Become A Tech Queen - Deprecated March 2020

All the info you need if you're interested in being on the podcast. 🔖

Update: This page is no longer applicable since Tech Queens ended (March 2019 to March 2020).

Welcome, future Tech Queen! 👑

Thank you for taking the time out of your busy day to be on the podcast - I really appreciate it. 💛

Below, I outline everything you need to know as a future interviewee for the #TechQueens podcast!

Feel free to share this with other women of color in tech who you think might be interested.

Overview

Connect with me on LinkedIn 💬
Schedule an initial chat via Calendly 📆
Go over the questions, guidelines & recommendations 🧠
Schedule the actual recording session via Calendly 🎙
Send me the SVG file of your avatar created from the generator 🖼
Send me a high-res photo of yourself 📸
Make a copy of the Tech Queens Podcast Template using Google Docs and share it with me 📝
Record the podcast episode with me 👑
Once the episode is published, share on social media & celebrate so more women of color in tech can learn about Tech Queens 🎉
If you want, you can also buy swag for yourself or friends & family 🛒

Required action items after our initial chat

Make sure to have the other action items completed before booking the recording session!

Send me transparent SVG file of your avatar https://getavataaars.com
Send me a high-res photo of yourself https://linkedin.com/in/fvcproductions
Send me a copy of the Google Doc and fill it out accordingly before our recording session http://bit.ly/tech-queens-podcast-doc
Schedule the recording session https://calendly.com/techqueenspod/book-session

1. Express your interest 💬

If you’re interested in being on Tech Queens, contact me via my website or connect with me through LinkedIn.

2. Schedule an initial chat via Calendly 📆

To schedule our episode recording, we first need to set up a 30-minute chat to discuss logistics and any question you might have.

Once we are connected through LinkedIn, I will send you over the link to book the initial 30 minute chat which would be calendly.com/fvcproductions

During this chat, I’ll go over the episode format, action items and be able to answer any questions, comments or concerns you might have.

You can specify through the Calendly platform if you want to chat either online or in-person at Slack’s HQ if you’re based in San Francisco.

3. Go over the questions, guidelines & recommendations 🧠

Questions

The questions I will ask will be something along the lines of this:

FYI, the Google Doc will always have the most updated list of these questions.

What’s your story?
What are you currently doing?
Where is your family from?
What was your favorite part about growing up?
What do you like to do for fun? What are you passionate about outside of work/school?
What experiences drew you to the field of technology?
As a minority woman in tech, what challenges or obstacles have you faced within the tech industry?
What groups, strategies or tools have you used to overcome those obstacles?
If you could give any advice to your younger self as you were starting out, what would it be?
What do you think can be done to create a safer space for us?
If you were in a position of power at a tech company, what’s the first thing you would do to create a more inclusive space?
How does your intersectional identity affect how you relate to women in tech groups?
What woman inspires you and why?
What do they believe that young women need to know/hear/see to consider technology as a career option?
How can a more privileged ally help out? What can they do to educate themselves better on our issues?
Is there anything I left out that you’d like to address?
Any call to actions you want to share?

Mini Takeaways

I want listeners to come away with useful takeaways so I will always ask these questions at the end.

What is a useful app or platform that has helped you grow in your career? #AppAdvice
What does the term XYZ mean to you? #LearnThatTerm (you will provide the term XYZ)
What is an organization or affinity group that you would recommend joining? #Friendlies
Where do you live online or how can people reach out to you? #GrowYourNetwork

Guidelines

Feelings

Feelings are great, stories are better

Feel free to get specific about your experiences and provide examples on what you’re talking about

Jargon

Try to define any industry specific terms you use

It’s okay to use jargon but we just want to make sure no one is left out of the conversation

Profanity

You are welcome to use profanity but I recommend not forcing it.

Just speak in whatever way makes you feel the most comfortable.

Recommendations

Breathing

Try to breathe through your nose and not through your mouth as this interferes with the audio.

If you do need to catch your breath, no worries! Just let me know so then I can edit it out later.

Crutch Words

I also recommend educating yourself a little bit on “crutch words” and how you can avoid them.

I use crutch words myself quite a lot so it’s alright if you do use them but even so, just being aware of what they are can help a lot.

If you want to record in person, the next section isn’t relevant and I will provide more details when we chat.

4. Schedule the actual recording session via Calendly 🎙️

ACTION ITEM After the initial chat, you can book the actual recording session using calendly.com/techqueenspod/book-session.

For remote sessions, we will be using Zoom.

For in-person sessions, arrival instructions will be included instead.

5. Send me the SVG file of your avatar created from the generator 🖼️

Create your avatar using the avataaars generator using the transparent background setting.

This avatar will be used to create the banner like the one below for the episode banner.

ACTION ITEM Send me the SVG file of your finished avatar

6. Send me a high-res photo of yourself 📸

I will feature this image in the episode link so everyone can see your lovely face!

ACTION ITEM Send me this image and please make sure it’s at least 1000 pixels in width.

7. Make a copy of the Tech Queens Podcast Template using Google Docs and share it with me 📝

ACTION ITEM Make a copy of this Google Doc and share your copy with me so that I also have edit access.

This Google Doc contains the intro template, pre-defined questions, mini-takeaway questions and the outro.

You are more than welcome to edit this doc to your heart’s desire since I want you to be in control of the conversation as well!

8. Record the podcast episode with me 👑

We will be recording the session using Zoom.

https://slack.zoom.us/my/fvcproductions

Equipment

Have headphones and a good mic ready.

If you don’t have a dedicated mic, that’s okay but if you wanted to invest in one, I recommend the Blue Snowball mic.

Location

Find a place that is comfortable and quiet so there’s little to no background noise.

We want to make sure there is little interference with our voices so our listeners can have a pleasant experience.

WiFi

Try to connect to the internet via Ethernet if you can.

Or if you’re using WiFi, try to be as physically close to the router as possible.

9. Once the episode is published, share on social media & celebrate so more women of color in tech can learn about Tech Queens 🎉

ACTION ITEM Share the news that you’ll be on the podcast on your social media platforms.

You can find image assets and social media templates below.

You don’t have to use these but this way, you have something to go off of!

All the templates are under 280 characters so that it can be shared across Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc.

Before Episode Recording

265 characters

I will be recording an episode for #TechQueens, a podcast that focuses on stories and advice shared by women of color in tech. 🎙️

If you also identify as a woman of color in tech, check out the website so you can share your story too. 💛

https://techqueenspod.com

After Episode Recording

270 characters

Just finished recording an episode for #TechQueens, a podcast that focuses on stories and advice shared by women of color in tech. 🎙️

If you also identify as a woman of color in tech, check out the website so you can share your story too. 💛

https://techqueenspod.com

After Episode Released

274 characters

My episode for #TechQueens was just released! 🎉

In this episode, I talked about my career path and shared advice for those new to tech. 🎙️

If you also identify as a woman of color in tech, check out the website so you can share your story too. 💛

https://techqueenspod.com/episode-xyz

Images

Here are two images you can use for social media posts with their URLs below.

You probably won’t need them since including the website on social media will automatically show the first banner from the website meta tags.

Tech Queens Banner

10. If you want, you can also buy swag for yourself or friends & family 🛒

Feel free to buy swag from the Tech Queens Shop to commemorate this momentous occasion!

👚👕👜👠👔💈💳💸👗

Credits

The avatar images were created using avataaars generator.

The design assets can be downloaded using this Figma link.

Music by Jukedeck - create your own at jukedeck.com.

Sanity Check

How are you feeling? Nervous, excited?
Are you in a quiet place?
Remember, if you need to start over - just let me know and we can start from the top
If you forget to define something, I’ll let you know in the form of the question
What do you want to get out of this podcast, what do you want listeners to come away with?
Did you send me your high-res photo and avatar?

Sponsor Tiers

Online Boost - $25 per episode

Logo on website under Sponsor section permanently
Recognition on social media 1 time
Shoutout and logo in episode show notes

Episode Boost - $50 per episode

Logo on website under Sponsor section permanently
Mention at end of episode
Recognition on social media 2 times
Shoutout and logo in episode show notes

Preroll Ad - $75 per episode

60 second read at the beginning of the show
Logo on website under Sponsor section permanently
Mention at end of episode
Recognition on social media 3 times
Shoutout and logo in episode show notes

Midroll Ad - $100 per episode

30 second read during the middle of the show
Logo on the website under Sponsor section permanently
Mention at the beginning & end of the show
Recognition on social media 4 times
Shoutout and logo in episode show notes