, there's people all the way around the world listening in different countries. So it's just it's so exciting for me. So over the next few future episodes, I'm going to start calling out some of these listeners and their locations. I'm gonna do a little bit of that tonight. Um, but I'm gonna keep I'm gonna keep on with this because I think it's really fun. And if you hear your city, state, or area called, I want your story. Give me your ghost story or stories. Tell me about the house you swear was haunted, or the UFO you saw that nobody believed you about. The cryptid, the weird thing in the woods, the local legend everybody in your town knows. Or give me a paranormal topic that's so fucking strange that you think I need to investigate for an episode. Send it to me by email or leave me a voicemail right here through the podcast feed, and that's Buzz Sprout. So you can like send me texts, you know, text messages through Buzz Sprout, or you can actually leave me a voice message. And here's where it gets good, okay? You guys ready? Drum roll. I'm going to choose one submission to receive a strange, strange, beyond insane prize box put together and created

Mystery Box And Michigan Bonus

SPEAKER_00 4:52

personally by me. I don't even want to tell you everything that's going in it yet. I'm not giving you any details, okay? So it's all a surprise. You're just gonna have to trust the process. But I have a special request, Michigan listeners, you guys get an additional challenge. If you are a Michigander and you've got a paranormal story, haunted location, urban legend, or somewhere you think we need to investigate, please, please come forward because I'm going to choose someone for something a little different, okay? A chance to meet up and join me for a paranormal investigation. Yeah, that's exactly what I said. You're you're listening right. We're getting off the microphone and we're going looking for this shit ourselves. So email me, leave me a voicemail or a message on my feed, tell me where you're listening from, and tell me your story. And to every single person who has listened, downloaded, shared an episode, sent me a story, agreed to an interview, or supported this weird ass thing that I've been building for over three years now. Seriously, thank you. Like, thank you so much. Because again, I I I've said this many times. When I first started, like when I first started to start, right? Because I kept pausing, I was very, very fucking nervous, uh, was not feeling confident at all. I was like, dude, I'm gonna put this shit out, I'm gonna sound stupid, and nobody's gonna listen, right? But 10,000 downloads isn't some imaginary number anymore. Again, we are 14 downloads away. Like, if it if you guys can't hear how like fucking excited I am. So, who's going to push us over the line? And more importantly, who's got a story for me? Again, bring me your ghost, bring me your monsters, bring me the stories nobody fucking believes. And everybody's got a story that they either want to tell or they have told and nobody believes it. And we're just getting started. Oh, and if you're listening from one of those cities I keep seeing in my analytics, yeah, I'm coming for you next. So you guys better be staying strange, stay weird, stay deranged, just stay spooky. Again, we are spooky around here 365 days a year. Um, we don't just wait for Halloween to let our freak flag fly, okay?

Shoutouts To Michigan Listening Spots

SPEAKER_00 7:32

Um, but so speaking of Michigan, now let me go. Uh, let's see, stats. See, this is how I do this. So location. So let's just say last five episodes, okay? All right, so I'm I have a new listener or listeners in Pontiac, Michigan, Chelsea, Michigan, um, Commerce, Michigan, Monroe, Michigan, Marcellus, Michigan, if I'm saying that right. And I have another new one in Sterling Heights, my hometown. And so, like, Pontiac is not far from me. Marcellus, I think it's like almost three hours. Um, did I mention Chelsea, Michigan? I have been to Chelsea quite a few times. So, and there's a lot. There's a lot on the way out to Chelsea and even past Chelsea that we've done a lot of exploring and investigating. So, I definitely want to hear from you. Let's see. Um, Allen Park, Michigan. Uh, Dearborn Heights, Michigan, Dearborn, Michigan. Let's see. Beverly Hills, Michigan, Gross Point Woods, Michigan, Gross Eel, Michigan, um, Romulus, Michigan. Let's see. Okay. Give me one second. I have to go. So Grand Rapids, Michigan. Grand Rapids, Michigan is super haunted. Um, Lavonia, Michigan, Madison Heights, Michigan, Utica, Michigan, Melvin Dill, Michigan, Taylor, Michigan, Clinton Township, Michigan, West Bloomfield, Michigan, Canton, Michigan, um, Yips Lani, Michigan. Uh, let's see, St. Clair Shores, Michigan, Roseville, Michigan, Birmingham, Michigan. Okay, Flint, Michigan, Washington, Michigan, Ferndale, Michigan, Westland, Michigan, Walled Lake, Michigan, Troy, Michigan. Let's see, Farmington Hills, Michigan, Royal Oak, Michigan. Um, okay, we already said Gross Point. We already said Chelsea. Oh, Kent. I'm sorry, that's Kent to Washington. I know there was one that served with a K that was Michigan too. Jennison, Michigan. Blissfield, Michigan. Some of these places I don't I've never like heard of, right? Let me look. Blissfield. Blissfield, Michigan. Okay, what is this by? Okay, let's do maps. Let's see how far you are from me, Blissfield, Michigan. Three, three. The computer is so you're about an hour thirty minutes from me. Okay. New Baltimore, Michigan, Redford, Michigan, Adrian, Michigan.

unknown 12:05

Let's see.

SPEAKER_00 12:07

Clarkston, Michigan. Three Rivers, Michigan. Okay, now I need to know where that's at. Three rivers, Michigan. Three rivers. It sounds far. Oh yeah, St. Joseph River. Portrait River. Yep, so up north. Sorry, those are my animals. You know, just uh going crazy up there. All right, let's see. We have Lincoln Park. I think we already said that. Saginaw, Michigan, Mount Pleasant, Michigan, Hopkins, Michigan, Brighton, Michigan, Milford, Milford, Michigan, um, Northville, Michigan, Waterford, Michigan, Wyandotte, Michigan, Kalamazoo, Michigan, Ada, Michigan, Sterling, Michigan, Trevor City, Michigan, Southgate, Michigan, Allendale, Michigan, Garden City, Michigan, East Lansing, Michigan, Battle Creek, Michigan, Lake, I'm sorry, Whitmore Lake, Michigan, Howell, Michigan, Beverly Hills, Michigan, Coldwater, Michigan. Oh, I love Cold Water. Wixham, Michigan, White Lake, Michigan. Um, the list keeps going. Lake Odessa, Michigan. Okay. All right. Um, Greenville, Michigan. I mean, you guys have to talk to me because I don't even know that these places exist in Michigan, right? Um, I mean, Michigan is pretty pretty big. Marquette, Michigan, Oak Park, Michigan, Mount Clemens, Michigan, Pickany, Michigan, Fenton, Michigan, Charlotte, Michigan. I know Charlotte's up north. That's where that beautiful castle is, I think, where people get married. Um, I remember looking at that around our wedding time. Midland, Michigan. Davison, Michigan. Um we go all through Michigan, Mount Pleasant, Michigan. I think I might have said that. I remember saying Plymouth. Okay. Grosseel, we already said. Do it, Michigan. Now, where the hell is that? I gotta look that up. Do it with two T's. Do it, Michigan. What is this by? Huh. I've never heard of this. See, this is why I love the analytics, because I love to see where people are from. Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, Flat Rock, Michigan. Um, St. Clair, Michigan. My god, there's so many Michiganders. Clausen, Michigan. I want to hear from you guys. Wayne, Michigan. Oh, let's see. You guys, the list keeps going. See, like Mount Morris, Michigan, I've never heard of, I don't think. I've lived here my whole life. Almost 38 years. Berkeley, Michigan.

Submissions From Anywhere In The World

SPEAKER_00 16:45

Um got a lot of Missouri, a lot of California. Rapid City, Michigan. That's a badass name. I wish I lived in Rapid City. I've never heard of that. Rapid City. See, like, if it wasn't for you guys, I wouldn't even know these places exist. Harbor Beach, Michigan. I know where that's at. Saint Ing Saint Ignace, Michigan. No, that's up north. Um, Byron Center, Michigan, Rochester Hills, Michigan. All right. I think we've gone through most of the Michigans. So yeah. Um, so I do want to hear from you guys, whether it's locally, you know, in another state, even in another country. Please send me something. Please accept the challenge. I have something really, really fucking cool in mind, okay? Because I, you know, I'm like super creative, I love projects, and I've kind of been working on this for a while. It's not complete, I will tell you that. It can be completed very soon. Um, but I don't want to say tell you any details about my little mystery box gift. We'll call it a mystery box, but um it's definitely something I would like to do. I'd love to give back, and I, you know, the whole ghost hunt investigation tour. Um, I would love to do that with somebody local. Um, yeah, I want to like see and hear from you guys. You know, like I said, I've been at this for over three years, and we're about to hit 10k. And I know it's gonna happen by tomorrow because you guys will be downloading. And uh, yeah, so again, thank you for listening as always. And

How To Reach Me And Share Feedback

SPEAKER_00 18:52

again, if you want to email me, um you can you can email me at ghost sisters2124 at gmail. Again, that is ghost sisters2124 at gmail. You can find me on TikTok. If you look up Strange Strange Beyond Insane, it will come up tick tock, YouTube, Spotify, Apple, Amazon, iHeart, um Good Pods, uh Castbox. I think there's a bunch, but if you look up Strange Strange Beyond Insane, you will find my podcast, my content, my social medias. Um, again, Buzz Sprout allows you to send me messages, and you can also leave me like a voice message. So, yeah, I want to hear from you guys, and I want to hear about you know how often you listen and you know what do you like about the show? What do you hate about the show? Even if you want to just, you know, tell me it's shitty and it sucks, like that's okay too. Any kind of feedback is feedback, right? Um, you'd still get a chance to win the mystery box or the trip, right? So, you know, either way, um, that's part of you know, putting your your heart and soul out to the public, right? Because you're not always gonna have positive positive feedback, and I am definitely ready for that, and I'm equipped for that. Being a hairstylist my whole life, um, one thing they teach you in beauty school, like not everyone's gonna love what you do, and you but you gotta love what you do. You need to be confident and you know, look at negativity sometimes as comments and feedback as constructive criticism. So that's the same, same way, um, same structure that I look at this podcast as.

What’s Next And Signoff

SPEAKER_00 20:37

But, anyways, you guys, thank you for listening as always and tune in for more very soon. We definitely have a lot more content coming. I will be more than thrilled to share my evidence and how my investigation that's coming up soon went. That will be the twenty-first. But anyways, um, you know, try to be good. If you can't be good, be safe.