In an arena that can be saturated with content, the hosts of It’s Literally Fine Podcast have made their mark. Creating authentic content that resonates with a wide audience hosts Maria Papadakis and Emelie Savard have created a strong and loyal following that continues to grow.

These two women embody how taking a risk and betting on yourself can truly benefit your career – no matter what industry you work in. We had the opportunity to catch up with the ladies to gain a deeper understanding on how they have been able to create and produce a successful podcast.

Style Nine to Five: Can you tell us a bit about your educational/work background before starting the podcast?

Emelie: We both went to school for Sport Media at Ryerson University 2014-2018. During university, I worked on the Toronto Blue Jays cheerleading team the J-Force, as well as a communications and activation intern at Invictus Games Toronto 2017. Following graduation, I worked as a Red Bull Team Member at Red Bull Canada in brand marketing and product promotion. From there, I worked as an Account Coordinator at The Publicist Group PR agency and I currently work as an Account Coordinator at Soldier Unlimited marketing agency.

Maria: Throughout my 4 years of university, I had the opportunity to work for the Rams live network as a broadcast lead. In my Third year, I began my internship with MLS Club Toronto FC & Toronto FC II as a Media Relations Intern. After my internship concluded, I was fortunate enough to land a contract with MLSE as their Digital Host and In-Stadium host for Toronto FC. Throughout my 4 years with the organization, I have been able to merge into a content producer role alongside my hosting position.

SNTF: What was the inspiration behind starting It’s Literally Fine?

Em & Maria: We started It’s Literally Fine podcast, to tell our own personal stories as we navigate life in our 20s. We realized that we both loved storytelling, and thought that maybe others would like to hear relatable stories to them and share similar moments others will also experience in their 20s as well. We wanted to be that friend that could always give you life advice, but also own up to our own mistakes and failures in the process, because nobody is perfect!

SNTF: What was the biggest obstacle you both faced when in the producing phase of the podcast and what have you learned from it?

Em & Maria: The biggest obstacle we have faced in producing our own podcast, is knowing that we wear all of the hats in this business. What we mean by this is, we are our own accountants, social media managers, PR team, creative directors, talent and more. We also found it very hard to balance out our full time jobs and find time to create a podcast we are proud of, with content we love!

SNTF: How did you grow the podcast from conception to where it is today and how much of a role did social media play?

Em & Maria: A lot of our growth came from social media, specifically Instagram. Our 1st season, we lacked social and didn’t see as much engagement as we wanted to from our listeners. However, in our 2nd season, we ramped up IG reels, posting 6 days a week and using other channels like Tik Tok as well to market the podcast. We even went as far as downloading Hinge and Tinder (when we were both single) to market the podcast in our bios and gain more awareness!

SNTF: Podcasting is saturated with so many content creators. What do you think sets It’s Literally Fine apart and why do you think your podcast has resonated with so many listeners?

Em & Maria: We’re real. We tell it how it is – we own up to our mistakes, we give advice that we have curated going through the same experiences our listeners might be going through. We don’t sugarcoat anything that we have experienced. We try to be the most raw and organic versions of ourselves when we are recording the podcast and from there, we also bring on guests who are like-minded to us and tell it how it is no matter what.

SNTF: What do you think is the biggest misconception around starting your own podcast?

Em & Maria: The misconception about having to have one image or one style. We have talked about so many different topics and have had so many versatile guests on our podcast, that our style/image isn’t just one thing and we make it work! We’ve also tried to make ourselves incomparable. People always think you need to be compared to a person or another brand…we believe in making ourselves our own brand and being 100% authentic to who we are!

SNTF: Any listener can tell you both such synergy and really feed off of each other in each episode. What do you think the secret behind this is?

Em & Maria: Our friendship. We have had our ups and downs over the years and not every friendship is perfect – we know that and we own it. But eight years of friendship is a long period of your life. Lots of memories have been made (more to come), lots of time has been spent learning and growing together! We think that’s what makes our podcast special.

SNTF: What advice would you give someone entering media and/or content creation?

Em & Maria: The advice we would give is never pass up an opportunity to learn more and gain more experience. Your experience is what will get you further in life and further in the industry. We would also say never change who you are or try to be someone else. No company wants two of the same people. Lastly, learn to work with others and take constructive criticism. Not everything will be 100% what you want, or how you like it, however the media industry is a community and small space where everyone works with one another, so learning to understand others, and taking advice for you to become better at your job will pay off.

Whether you’re an aspiring podcast creator, want to work in digital media, or have career aspirations in any other industry, we can all learn from Emelie and Maria’s advice on how to take risks and trust who you are to land your dream job.

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Demetra Maragos – Demetra is a Master of Arts candidate at New York University, who loves thinking outside of conventional lines to combine her passions of everything culture, fashion and lifestyle.