School of Podcasting: Expert Tips for Launching and Growing Your Podcast

I keep seeing statements like, "Well, I've done this podcast for 2 years and it's time to start monetizing." With this type of mindset, I can see many podcasters getting discouraged or even burned out. I played music in local bars from the age of 16 to 50. 34 years I played music, but I never fell delusional enough to think I would make the big time playing local bars in Northeast Ohio. If I wanted a career I would've had to move to a city like Los Angelas, Nashville, or anything that wasn't Akron, Ohio. While it's commendable to commit to something for a long period, it's not the longevity that inspires people to share your episodes. It's the content. Nobody has ever said, "Hey Dave you have to listen to this show!" and when I ask why they say, "They've been podcasting since 2014!" With that said, as I write the updated version to my book More Podcast Money, here are the ways you make money with podcasting. SPONSOR: Podcast Engineering School Be equipped to start their own podcast production company or be hired as an employee. Program Includes: LIVE Interactive Online Training Two Mentoring Sessions with Chris Curran Major Discounts on Software and Plugins Lifetime Access to the PES closed community Certificate of Completion Super Early Bird Specials Apply and prices WILL GO UP. Check it out at www.podcastengineeringschoool.com [click_to_tweet tweet="The Top Five Ways to Make Money With a Podcast @davejackson " quote=" The Top Five Ways To Make Money With a Podcast" theme="style3"] The Top Ways to Make Money With Your Podcast Sell Your Own Products or Services This is the top way to make money with your podcast. You harness the power of influence. As you have lived and breathed in your target audience for a while, you should know what they need or want. I was amazed at a WordCamp I attended recently that the documentation for the new Gutenberg is sparse at best. Everyone hates it. Nobody understands it. That is one learning curve that needs to be flattened and if I had time I would dive into it myself. Why some of your audience will buy from you is due to you bringing value on a consistent basis. This triggers the law of reciprocity. You've done something nice for them, and now your audience feels a need to do something nice for you. If you've shared a little about yourself then they probably like you (if they didn't they wouldn't be listening). If the information you provide is solid then they trust you. When you are known, liked, and trusted the buzz phrase for this is you are an "influencer." When you launch a product or service you can influence them to purchase your product. This could be a book, a course, a membership site, a crowdfunding campaign, a live webinar, etc. These products should fill a need in your space, or entertain them. Sell Other People's Products or Services (affiliate sales) Affiliate sales are when you sign up with a company to promote its products. You are given a link (or a code) that proves the traffic/customer came from you. If a sale is made, you earn a commission. When you match the right product with the right audience, you can make decent money. I once made hundreds of dollars a month promoting fitness cards on my weight loss show. The commission was $1.50 per deck. This product fit my audience. I later would do the same when the Fitbit first came on the scene. I bought one and loved it. This is a great place to start. Find a product that you love that your audience ( a weight loss show in this case) would love. I was able to openly and honestly talk about how I loved my Fitbit and ever since I bought it I was more active. Again, I was earning hundreds of dollars per month when the commission was $9 per sale. Pat Flynn makes a TON of money with Affiliate sales. He created a video tutorial showing how easy it was to install WordPress on a web hosting company. The video was short. It made building a website look super easy, and his affiliate link was right beneath the video. Find the right product for the right audience and affiliate sales can be a nice source of income. Crowdfunding / Donations This form of income requires an extremely engaged audience. When people donate their motivation is one of two things typically They want you to continue to create content and have the freedom to keep going. They believe in your message/content They want additional information or content. Adam Curry and John C Dvorak called the donation model "Value for Value" model. Their show the No Agenda Show dissects the media and helps you understand what is really going on in politics and in some cases society and culture. They produce two episodes a week that are roughly two hours long. They have a segment at the beginning thanking people who gave over $250. They have a segment in the middle to thank anyone who donated over $50, and they have a ceremony to "Knight" anyone who has donated over $1000 and welcome them to be a "Knight of the No Agenda Roundtable" and you also get a very nice ring (which of course people can wear, and have other people ask "where did you get that ring). The No Agenda show is so engaged they are now holding meetups without the hosts. Adam and John provide any tools to their audience that they can use to promote the show. Jennifer Bryney also does a show about politics called Congressional Dish. She started the show by reading every bill that went through the US Congress. Every American should listen to at least one episode of Congressional dish. Jen thanks all of her supporters at the end of the show. Both of these shows provide information that you (sadly) can't get any place else. Both are done in an informative and yet entertaining fashion. The No Agenda Show accepts checks and paypal. They have a jingle that promotes the website to go and donate ( www.divorak.com/na ). Congressional Dish will take your support using whatever payment tool you want The top reward people offer at Patreon (the top crowdfunding tool ) is additional content. When is the best time to add a Patreon campaign? When a listener asks you to start one. Host Read Ads While currently, less than 10% of podcasts get 5000 downloads per episode (the metric advertisers are looking for, although some need 20,000 per episode) this doesn't mean you can't get a sponsor. I've had sponsors on this show that fit my audience. While some advertisers use an old way of advertising held over from radio where you pay a rate based on the number of downloads ( CPM price per thousands ) this doesn't' work with podcasts who have a smaller - but more engaged - audience. I charge per episode (not CPM). This is sometimes called a "flat rate." When using the CPM model of (for example) $30 per thousand downloads and your show gets 200 downloads per episode that episode earned $6 (which is why CPM doesn't work for most podcasters). The more niche your audience, and the more niche the product the better the match. The better the match, the higher you can charge. Dynamic Ad Insertion While the technology behind dynamic ad insertion is not bad, currently podcasters who are using some services are getting the shaft in my opinion. For me, generic dynamic ad insertion is the equivalent of Podcast Welfare. One system I am checking is paying my .0017 (not a typo) per download. If we go back to that show that has 200 downloads per episode they are making 34 cents per episode. When you see companies saying "You can make money from DAY ONE" this is what they are using. Yes, you will earn money. However, you might be better checking your couch cushions. People That Make a Living With Podcast Have a Few Things In Common I've noticed a few traits with those people who make a living from the income that was generated from podcasting activities. They have MULTIPLE income streams. They sell products, affiliate sales, ads, etc. They have a combination of the above. The people that JUST have ads HAVE HUMONGOUS audiences. That take DECADES to build. They often have a spouse/partner that has a decent job with health benefits (not all but many)  Had an audience before they started podcasting (not all, but many). There are Other Ways To Measure Success It's not all about downloads and its not all about money. In some cases, you get paid in confidence. You get paid in speaking gigs, or maybe even a permanent job. In some cases, you get paid in friendship, and peace of mind knowing you belong. Quitting Your Day Job There are tools online you can use to see how much money you need to have a certain take-home pay. I live in Ohio and using https://us.thesalarycalculator.co.uk/salary.php I live in Ohio and in Ohio 60,000 will put you in a place where you don't have to worry about your bills. If I want to have a take-home pay of $60,000 a year I need to bring home $75,576.62 (as 20-30% of this is going to taxes). However, if you’re married with children you might be paying for health insurance via COSE (which can be around $1700 a month) which would mean you would need to have $98,192.92 in gross revenue to take home $60,000. Apparently, I'm also never going to retire (as I'm not putting any money away - just a thought). Now if we break that down that is $1888.33 per week. Assuming you are working 40 hours a week that is $47.21/hour. There are some things to keep in mind. This means your calendar is booked from morning to night if you are doing consulting. This also means you’re never taking a vacation. Wait, you want two weeks of vacation? Then you need to make $101,969.58 in gross revenue (as we will assume you are not making money while you are on vacation. This then means your hourly rate is $49.02/hour and you are working 40 hours a week. Why You Need Multiple Streams of Income In a post on their blog, Patreon mentions that only 1-5% of your audience will become Patrons. The average donation is $7. I checked mine, and it was $5, but we will stick with $7. If I use the gross number from above of that would mean I need to make $8,182.74 a month. If the average Patron donats $7, I will need 1,169 Patrons. If only 5% of my audience becomes Patrons I need a total number of downloads of 23,379 per month so 5% of them will become patrons. While you could say that 23,379 a month is 5845 downloads per week, but that 23,379 should be unique listeners. Question of the Month What do you like about the show? What do you wish I'd change? What do you want to hear in the future? Upload/Leave your answer on the contact page.  Please take the online survey (with a chance to win a price) at www.schoolofpodcasting.com/survey19 Mentioned in this Show More Podcast Money Book More Podcast Money Podcast Fast Pitch Softball Useful Resources Graphtreon (shows how much people are making on Patreon) Patreon Crowd Funding Work With Me Join the School of Podcasting or let me be your podcast mentor

Thanks to everyone who chimed in with an answer: Melanie from the Beer with an Engineer show likes to throw a party for her listeners Brad from the Cinema Guys loves milestone shows - loves where people take small clips from past shows (or breaking format to do something special) Terry Noorda from the Discovering America podcast brought his family on the show Brian from Engaging Missions hasn't really done any kind of special episodes Kim from Toastmasters 101 is going to pass on anything special Stuart from the Great Escape is going to have a special Scott Johnson of the What was that like? show doesn't do anything special and prefers to focus on the audience Seth from Geekville Radio has done clip shows. Thomas from Multiverse Tonight made a special graphics and is changing his format Because of My Podcast Craig from Ingles Podcast did a study on podcasting and was able to present it at the largest event in his industry. Check out his show at https://www.inglespodcast.com/ Question of the Month For July Take the full survey at www.schoolofpodcasting.com/survey19 I haven't taken the temperature of my audience in a while, and you should do that. So we are going to do this in audio format What do you like about the show? What do you fast forward through (dislike - I have thick skin) What is your perfect length for an episode? What would you like to hear in the future? Use the tools at www.schoolofpodcasting.com/contact Work With Me Join the School of Podcasting or let me be your podcast mentor

I Have  A Fear of Heights True or False: Starting a Podcast is Hard Start a Podcast May Require Your To Overcome Fear Hiking in Utah is Different than Hiking in Ohio Get a Guide/Mentor To Help You Avoid Mistakes Everything Was Cool Until the Last Hike Getting Control of Your Mind The View From the Top Was Amazing The Confidence-Competence Loop Mentioned In This Episode Utah Podcast Summit Travel Gluten Free Podcast Shirts That Provide UV Protection TETON Sports Oasis 1100 Hydration Pack 3 Month Podcast Quick Start Package Your Podcast Consultant Ask the Podcast Coach Podcast Review Show Podcast Rodeo Show Power of Podcasting Network Spybrary, Tourpreneur, and Radio GDR FULL SHOW NOTES Full Show Notes at www.schoolofpodcasting.com/675

You picked a name for your podcast (need help with picking a name, check out this episode of Your Podcast Consultant) and you've decided that maybe you went a little too "inside baseball" and you want to change the name of your podcast without losing your subscribers. How To Change Your Podcast Name Step one would be to let your audience know what is happening (you might even get them involved in voting for a new name). By letting them know ahead of time they don't freak out when they go to listen to your show and can't find it under the old name. 4:00 Rebranding your podcast is not that hard. In its most primitive steps you: Change your artwork (making sure to use a different file name for your new artwork) Change your categories (if you want to) Change the email address (if you want to) Change your website address (if you want to) Change the author name (if you want to) Keep in mind may take up to 24 hours for the changes to appear in the apps In Libsyn.com the steps are: Go to Settings > edit show settings and here you can update your show name, website, and artwork (as well as the description for the Libsyn directory). If you are uploading new artwork, make sure the file name is different than the current artwork ( for example, logo.jpg needs to be logo2.jpg ) and click save Then go to destinations > edit > Libsyn classic feed and adjust your categories, summaries, owner/author/email information and click Save With 24 hours any directories using your feed should update. Kentucky Fried Chicken to KFC Your podcast is a recipe - not a statue. So similar to the time when the Kentucky Fried Chicken Restaurants changed their name to KFC (hoping people would forget their name had the word FRIED in the middle of their name). There might be a new coat of paint on the outside. There might be a new sign out front. Inside you have the same food (an in this case they added a new menu item that still fit in with the other items) So when the audience went to the same location, they saw a new sign, a new menu item, but really nothing much changed When a podcast listener fires up their app it goes to the same location (your feed) and sees a few new things, but really nothing much has changed. They don't have to do anything. Because of My Podcast Kenn Blanchard Kenn Blanchard of the Black Man with a Gun show has been asked to share 100 episodes for a new Black Podcast Project for the Society of American Archivists Journal. Check out at www.blackmanwithagun.com Homework: Question of the Month What ideas do you have for a podcaster celebrating a milestone episode (50, 100, 200, etc)? Watch to Watch: My Next Guest Needs No Introduction The new season of David Letterman's My Next Guest Needs No Introduction has two great examples of SHUTTING UP. When he is interviewing Ellen Degenerous he gets to the subject of her stepfather who he describes as a bad man and then SHUTS UP. Ellen is uncomfortable and not sure if she should share, and he DIDN'T SAY A PEEP. In a different episode, he is interviewing Tiffany Hadish who is explaining how good it felt to get her first suitcase so she didn't feel "like a piece of garbage." Here again, Dave SHUTS UP, and lets her share he insights and feelings. He doesn't chime in. He lets his guest share, and at the end, all he said was "Beautiful." Remember when you're interviewing someone the goal is to make your guest comfortable, and free to share anything in a judge free zone. It's about THEM not you. Apple Announcements: What It Means For You Apple announced that they will be transcribing your episodes in the future and using that transcription to boost search. There isn't anything for you to do besides make great content. They will be adding new categories and taking some away. This is good news, but not everyone will be happy (of course).  This will be coming "in the future" but no time frame. Once Apple announces their backend is ready then the podcast media hosts will update their backend to tap into these new categories. The bottom line is this won't be coming out for a little bit. I'm sure all the media hosts will announce when they are ready for those who want to update their category. Keep in mind that 70% of people find podcasts via word of mouth (but this might make it easier). Work With Me Join the School of Podcasting or let me be your podcast mentor Full show notes at www.schoolofpodcasting.com/647

There are so many things that are changing in podcasting that can cause stress as you worry. Some things you have no control over. You may need to take some steps, but after that it is out of your control.  Being Seen in Google Podcasts If you've followed the directions to set up your website, or you are using a media host like Libsyn.com or Blubrry you are good to go. From there, you just have to wait on Google.  Being Found In Apps I have had people contact me about Apple, Spotify, iHeart and sure its only a matter of time until radio.com gets added to the list. Search in these apps is poor at best. Apple searches the name of your show, the name of your episode and the author title. If you have your target words in those areas, that is all you can do.  Having Google Put Play Buttons In Search Results At this point, I've done some research, and it sounded like if your show was in Google Podcasts, our show should appear with play buttons if someone did a search for your show. This (at this point ) only works about 50% of the time for me. As Google is still somewhat new to podcasting and this is a new feature, there isn't much for us to do.  Should I Change My Intro? As people may be clicking play on any episodes that appear in search results I don't tink ANY podcaster will have the answer they are looking for at the very beginning of the show. What you want your show to do is pull people in by letting people know what is coming. If they see where you are going, the audience is more likely to get on board.  Mentioned In This Show Evo Terra of Podcast Pontifications Podcasters Roundtable Giving Up the Ghost Podcast Get Your Podcast Started www.schoolofpodcasting.com/workwithme  

Starting a podcast is not hard. Starting a GOOD podcast takes time, dedication, talent, etc and today I asked my audience, "What is the biggest pain in starting and creating a podcast." Here is what they answered: Your Biggest Pain in Podcasting 01:23 Thanks to everyone who contributed Positioning My Podcast - from Timothy of kdoipodcasting.com Running Out of Content - Chris Nesi from the House of Ed Tech Scheduling - Todd from the Trucker Dump The Abundance of Choice - Stephanie from the Virtual Ex-Pats Mouth Noises - Moxie Your Brain On Facts Thumbnails - Bandrew from the Bandrew Says Show Notes - Matt from the Author Inside You  Show Notes - Seth from Geekville Radio Running Out of Content - Dave Logical Weight Loss Question of the Month How do you celebrate a milestone episode? I need your answer by June 22, 2019. Go to www.schoolofpodcasting.com/contact Because of My Podcast I Was Hired For an Event 33:28 Jas from Giving Up The Ghost podcast was asked to do a live recording of Ghost Stories at an AKIA store for a private sleepover party after only four episodes! Here is the description of their show: Podcasting LIVE from one of the MOST haunted cities located DEAD center in North America - Winnipeg, MB Canada. Join us as we explore the unknown! Welcome to Giving Up The Ghost Each week we will cover, explore and share our research of unexplained paranormal phenomena in Winnipeg and surrounding areas! Join your AudioCurators Jas and Sherrie as they discover the dark side of local history, Urban legends and their haunting origins as well as everything that goes bump in the night. Are you afraid of the dark? well, you should be. For more information on Sherrie’s Art and Gallery please view her talent at https://www.facebook.com/ChicAndTique/ For more information on Jas’s publications and fiction writing, please visit her website www.jnflamand.com and her FB page https://www.facebook.com/jnflamand/ The Memory of Creating a Podcast Will Be With You Forever 35:18 When you start a podcast it will change your life for better or worse, and you won't be able to take it away. I recently drove 12 hours in a car with my brother and sister-in-law to see my cousin's oldest child graduate from High School. Yes, 24 hours (round trip) in a car is not a great time, but it is a memory I have with my family that we will always have. To have that memory I had to say Yes to taking the trip. Let Me Help You Start Your Podcast Join the School of Podcasting or let me be your podcast mentor   Mentioned on This Show Acuity Scheduling  Calendly Scheduling Tool Ivy Envy  Episode 624 Is Anyone Reading Show Notes? Episode 400 of the School of Podcasting Gordon Firemark episode about Podcast Trademarks Terry Gross book "All I Did Was Ask" Howard Stern Comes Again Book  

Thinking Outside the Box Today's talk about Podcast Trademarks was inspired by a Facebook post. As a tech support person for Libsyn I see a large number of podcasts on a weekly basis (get a free month at Libsyn.com using the coupon code sopfree ). I always find it interesting when people are launching a NEW show and when I go to look up their account, I see that there is another show with the same name. One of my favorite examples is the name "Outside the box" If only there was a tool where you could search the Internet to see if anyone is using the name? Podcast Honeymoons Sometimes we skip steps like this because we are so excited, and we just can't hide it, and we move forward without doing something like a quick Google Search or a search in Apple. This can also continue as you enter what I'm calling Podcast Honeymoon. This about when you find someone to date, and HOLY COW they just check every box. You do fun things like celebrating your one-month anniversary. You celebrate the anniversary of anything and everything (your first email, phone call, first date, first kiss). You are what my mother use to call GAGA (way before Lady Gaga). You think about the time Fast forward nine months later and that awesome accent that was so quaint is now like nails on a chalkboard. I recently went to watch my ex-step-son graduate from Perdue University with my ex-wife. My ex-wife is a person who must examine ALL options before making a decision and I was like, "Oh, I remember this as she tried to decide the t-shirt or hoodie, and black vs white." What does this have to do with podcasting? When you first start a podcast you may be thinking about it all the time. You may start to have issues at work. You may be working at your podcast at work (not recommended). You might be thinking about your podcast when you are with your family. I'm reading Howard Stern's new book Howard Stern Comes Again, and he talks about how he was obsessed with ratings and consequently, was not a great husband or father. I did the same thing. While both my ex-wife and I will admit "we probably shouldn't have got married in the first place" podcasting was a source of tension. I know of people who edit their podcast on the clock at their job. I'm here to remind you that is not an option. If it has been a while since you did a job search. Before I worked at Libsyn, the last teaching job I got took a while to get hired even though I had decades of experience and a degree. It is easier said than done, but jumping off a cliff and building the plane on the way down may not be the best choice you've ever been [click_to_tweet tweet="Everything you need to know about your podcast and Trademarks #davejackson" quote="Everything you need to know about your podcast and Trademarks" theme="style3"] Talking Podcast Trademarks with Gordon Firemark Gordon is the producer and host of Entertainment Law Update., a podcast for artists and professionals in the entertainment industries. His practice also covers intellectual property, cyberspace, new media and business/corporate matters for clients in the entertainment industry. He is the author of The Podcast, Blog and New Media Producer's Legal Survival Guide. Copyright vs Trademarks Do I need one for my show? How do they protect me? How much do they cost? Check out all things Gordon Firemark at Firemark.com Check out his Podcast Law Book Check out the Podcast Release Form   Mentioned In This Episode Question of the Month: "What is your biggest pain in creating a podcast?" Deliver your answer via our contact page (don't forget to mention your show and website)  Utah Podcast Summit (use coupon code sop ) Wordpress Kent Podcast Baby Steps ( Brand New To Podcasting> Start here) Work With Me Join the School of Podcasting or let me be your podcast mentor

There is more money coming into Podcasting and Geoff and David Cook are hoping to get some of it by building a podcast app that focuses on helping you find new podcasts, integrate social ingredients (likes, etc), and pay you one podcoin (1-4 cents) for every 10 minutes. I wanted to find out more about this app. Podcoin was created by David Cook who credited the idea to a speech his brother Geoff Cook gave to Princeton University in April 2018. It’s not the first time they’ve been business partners. David and Geoff previously co-founded myYearbook with their sister Catherine in 2005. The trio then sold the company to Quepasa for $100 million in 2011. It's been around since January of 2019 and currently has 15 million users that are consuming 1,500,000+ Listening Minutes PER DAY For more information see https://www.podcoin.com/audience Find the app on Apple and Android Fixing Mistakes In Your Podcast You are listening back to your podcast and there is a mistake you HAVE to fix. Here are your options when using Libsyn Thank you for contacting Libsyn Support It gets tricky with Spotify, and Google Play Music. If you upload a file with the same file name, all the other directories and apps up EXCEPT the two above. There are two options Strategy 1 If you go to content > previously published > edit the episode Then click on the Scheduling Tab and go to the advanced sub-tab You will see the destinations. Uncheck Spotify, Google Play Music and click Publish (which acts as a save button). Then rename your episode file, go to content > add new episode Then click on the Scheduling Tab and go to the advanced sub-tab You will see the destinations. Make sure to UNCHECK ALL of the destinations EXCEPT Spotify, Google Play Music and click Publish (which acts as a save button). 670 This will create a version of that episode just for those destinations, and the original version never goes offline. Strategy 2 Go to Content > Previously Published > Edit Rename your original file and use the replace option and click Publish (which acts as a save button). The current apps will have a small amount of time when the file will not play (as the apps update they will see the new file name, but there may be people who go to play the file and it won't work (as it's still looking at the old name). This can take up to 24 hours. But the episode will update on all platforms. What If I'm Not Using Libsyn? The bottom line is if you upload the new file with the same name, then it won't update on Spotify or Google Play Music because they make Question of the Month What is your biggest pain in podcasting? Go to www.schoolofpodcasting.com/contact and upload your file or use the speakpipe button by 5/24/19 Start Your Podcast Today www.schoolofpodcasting.com/start

I came across Kent Convington's Fast Lane Podcast University Podcast and I liked the content I was hearing. I was lucky enough to have Kent ask me to be on his show. Then he did something only one other person has done. He asked for a pre-interview. He started off by asking about any stories in my life and my career in podcasting. If I wasn't so long winded it would've lasted about 15 minutes, but because I rambled on a bit, it probably lasted 34. Kent was looking to craft a story. Not just have me rattle of stats. He was looking not just for facts and stories, but interesting stories. This also got me thinking about what my "best material" is, and a few days later when we recorded the interview I was prepared. Today I return the favor and ask Ken to "pull back the curtain" and explain what is going through his mind when he does a pre-interview. Behind My Podcast Curtain You will hear what little I do as a "Pre-interview" (something I may change in the future). I typically tell people who they are talking to, why I brought them on the show, and what I plan on asking them about. With Kent, there isn't much information about him online so I had to do some digging into his background to see how he got into podcasting. How Kent Does a Pre-Interview Kent is on the lookout for stories, and things to enable the audience to not only get to know the guest but to find entertaining stories. He is looking for items that will help paint the mental image, the vivid pictures inside the "Theater of the Mind." What are the biggest hurdles? What is the most memorable moment? Tell me about a time when _____ happened. You are looking for the challenge and conflict. Polishing the Stories using  The Ladder of Abstraction S. I. Hayakaw ( explanation ) When to do a Pre-Interview Profile Interviews: Designed to help tell the story of the guest Advice Podcasts: Where an expert is on to share tips and insights. Across the Table Interview: You are looking for the truth. Less of a team approach. So Many People Have a Podcast About _____ If you're worried about starting a podcast because "so and so" is "sooooo popular" and "owns" the niche. That is like telling the Quarterback in High School to quit because they will never be as good as Tom. Well if Tom quit because he would never be as good as Joe Montana, then we wouldn't have Tom Brady today. Don't obsess over what other people are doing and instead focus on your audience. Realize we all have different strengths and different passions. Mentioned in this Episode Fast Lane Podcast University Roy H Williams "Wizard of Ads" The Ladder of Abstraction Chris Curran Podcast Engineering School Natalie at Bizchix Dan O Day Work With Me Join the School of Podcasting or let me be your podcast mentor

Back on episode 655, we talked about how do you know if your show connects with your audience? That focused on making sure your content was great. Your podcast is a presentation of information. As someone who speaks at conferences, and use to teach in the corporate world there are always three presentations. The presentation you planned The presentation you delivered The presentation you wish you had delivered. The way to avoid those regrets is through planning, but also by learning from your past mistakes. I was asked by Ed Ryan who is the Editor of the Podcast Business Journal to write an article address how to "Air Check" yourself (and can you?). Here is the article. Podcast Air Check Tips: My buddy Erik K Johnson of the Podcast Talent Coach podcast says, "Nobody is getting on a bus without knowing where it's going." If you stop your show at the 1-minute mark do you feel like you know enough to get on the bus? Do you know where it's going? We are assuming your headline is in great shape (if not see my free guide to help you write better episode titles). Speaking of episode titles, does this title accurately reflect what is being covered in this episode? If you stop your show at the three-minute mark are you into some content (or are you still in chit chat mode). You know your crutch words. We all have them. How are they in his episode? Do you have advertising on your show? You might have a "30-second" spot. Take out your phone and time how long your 30-second spot. For me, I often find typos in my show notes when I read the post with a fresh set of eyes. If You Are Doing Interviews I have a cheat sheet that you can use for this. Looking back at your interview answer these questions: What are the strengths of the guest? Why did you bring them on? What did you get out of this interview? What were the takeaways? Then listen to the interview and take out a notepad (or open your favorite note-taking app) and use two columns. In the first column label in questions and in the second column put "Answer." When I listen to Harry Durran of Podcast Junkies, Harry does a great job of asking the questions I would ask if I was interviewing the guest. So as you listen to this episode, did you miss any opportunities for follow up questions? Did you promote the guest’s website/products/services? If so, was it enough, too much, too little? Did you find yourself repeating what the guest said (ME TOO!).  We heard it the first time. Looking at why you brought the guest on, did you achieve what you set out to do? Did you get the expected takeaways? If so, what did you do to get to those answers? If not, what do you feel you could do differently next time. Final Conclusions What do you think you did well in this episode? What was the best take away? ( maybe turn that into a social media post) What lessons can be learned from this episode? How was your call to action? Did you have ONE or twelve? While a self-evaluation is hard to do (and just not as good as getting someone else’s opinion). If you do find yourself face to face with an actual listener, THIS IS HUGE. Ask them what they like (and they will tell you). Then ask you what they dislike (and often they will say nothing). Explain that you have thick skin and can take it, and then shut up. The awkward silence might nudge them to give you a pointer or two. If you really want to give them a “Safe” environment, when they start to give you notes state, “Do you care if I write this down?” and jot it down on paper or in your phone. This shows the person their opinion is important and might lead to more feedback. Lastly, don’t get defensive and start explaining why you do something. JUST LISTEN and thank them for their feedback. Keep in mind, you are 100% in control and what you do with this feedback is entirely up to you. Here Are Some Resources to Get Your Podcast Reviewed: Podcast Review Show The Podcast Whisperer Podcast Rodeo show If you know of others leave them in the comments below. As you might imagine if you Google the words podcast and reviews you get tons of articles about how to get reviews in Apple (which do nothing but provide social proof – they do not advance you up the charts or help you be found). Question of the Month: Do You Pay For Any Part of Your Podcast Production? Are you paying for any part of your podcast production, and if you are how much does it cost? Thanks to Jonathan Bloom from Weekly Awesome Fred from The Podcast Reporter Robert from Happy Diabetic Podcast  Steve Stewart who produces the Military Money Podcast and runs the Podcast Editors Club Pedro from My Stuttering Life John From Professor Slots Moxie from Your Brain on Facts (Moxie on the Podcast Rodeo show ) Brandon  from Florida Focus Podcast May Question of the month: What is your biggest pain point in podcasting? Podcast Rewind I appeared on the Project Egg show where we talked about podcasting, where I grew up, how I grew up, and I must say this was "not your typical" Dave Jackson podcast. Because of My Podcast We lost our job on the radio, and because of our podcast, we got a job back on the radio. Check out the Brendon and Kevin Podcast  Where Will I Be?  June 8th Utah Podcast Summit Sandy, Utah June 15-16 WordCamp Kent Kent, Ohio August 13-16 Podcast Movement  Orlando Florida September 4-7 Fin 2019 Washington, DC September 8-10 Military Influencer Conference Washington DC October 17 – 18 DOYO Live Youngstown Ohio. Mentioned in This Episode Episode 667 on productivity Podcast Review Show Podcast Rodeo Show Work With Me Join the School of Podcasting or let me be your podcast mentor podcoin