If you’re a master at your craft, this week’s episode is for you. Paul Riario, the creative force behind Guitar World’s compelling content, provides expertise on how to channel your passion into a successful YouTube channel or podcast. From understanding how to create relevant content, to building credibility and staying authentic, niche creators across all crafts will learn how to stand out in a crowded market.
imPRessions S3 EP 11 Transcript
Jenn
Hey Kalli.
Kalli
Hey Jenn.
Jenn
So, do you follow any content creators that are very specific, have a certain niche? So like, for instance, my sister in law, I think I’ve talked about her before, but she is like a book Instagram influencer, if I’m saying that correctly. And she has this crazy following, and she only talks about books like what she’s reading, authors she recommends. Just genres, things like that. Do you follow anybody that has a very specific community that they make content for?
Kalli
Yes, I am actually also an avid reader, so I also am part of the book community, although my account that I was dedicated to, it is long defunct. It was really nice to be able to be a part of a community. And I still follow and engage with other people, but it’s really nice to just have people to talk about your interests with.
Jenn
Yeah, I think that there’s something really special about it. It builds a community. But for me, and I’ve talked to my sister-in-law about this before, it can be kind of tiring. You know, you’re only making the same type of content all the time for very specific people. So, sometimes the creativity behind that can get a little bit lost. So today’s guest has been doing what he’s been doing for a very long time, before TikTok, way before that, before YouTube. Paul Riario is the tech and gear editor for Guitar World, a huge publication in the music world. And he has a very big following of guitarists to go to him to really understand, like new amps and new guitars in the market, and kind of decipher between which products they, you know, should invest in. And he demos things and gets people to really be able to listen to the distinct, different sounds of each of the products. So I’m having him come on today to kind of talk to us and our listeners about how somebody can not lose that creative lull when they’re creating content, because it can be really hard for niche audiences. So I think you’re gonna really like what he has to say.
Kalli
Yeah, I know that, it sounds super, super helpful, and I wish that we had this conversation when I had my book account. But yeah, let’s get to it. I’m very curious to see how to keep it fresh.
Jenn
Yep. Awesome. All right. Well, let’s join Paul now.
Creating content for a very specific audience is no easy feat. Even if you are a professional in your craft, it could be challenging to reach and resonate with audiences. If you are an expert and looking to channel your expertise into a YouTube channel or podcast, you’ll love today’s guests. Paul Riario is the face and creative force behind Guitar World’s gear reviews, artist interviews, and has mastered the art of creating content for guitar players; a niche and passionate community. Today, we’ll discuss how to keep content relevant for your target audience, how to build credibility, and what niche creators can do to stand out. I’ve known Paul for many years, and I’m so excited to welcome him to our show. Hey, Paul.
Paul
Hi, how are you, Jenn?
Jenn
I’m good. Thanks for coming on.
Paul
My pleasure, it’s a real honor to be here.
Kalli
Paul, it’s so nice to meet you. And you know, Jenn’s told me that you were with Guitar World for many, many years. So, how did you get into the role of the tech gear editor for the publication?
Paul
Well, how I started is, it’s kind of an odd and humorous story in a way. At the time when I was kind of a little out of college, I was kind of doing some odd jobs here and there, and someone who was in publishing remarked to me, you know, “Why don’t you go into publishing?” And I just realized, I was like, well, how come I didn’t think of that? You know, and this is, keep in mind, this is back in the 90s. I’ve been doing this for almost close to 30 years now. And so, back then, it was just like, oh, wow, I used to read all these, you know, guitar magazines and music publications. I was like, yeah that would seem like a good fit for something I would want to pursue. And I went to the newsstand and I found the magazines that I normally would read, and turns out one of them, Guitar World, happened to have an office in New York.
So one day, I randomly woke up and I literally was, I’m no joke, I was in my underwear and I was just like, let me just call up Guitar World and see if they have a job opening. And I called and I got through to the switchboard and I said, “Hi, I was just wondering whether there are any job openings?” And the woman goes, “Oh yes, of course, let me put you through to the Guitar World.” And I was just like, I went past the first clearance and then I got to the next thing where another guy picked up the phone and I was like, you know, I go “Hello.” And he goes “Hi.” And I was like, “I was calling about and heard there’s a job opening at Guitar World. I was wondering, you know, if actually, was there any job openings there?” And the guy goes, “Yeah, did you see our ad in the New York Times?” And I go, “No, I didn’t, I didn’t know there was an ad in New York Times.” And then he goes, “Ok, what job are you looking for?” And I was like, I literally just blurted it out, I said, “I don’t know anything you got.” The guy kind of chuckled, and he goes, “Well, you know, Paul, you’ll have to narrow it down more than that.” I was like, “Yeah, but you know I…” We talked a little bit more, and then he eventually just said, “Why don’t you just come in? And we’ll interview you.” And I was like, “Sure.” And that’s kind of how it started. I ended up, the very next week, I showed up for an interview. They kind of quizzed me about, you know, like my background, and which I didn’t really have much. And basically, I told the guy, you know, our publisher at the time, you know, I could name any guitar in a Fender catalog. And he tested me just as a joke. And he was impressed that I could do that. And he’s like, ok, he goes, “You come back, start on Monday.” And then he looked at me with kind of disgust, he said, “Whatever you do, don’t show up in that.” And it was the suit, I was pointing to my suit. And I just like… I kind of laughed. I was like, I looked at him, I go, “Well, it’s a job interview. Everyone shows up in a suit for job interview.” He was like, “Not here.” And I was like, “Okay, whatever.” So, long story short, the job I interviewed for happened to be a production coordinator which was in ad sales. We had a book called the Blue Lines. And I don’t know if anyone’s ever seen, I’m sure some of you have seen The Devil Wears Prada. But, you know, there’s a…
Jenn
Oh my god, Paul, of course we’ve seen The Devil Wears Prada. Are we women? Yes. We’ve seen The Devil Wears Prada.
Paul
I know I’m speaking to the choir here. I know that.
Kalli
My life’s not based on it. It’s fine.
Paul
But there’s an actual scene where, you know, where they talk about the book. That was… the book that they’re talking about is the Blue Lines of how every page is laid out. And you had to go through it and page by page, and just make sure everything was in its place. And that’s what kind of what I did, and as well as everybody else, you know, like editors as well as sales, we all coordinated to go through the book, make sure everything was in its place. Nowadays, of course, that doesn’t happen anymore. That has disappeared. It’s all done digitally. But back then, it was literally like arts and crafts. You would like to paste things on in the book. Then you’d chip the book back to where it would get printed. And at some point, you know, some of the guys, I was became very friendly with the editors. And obviously, some of the editors that ended up writing some small, little things here and there. One editor, this guy, Tom Beaujour, who is the author of a New York Times bestselling book, Nöthin But a Good Time, about hair metal. And also, he just came out with a new book about Lollapalooza. Tom was just like, “You know, you really know your stuff.” He goes and then he talked to the editor in chief at the time, and said, “You know, you’re really wasting this guy’s talent here. You should be working with us, not in the ads, in the ad department.” That’s pretty much how I ended up becoming a gear editor and started working with gears, through you know, through my colleagues’ recommendation, and of course, some hard work.
Jenn
Yeah, well it’s nice to have someone advocate for you and kind of say, you know, this guy is so much more… can provide so much more than what he’s doing. Before we hit record, we were actually talking a little bit about the evolution of the field. And you’re kind of saying, you know, when I was a kid and, you know, go into an actual brick and mortar guitar, mom and pop guitar shop and really had the ability to learn from people around me, and today with, you know, Reverb and the ability to buy things online. And you know, people just kind of… maybe get the most popular or not necessarily the best fit for them, just because they don’t know the online community. While you are certainly a very big part of getting people to like, understand different types of gear and how things sound. If somebody’s just on like guitar center and they’re just like online shopping and they just want something that looks cool or whatever, they might not really be able to have the means to really understand what they’re buying. So I’d like to know, with that said, we kind of talked about this, but for our listeners, like, what do you feel has changed the most about how guitar-related content is consumed since you started many years ago?
Paul
So, it’s a good question. What happened was that, you know, before, when I was younger, where you got your information was always the local, I guess the local shops, right? Whether you’re into bikes, you’d go to the local cycle shop, or whether you’re into music, you’d go to the local music store. Within there, you’d find a whole community of, you know, musicians and hobbyists or whatever. And through that, those connections that you kind of make, you start to be able to filter out what works for you, what your friends are using. Or you know, like I said again, these are the tools that I use, plus having the hands-on experience of being there to understand it and try it out and being able to do that. Now, all that has been replaced by this two-dimensional screen, right? So the guitar instructors that I would go to when I was learning guitar have been replaced by YouTube instructors, right? A gear review and things like that, people trying to figure out, like the local guy who was playing in a band, that’s been replaced by a bunch of guys on YouTube who are like, “Well, this is what it sounds like,” “This is what I use.” So online has become sort of this, I guess, cold place where you get to learn things. I mean, in some respects, it’s fantastic, like if you need a quick thing to hear how something sounds or you need to like to brush up on, say, a song there, it’s all there. And if you know how to sift through all the noise of it, or who’s playing it incorrectly, or who’s got it right, then it becomes an incredible tool online. But at the same time, if you’re a beginner or if you’re inexperienced, it can become a very, very dense wilderness online. So I’ve always felt that having a community, a local community, which I grew up in, always was helpful. And especially for me, I would say being in bands, growing up, really, it was the greatest experience being able to hone my craft or understand how things work. Because here I am using all these things in real-world experiences, like if I’m playing at a gig, I quickly find out that this guitar was not for me, this was the wrong guitar to use or that amp didn’t sound right. So it was always a lot of trial and error, the rapid acceleration of people being able to play better quickly. And also having better knowledge of what’s out there is due in part to having all that at your disposal online. So it’s a whole new frontier that a lot of us have to navigate through.
Kalli
Yeah, you know, speaking of new trends. You know, obviously, you mentioned a lot of, you know, YouTube and I’ve seen that myself, but even with the rise of Instagram and TikTok becoming really, you know, super popular and becoming really dominant. How has your content strategy shifted to ride with the evolution of social media?
Paul
When you think of a magazine, the magazine was always the source, right? It was always the source of where you went to find out what was going on in the music world or in the guitar world, in my case. Nowadays, that’s not so much, you know, the place to go as much anymore. For us, we’ve had to compete with that kind of content because there are some influencers on YouTube that are really great at what they do, and that’s who we’re competing against. So everything that we do has to be engaging. We have to draw them in and find hooks in a way that they want to stay and learn more. And that’s always… I think that’s the greatest challenge for anybody, even the YouTubers and the influencers as well as us, is to have a captive audience as well as a loyal and dedicated audience. You know. So at the end of the day, if you put out really good content, people are always going to come back and listen to what you have to say. What I do is I have to come up with my own sort of engaging content that they’re not doing. Because right now there’s so much content, for lack of a better word, when I do stuff, I try to target the audience that this is appealing to. If I’m dealing with something that’s meant for like, say people who love classic rock, I try to tailor my content towards them to say like this is what works for that. You always have to be in tune with the people you’re trying to speak to. And again, the mistake that some people do is they tend to approach it with a one-size-fits-all and it’s just not that way.
Jenn
Yeah, that’s really great insight. And I definitely agree with all of that. So now, how do you… With that said, all of those things that have to go into your work and building out these videos, can you walk us through your like workflow for that? Like, what’s your process for planning and producing a video, knowing that you have to keep all of these things in mind?
Paul
Usually it’s something I’ll pursue, new things that are, new gear that’s out there. I usually work very closely with companies and brands that have new releases. And I’ll sift through what they present me and pick the items or, you know, the gear that I think our audience will be interested in. So that’s one part of it. As well as trying to be timely, trying to get the gear out at the time it’s about to be released or close to it. Once I get that, I try to familiarize myself with it, go through it, take some notes here and there. Then I’ll come up with like things to say about it. And maybe put in a little bit of context of where the gear comes from or where it’s evolved from. If that’s the case. And then kind of put all together, then we set like a day to shoot these things. I used to use a teleprompter. Sometimes I would just organize all the stuff I had to say and throw it in a teleprompter. Someone remarked like that, “ You should stop using the teleprompter and just be more you. And just kind of go off the cuff. People recognize that a little better.” And I’ve been doing that lately, and I think it’s helped, having more authentic reactions as I’m presenting the product. So basically, what I’m doing is I’m taking you on a journey. And the audience is following you on that journey. If you tend to be too black and white and how you present it, like “Well, it does this; it does this.” And like that, if it’s organized in such a fashion, it doesn’t have any… You tend to lose the connection. Plus, also the other half of it too is that you also have to be creative and original with coming up with some musical pieces, right? Every time I do something, I have to create like a little original piece, which is not easy sometimes. You know, sometimes I let the gear dictate what I come up with, you know, as an original, and that always works. I feel like, well, who is this gear for? Then I’ll try to mimic the genre of music that this gear is tailor-made for. And that’s how I’ve been doing it. So it’s been a lot of fun.
Kalli
There definitely is so much that goes into presenting the content, like you were saying, you know, how to reach different musicians. I’m wondering, you know, obviously, in addition to musicians playing different types of music, they are also coming in at all different levels of experience. So, how do you balance the content for a hardcore gearhead to a beginner?
Paul
That’s a good question. It’s hard because in my case, I have to be more universal. It has to… I have to appeal to both the professional, experienced, as well as the beginner. I think I tend to address that for both. Obviously, I’ll make a few remarks on whether this gear is focused for, I guess, a beginner, or this is definitely more for the professional player. I think I don’t underestimate the audience. I think most of the guitar-playing audience realizes that certain pieces of gear, whether a guitar or an amp, is more for the beginner, like a novice, as opposed to someone who is more experienced. It’s almost automatic that you can tell, like a certain guitar is made for a beginner, and another guitar is made for a professional player. You can just… It’s absolutely, you know, palpable that you can tell right away. So again, as I said before, I don’t underestimate my audience. I think they are smart enough to figure out whether this thing is for me or this is for someone else. They’re able to tell, like their level of you know, musicianship, whether maybe I should get something like this, or maybe I should get something more high-end. There’s all these other fine points that you need to zero in on in order to make a really good judgment of what you want, as far as you know, all these tools that are available. Translating that online is sort of the same way. You just basically are relaying who this is for, and this is what it does. And I think, as I said before, most of our audience understands, like, ok, this is something a little more within my reach or out of my reach, or maybe I should look somewhere else.
Jenn
There are a lot of options, there are a lot of music brands, a lot of classic brands, and even some newer ones, more modernized ones. I’m sure, Paul, you get pitched pretty regularly from PR people that work for these brands.
Paul
Yeah.
Jenn
So, how do you kind of distinguish which brands you’re gonna show, which amps, which guitars on the channel? And for Guitar World, how do you… what’s like a pitch that would really get your interest? Or do you have like a criteria that you follow in terms of which product you are willing to demo and kind of sort of put your voice behind, because in a way, you’re kind of like a temporary brand ambassador, right? Like you’re reviewing, and you’re giving your thoughts on whether or not someone should buy it or someone should play it. So, how do you decide?
Paul
Yes, I guess I’m a bit of a gatekeeper here, right? So the way I used to do it is that they would have to be available. That’s really the most important thing, right? If I do something that is readily unavailable or people have to really dig for it, then I would tend to put that on the back burner; don’t review it as much. So it’s like always the big brands because they’re always readily available. It helps you and it helps your audience, right? It’s like if you want something, if you’re like, “Oh, I heard about that!” That’s what you need to… that’s what I need to review. So it’s always the stuff that’s most popular, that people recognize. That’s the stuff you want, you know, that goes to the forefront as the most important things to review. And everything else will have to wait or you get to it. But nowadays, as I think we talked about before, it’s like, everyone, you can get anything online now. So it’s no longer impossible to get, because a lot of the stuff that we used to get, we used to have to go to the store, but now you don’t need to go to the store. There are tons of boutique builders who are building things where all you get is online. You go on Reverb.org, and all the major retailers now are online. So now you can buy just about everything that’s out there. Nowadays, it’s more: what’s interesting? Who is innovating? Who is doing something really cool? And I think that’s been my criteria. Like, sure, there’s a million acoustic guitars out there, but I’ll narrow it down to a few, like this guitar is $300, but it plays like a $700 guitar; it’s got so many wonderful things on it. And the same goes, you can go down the line like there’s a bunch of guitar modelers, and like yeah, this one’s almost $2,000, but this, you know, $700 modeler does a lot of what that $2,000 modeler does. Then there’s also the big ticket items, like you know, do as well, like I just received an electric guitar that’s mostly for heavy metal. This one is made in the USA, and every so often, it’s sort of like a palate cleanser. I go, oh my god, this guitar is amazing. Everything like, the minute you hold it in your hand, this is full-blown quality. This is a top-shelf guitar. And you need to review that to tell the audience as well. Like, yes, this thing costs a lot of money, but there’s a reason why it costs a lot of money, because it’s so good. It’s like you can buy five things that are cheap and make them work for you. You should always have one thing that you know, you spent a little bit more on, that you love, like “Wow, this is an amazing piece.” So, as far as reviewing all that kind of stuff, that’s what I do. It’s more of like, I review the things that I get excited about. And some of the things are that I think… there are some really great, affordable things that where the quality control has gotten so good, that you’d be remiss not to buy something like this at this price, because it’s a real bargain and you’re getting so much bang for the buck here. Then there’s also like certain guitars or certain products that have some brand new innovation, which I always, like, I’ll always go for. Something like, you know, this effect pedal does this thing that no other effect pedal does, so you gotta review that. So it’s always finding things that, I guess, even for me as a writer as well. I always… I look at the angle of how the way to tell the story. And if I can tell a really good story about it, I’m going to review that.
Kalli
There are so many different, like you said, different aspects of each type of guitar, each instrument, what are they doing, and how do they sound together. I’m sure that even though there are a lot of things that sometimes the content may get a little bit repetitive, because it is a very niche industry. What are some of the things that you do to keep it fresh and engaging, so you keep your fans coming back, and they’re not getting bored with the content? Cause I know that sometimes it’s a struggle when you’re writing about the same thing or the same industry for a long time.
Paul
How do I keep it fresh? Again, that’s always a challenge. I mean, again, I come back to really finding, as I said before, it’s trying to find an angle that someone who would look at it and wouldn’t see it in the way that most people would. So you know, if I find something, I would try to present it in a way that most people wouldn’t think they would use that in that respect. Or I would try to use the gear in a way that makes sense. It really is, I mean, yes, you do get overlapped. There’s so much gear that kind of sounds the same. The trick is trying to find the sort of the highlights of it. Like this thing does, although it sounds like “this”, it does “this” as well, or it does “this” as well, a little better. So you’re always trying to find, sort of the things that when guitarists hear you say it, it clicks. Like, for guitarists, they know about the tube screamer pedal. It’s something almost every guitar player has used and use to sort of boost their tone. And there are so many variants of that circuit in so many different pedals. And so you have to kind of present what makes this new one different from “that”. And does it do “that” as well? And it’s finding those, I wouldn’t call it “buzzwords”, but words that are relatable, that many guitar players understand. It’s like speaking a language, right? I mean, when you’re surrounded by enthusiasts who all love the same thing, you try to find those relatable terms that when you say it, they understand, like, “Oh, so it does so and so.” And you’re like, “Yup.” And then that’s when everything starts to become like a wildfire, for example, like in Nashville with all the session players who play on so many records. You know, it’s a small number, a handful of guys who are all playing on the same records. But all it takes is one of them, you know, who they finds this really great, say amplify or they find this great effect pedal. And they’re like, they start using it and then they go, they call their friends like, “Oh my god, you have to try out this guy,” he’s making these amps that sound like so and so. He’s like “What?” And then he hears it, and he goes, “Oh my god!” And then he tells the other guys. And pretty soon everyone on that circuit is playing the same thing, or they have that in their arsenal. So it’s like these are all enthusiasts who are all chasing the same things. But all it takes for them is to… they’re having this sort of language where they all understand this is what you need in order to accomplish this. That’s half the battle, of course, in presenting like things, especially like gears, like, “Hey, if you want to be like this or you want to sound like this, this will get you there.” And I think if you can present that in a way that people understand, and as I said before, relatable, you are connecting with them.
Jenn
That’s amazing. And I think that it definitely just goes to show that whether you’re immersed in the arts or you’re an expert in something else, I think we can all agree that while it might be challenging to reach a specific audience, it can also be very rewarding. Paul, you’ve created a supportive and amazing guitar community. And Kalli, I’m so thankful that you shared your insights with us and our listeners today.
Paul
It was great being here. And thank you for having me. It’s just you know, there’s a lot more to always talk about, but…
Jenn
Of course, I know, we run into that all the time with our guests, there is so much to say, but we’re really provided a lot of amazing insights. So really, thank you so much for your time today.
Paul
Yes, my pleasure, thank you.
Jenn
A shout-out to our listeners for supporting our show. We’re so grateful to have amazing guests like Paul on and it’s all thanks to your support. If you have a guest in mind or want us to cover a specific PR or marketing topic, find us on social media or email impressions@pollackgroup.com. Till next time!
