Where can I find story contributors for my podcast?

MsVibey

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Hi everyone, newbie forum member and (hopefully) podcaster-to-be.

This is isn't a call for submissions necessarily (although if you'd like to contribute, please - let's talk): what I'd love help on is where to go for people who are willing to tell me their story.

Quick explanation. My project is essentially about intimacy: what it is and how it's made manifest in our communication. Although at the moment I'm thinking podcast, it could also be a blog, or a book, or all of those things, but the first thing I need is the stories. They can be short, they can be long, but they need to be true and in the first person (like the posts in r/letsnotmeet), and I need LOTS of them.

Where could I ask for submissions? I'm used to tracking down sources and SMEs for articles and stories, but this is different altogether because of the sheer volume, possibly ongoing until the podcast is established and listeners begin sending their own stories in, which could be... a year? Dunno. I wouldn't be averse to paying contributors - although we wouldn't be talking big bucks - but I'm afraid that this would invite fiction, or at least wildly embellished accounts; I'd rather people were just motivated by joining in the conversation of the project itself, which is all about the rawness and vulnerability.

By the way: I'm not going to go to my friends or personal social media for this one. I had limited success with this and I'm guessing that it's because there's a fair bit of vulnerability involved in telling certain stories, and my friends wouldn't necessarily want me to know this stuff about them. Of the few submissions I've received from social media, one was pretty shocking (not from a judgement point of view - it was just one of those stories that slap you upside the head) and I think I know which friend submitted it, which brought up a whole bunch of ethics issues I hadn't thought about.

Thanks!
 

mccardey

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Sigh... looks like I'll have to put my marketing hat on...

I think this just might be a really hard ask for the forum. Might be better to put the question to some facebook groups dealing with relationships and such?
 

MsVibey

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Yeah, I think you're right - thank you. I came to the same conclusion overnight because as I reread my question it occurred to me that like I said: they're more along the lines of intimate confessions rather than straightforward stories. I really appreciate your taking the time to answer and validate what I was thinking.

Still! As the project takes shape I'll be posting my updates here and just generally checking in. Very much needing the accountability right now.