Sam Bird: Creating Content That Connects
Apple Podcasts 
Spotify 
iHeartRadio 
Amazon Music There are a million people online trying to crack the algorithm. Sam Bird might be better off because he never really tried.
Sam is a comedian, content creator, podcaster and host of CBC’s Street Cents. He grew up around broadcasting, experimented with stand-up and acting, made a hockey comedy podcast, created branded content and worked behind a bar and at Starbucks while figuring out exactly where he fit in the media business.
Then this summer, something clicked.
A series of simple videos built around a Québécois character Sam had been doing for years suddenly found a massive audience. But the interesting part of Sam’s story isn’t that something went viral. It’s what he did with the attention once it arrived — and everything he had already learned before it did.
Sam and I talk about building an audience in a media world where your competition isn’t necessarily another creator or podcast. It’s everything else fighting for someone’s attention. We get into why Sam deliberately keeps much of his content lo-fi, why an iPhone and ten minutes of editing can sometimes outperform expensive production, and why creators need to recognize when something is connecting and move quickly without overthinking it.
Sam is also a second generation broadcaster - his father is Ted Bird who worked in Toronto and Montreal on legendary stations like CFTR, CHOM, CJFM and CJAD, K103, and others, is the host alongside Terry Dimonte of Standing By: The Terry and Ted Podcast.
We also talk about growing up in a broadcasting family, learning comedy, his work hosting CBC’s Street Cents, building Birdcore, negotiating brand partnerships, and the surprisingly useful lessons bartending taught him about managing a career with a dozen things happening at once.
Most importantly, Sam understands that building an audience doesn’t mean allowing the audience — or an algorithm — to decide who you become.
If you create podcasts, videos or anything else that requires people to give you their increasingly scarce attention, there’s a lot in this conversation worth stealing.
Follow Sam:
Instagram: @sambirduel
TikTok: @sambirduel
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