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

Every podcaster has one thing in common: they all have 24 hours in the day. Today I'm going to share a ton of research and strategies to get your more productive. Last week I talked about five things that you think will grow your audience but don't. This is continuing on with that theme of determining what you want to do, and then getting it done. One of my favorite quotes from Abraham Lincoln is “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” If you have no focus, it doesn't matter what microphone you have if you can't get it together. My Own Personal Struggles Growing up I was what some might call "A weird little boy." I remember driving my Mom nuts as I would be in the kitchen talking on the phone. We had a bunch of 16 oz coke glasses that I would fill up with water and tune and then play as I was talking on the phone. I always described myself as "Creative" but I'm sure if I was in elementary school today that would pump me with enough Ritalin to put a Rhino to sleep. As an adult, I tried going on some medication but the more focus I achieved was washed away by the energy that was sucked out of me. With this in mind when I get my creative juices flowing, I can be hyper-focused and lose all sense of time. To me I define that as "fun," but when you look up at the clock and it's 3 AM, and you have a big presentation the next day that is a problem. For the most part, much like many programs, admitting you have an issue is step one. I have a clear indicator and that is my desk. The more messy it is, the better the chance I need to pump the breaks. Pumping the Breaks Slowing down seems backward, but when you find yourself behind in tasks, etc and everything in your mind and body is saying "Push through" and you want to throw on your Superman or Wonder Woman outfit and start writing checks your body can cash. The result is you become more purposeful, focused, and you get more stuff done. What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up? 6:24 Whatever the goal is, you need to know it. I would recommend writing it down (more tools later). Take some time to think about it. If you don't know where you want to go, how will you know when you get there? If you aim at nothing you will hit it every time. Setting Priorities The book First Things First by Steven Covey he talks about Important VS Urgent Important activities have an outcome that leads to us achieving our goals, whether these are professional or personal. Urgent activities demand immediate attention and are usually associated with achieving someone else's goals. They are often the ones we concentrate on and they demand attention because the consequences of not dealing with them are immediate. Something that is urgent and important is a crisis. It's pressing problems with deadlines. Something that is important but NOT urgent would be things such as exercise, relationship building, personal growth. If you ignore these important things, they later become important AND urgent. Some things that are urgent but NOT important might be interruptions, phone calls (some of them), some email, some meetings Some things that are not important and NOT urgent would be busy work, time wasters, some pleasant activities. How to Know When To Delegate? 9:02 In episode 159 of the Resourceful Designer, Mark had some great questions you can use to make this simple. First, you have to identify all the things you do in your podcast/life. He suggests using post-it notes or an index card, but you're going to need a place for two piles. Then take each task and answer the following questions Go from task to task and ask yourself, Does this bring me joy or Do I like doing this one particular task? Am I good at this particular thing? If you answered yes to BOTH questions, put it in pile number one. If you cannot respond yes to both questions, put it into pile number two. Separate your collection into these two piles. Pile Number 1: Things that I like doing, and I'm good at Look at the items in this pile and ask, If I continue doing this thing will it help my podcast grow? Will it help me achieve my goal? Start two new piles. One will have all the items that will move you forward, and the pile of things you are good at and you like doing are things you are not saying no to, but not now. Pile Number 2: Things that I don't like doing, or I'm not good at Look at the items in this pile and ask, If I continue doing this thing will it help my podcast grow? Will it help me achieve my goal? If the answer is yes, then these are the things you need to delegate. Capturing and Organizing Your Thoughts 12:45 Brilliant ideas come at the most inconvenient times. I get great ideas in the shower. You NEED to capture these and organize them in a way so you can use them later. Here are some tools: Evernote: I use this tool. It's free (there is a paid version at $7.99 a month). I have a folder called SOP Ideas. I have a folder called "Marketing Crap" that is filled with all those ebooks I get that I will read later. The thing I love about Evernote is I can use it on my phone, my tablet or computer and it all syncs together. They have a tool called "Web Clipper" that allows me to take a web page and save it in Evernote with a few clicks. They recently added a feature that makes it super easy to connect your gmail to your Evernote. See https://evernote.com/blog/introducing-evernote-gmail/ OneNote: This is Microsoft's version of Evernote. It's not bad. It is also free. If you are paying for Microsoft Office you have it.. If you are a big Microsoft user (outlook, word, excel) you might play with this tool. Trello: Trello is another free (or paid) version that is much more visual as instead of folders you have cards (think index cards). Trello premium is $12.50 a month Common Features: Evernote, OneNote, and Trello all have the ability to have topics and subtopics. They all have the ability to share information (which is great for collaborating with co-hosts) Whatever tool you want to use is fine. The bottom line is you need a tool. I've got a course on organizing your information that spotlights these tools. Where Is Your Time Going? 16:41 Want to see how you spend your time?  Check out Rescue Time which helps you understand your daily habits so you can focus and be more productive.  Rescue Time is free. The Premium version is $9 a month and allows you to track your time off the computer as well. Another way to do this is to set your alarm on your phone to go off in an hour. When it goes off write down (maybe in Evernote?) what you were doing. I know when I did this the first time many years ago I was surprised how much time I spent watching reruns of TV shows I had already seen. My Favorite To Do List 19:09 While there are a number of Todo apps, my favorite is todoist. Much like Evernote, I can have Todoist on my phone, tablet or computer and they all sync together. Also like Evernote, I can take an email and turn it into a task. You can organize your task into projects. You can assign due dates and be sent reminders. There is even a reward system. You can set how many tasks you want to accomplish a day and earn points. This somewhat makes your to-do list a game. If you've been using tasks in Google, this will sync with that system. It's very powerful. The todist software is free and the premium is $3 a month. Why You're Getting Frustrated Studies show that every time you check email, a social feed, or respond to a notification, your mind requires 23 minutes of re-focus time to get back on task. People that multitask are actually  40% less productive. Finding Focus To Knock Off Your To Do List When it's time to record, here are some things you can do that might make things easier: Have a set time to record so your family knows not to interrupt. Put your phone on do not disturb and have it out of site. Have a distraction sheet. If you're working on something, and a distraction pops in your head, write it down and get back to your task. You Can Stay Focused For 25 Minutes, Right? 25:32 Some times we need a boost. I've heard and tried the Pomodoro technique. Here it is in a nutshell Pick a task you need to accomplish. Set a timer for 25 minutes and start working When the timer rings, take a 5-minute break Repeat steps 1-3 Ever four cycles, take a 25-minute break. Handling Distractions Inform the other (distracting) party that you're working on something right now. Negotiate a time when you can get back to them about the distracting issue in a timely manner. Schedule that follow-up immediately. Call back the other party when your pomodoro is complete and you're ready to tackle their issue. If you find yourself thinking about something that just won't go away, have a sheet/note and write it down and get back to your task. Why This Method is Working For Me For me, it's only 25 minutes. It is not that whatever tangent I want to take is being put off forever, it's being put off for 25 minutes. By taking breaks, you keep yourself fresh. You avoid burnout. Studies show that people who work in distracting environments have more stress, a higher workload (cause you're not accomplishing as much), higher frustration, and it requires more effort. When you start to go down a rabbit hole, you can stop yourself and say, "I can do that in __ minutes." No, I Can't Stay Focused For 25 Minutes 28:17 If you're having a hard time staying focused then I have some additional apps, that are really keeping on track. PomoDone App PomoDone is the easiest way to track your workflow using Pomodoro technique, on top of your current task management service. It ties in with just about every To Do List tool (Trello, Todoist, Evernote, Asana ) so you can track how much time you spent on a task. Once you realize how long something takes, you can better schedule it in the future. For example, I've put in 58 minutes on an article I'm working on for the Podcast Business Journal. At this point, I've got an hour and 20 minutes into this blog post (I haven't even got to press record yet). By seeing how long you are spending on items, you can make much better decisions going forward. Using the PomoDone Chrome extension, you can blacklist certain websites during the timer period. Once Timer is active (ticking), you will not be able to access the blocked websites. You can always turn this function on and off in the Extension's option, as well as configure the blacklist of the websites. If you want to setup up times that differ from the25 standard time, you can do that ( I have times of 5, 25, 40). Also if you're not using any other to do list tool, you can use this as your to-do list. The tool also works on iOs and Android. As I almost exclusively use chrome, I use this app. Keep in mind if I want to jump on Firefox I can go to any site I want ( you can always turn off the blocking feature) Tomato-Timer https://tomato-timer.com/ is a free tool if you want to take this idea for a test spin (or you can just set two timers on your phone. One for 25 minutes and one for 5). Freedom 33:08 Freedom.to is an app and website blocker for Mac, Windows, Android, and iOS. Start sessions on-the-fly or sche­dule your Freedom time in adv­ance. Plan out sess­ions that recur daily or weekly. With Freedom, you'll make produc­tivity a habit. This tool is a little more "hardcore." It blocks websites on both Chrome and Firefox, as well as on your phone. If you want to go "Super Hard Core" there is an option to lock your session (meaning you can cheat).  You can test run Freedom for five session then prices start at $6.99/month Get Your Brain In Tune 35:33 I had heard about brain.fm on a few podcasts. This is music that is designed to help you focus. For me (being a musician) I liked it. It was more or less musical noise that was just above really boring. The pricing starts at $6.95 a month I didn't feel like another subscription so I checked out Spotify and they have a number of preset "focus" stations that more or less played the same thing. Make It Easy On Yourself In Adobe Audition you can make a template but I've always used the poor man's template. I would bring in my intro and outro music and save it with something like namofshow_blank. I then open that file and before I press record I rename the show to something like nameofshow_697. This has all my files in it and I don't have to look for them. Listen faster when editing if possible. In Hindenburg Journalist, there is an option to listen faster as well as in Audacity. I spoke about this on Episode 327 One other thing to remember is more planning leads to less editing. Podcast Rewind 42:15 I was on the Podcast Reporter (Live from the NAB show) I was on the Launch Speed Podcast talking podcast Niches Work With Me Join the School of Podcasting or let me be your podcast mentor

We only have so many hours in a day, and today I'm starting a two-part series on being more productive. The first thing you need to identify is activities that take up your time and provide no benefits. Today I have five. Asking For Subscriptions Before You Deliver Value 2:11 The podcast audience may see this as a commitment. In the same way that I have test driven every car I've ever purchased, I think people need more than two minutes of your show before we start begging them to subscribe. Next week I'll be talking about some new software tools to help you be more productive and all of them have a free trial. They want you to see the value before asking you to spend any money. When you start off a show asking people to subscribe before they hear any content of value, you are more than likely wasting your time. Have you ever subscribed to a show because the host asked you to? Not me. I subscribe when I get really good content. Sending People to the Haystack That is Apple Podcasts 6:15 As a support person for Libsyn.com ( get a free month using the coupon code sopfree ) I have people asking why their show doesn't come up in a search. Some of it is the fact that there are over (as I write this in April of 2019) 700,000 shows in Apple Podcasts. Another thing to keep in mind is that Apple appears to display somewhere between 100-300 results and if there already 300 golf podcasts, or real estate, your show may not appear for the term "Golf." In some cases, your show may not appear at all. Example: The podcast "The Feed" by Libsyn doesn't show up when you type in the phrase "The feed" into Apple iTunes. The show does not appear. If you type Libsyn it does. Most directories give you a link to your show on their platform. Instead of sending people to Apple (and now Spotify) send them to YOUR WEBSITE where instead of sifting through 700,000 podcasts they have one to choose from and the only choice is if they should Asking for Reviews to “Help Us Be Found in Apple” 10:39 Reviews are social proof. That's it. They do not boost you in search results. Obsessing Over Chart Position 11:05 One of the things that made me worry about chartable.com when it came out is it would lead to people obsessing over chart position. It did. Instead of taking time to make WOW content, you're trying to figure out why you dropped two positions in the Brazilian charts. Focus on your audience, make great content, and make it easy to share and subscribe. Then do that consistently and you will end up on the charts. Upgrading Your Podcast Equipment 13:41 If it ain't broke don't fix it. If your audio sounds OK, and your audience doesn't have to keep grabbing the volume knob, chances are your audio is OK. While some podcasters obsess over boosting certain frequencies and talking about gear, for upgrading equipment to boost your audience would mean your audio was so bad that people tuned out. Most of us are not in that situation. Here are some examples of what can lead to really bad audio: Using the built-in microphone in your laptop Incorrectly using a blue yeti microphone (not a bad mic, it is overpriced, and without using properly can lead to really bad audio) Using one microphone to record multiple people. Audio that causes people to keep grabbing the volume knob. Check out My Gear Page Podcast Rewind 21:17 I appeared on Podlords with Jim Harold and My Perfect Podcast with Ryan Jackson Because of My Podcast 23:59 Brand from Florida Focus podcast shares how he used a voicemail from his Mother into his podcast that has now been shared with family and friends NAB Reflections I attended NAB last week with the Libsyn.com team and podcasting has radio's attention. While I was there I picked up a Samson MBa38 boom stand. This is about half the price of a Heil PL2T and still less expensive than the Rode PSA1 Work With Me Join the School of Podcasting or let me be your podcast mentor

So many people fear they will sound stupid or unprofessional but this is not something you need to worry about as even a show that is recorded live can be edited before being sent to your audience. Today I share some examples of the theories I used to edit my show Because of My Podcast: I'm Up For A Webby Award 1:49 Emily Prokop from The Story Behind podcast has been on the show before as she got a book deal "Because of her podcast" and how she has been nominated for a Webby award. PLEASE VOTE HERE Editing Your Podcast Will Make it Better 3:33 Mount Rushmore was once a mountain built of rock. Then someone editing it, and it is now a national memorial. There are movie editors, newspaper editors, book editors, etc. For me, I believe every podcast can benefit from editing. Today I share some examples and theories behind my editing decisions. Everything About Editing is An Opinion Some people do no editing, and some people will "over edit." Today I talk about my philosophies which are: Always remove low hanging fruit (and Um, or crutch word that isn't near any other words) ALWAYS Listen through the ears of your audience and ask if whatever you are listening to delivers value. Be careful about the curse of knowledge as it can leave your audience in the dark Most of my editing is me shaping my rambling questions into something a bit more focused In some cases, if a point is made late in the episode, you don't need it twice. If I have to zoom in to a very, very, very magnified level to edit the audio ( I call this "busting out a scalpel) I let it go. The goal of an interview is to make your guest sound good. In some cases, a backstory is given that is not needed. A pregnant pause can add additional emphasis to the communication Nobody wants to know how the sausage was made Editing Your Podcast Intro To Give You Clarity and Authority 22:30 Morgan Cole is a client of mine who does the Brightline Podcast. He gave me permission to let you listen to a call we did where we shaped his intro. You will hear where we shaved off quite of his into while still explaining what the show is about and who Morgan is (and why you should listen) Check out his show at https://brightlinepodcast.com/ Are you duplicating any content? Is your purpose and description clear (and jargon-free) You don't have to cram all of your details in the intro. Run Everything Through Your Target Audience 30:12 My church wanted to have a slogan "where the word is important." I explain how I felt this didn't connect. How Long Does it Take to Edit an Hour Long Episode? 31:30 I asked the Podcast Editors Club how long it would take to "De-Um" hour-long episodes. While it obviously depends based on how much a person um, says, um, and ya know, um, is an um machine. The quickest ranged from 90 minutes to three or four hours. Mentioned on the Show Big Podcast Book Big Podcast Website Red Podcast Podcast Talent Coach Podcast Review Show  Podcast Rodeo Show  (I can't believe what I heard episode) Podcast Editors Club She Podcast Kickstarter Work With Me Join the School of Podcasting or let me be your podcast mentor

David Hooper has a background in the music and entertainment business, the music business, and has spent the last four years writing the Big Podcast – Grow Your Podcast Audience, Build Listener Loyalty, and Get Everybody Talking About Your Show. It's one of the best books I've read on podcasting (and I'm only about 50% of the way through the book). David and I go back to 2006 when I was doing the Musicians Cyber Cooler podcast (later renamed the Marketing Musician) and he was doing Music Business Radio (a radio show syndicated across the nation that David turned into a podcast). I've been listening to updates about his book on his marketing podcast RED Podcast, as well as his Big Podcast show. Today it was great to talk to him now that the book is published. SPONSOR: NAB SHOW 1:27 Have a passion for podcasting? Attend the NAB (National Association of Broadcasters) Show April 8-11, 2019 to meet, collaborate and strategize with the world's most renowned storytellers. Learn how to grow audiences and revenue, create captivating content and meet with those who can take your vision to new heights. Register today at www.nabshow.com with code VEGAS for a Free Exhibits Pass. Your story will never be the same. A Talk With David Hooper Author of the Book Big Podcast 2:50 A fun conversation 4:55 Has Dave always been this curious? (Dave and David went to a very special location in Florida at Podfest) 8:13 The politics of getting guests 11:25 The power of the pre-interview 15:54 How do you get guests when you are new 17:22 How do you handle the "Dance in your head" when you are doing an interview 20:45 Dave recommends launching with 25 episodes, and I disagree 26:20 Are podcasters open to adjusting their show? 32:56 How long should my podcast be? 36:09 What was the thinking behind the RED Podcast? It's just so different... 39:07 Does he get flack for being so non-judgemental, or occasionally "Pushing the envelope." 41:03 Jeff Christy was a horrible TOP 40 DJ (hear his aircheck) 43:35 Media Training that Dave does with some television shows. 45:33 What other media training does Dave do? How to avoid the puke voice 50:00 The hardest and easiest parts of the book to write 52:00 The incestuous nature of podcasting 53:50 Did Dave have any imposter syndrome? Mentioned In This Episode Building a Better Dave Podcast Big Podcast Music Business Radio 28 Day Podcast Jumpstart Podcast Interviewing School Work With Me Join the School of Podcasting or let me be your podcast mentor

What is Your Crutch Word - How Did You Get Rid of It? Crutch words are we words we use when our brain can't come up with something to say. They are used to fill up silence that some feel is awkward. We all have them, and they are only an issue when they are used so much that it becomes distracting/annoying. Please realize that never having a crutch word may be impossible. Often we don't even hear them. So we have to start with identifying that we have a crutch word. When I asked you about your crutch words, here are the ones you are trying to avoid: Craig from Ingles Podcast is "So" and has lots of examples of what to avoid. Brad from The Cinema Guys podcast is "Like" as well as "So Anway..." Brenda from the My Tech Toolbelt Podcast "Is a Big Fan of..." as well as "Right" Darwin Dave from the Dealing with My Grief podcast "So" Tim From the He Said She Said Movie Reviews Podcast Arnie at the Football History Dude Podcast says "Dude..." Nina from Farm Food Health has lots of ums... Mark from the Resourceful Designer and Podcast Branding had a listener let him know he was saying Basically a ton. Mel From Beer with an Engineer has lots of ums, and so.... but turned it into a drinking game. Mike Dell from Podcast Help Desk and Podcast Help Desk News crutch words is "Anyway...." and he's just been pausing instead. Stephanie from the Expat Rewind has "soooo many..." Lee from This is Rammy finds himself saying "Obviously" Win from Ask Win finds herself saying "Like" Kim Krajci from Toastmasters 101 has some tips on how to avoid crutch words. SPONSOR: Alitu Web Based Podcast Maker It's a web app, where people can log in on their web browser and then use it to edit and produce their podcast episodes. Mobile app coming soon too. Podcasters record their show as normal, then upload their recordings to Alitu. Alitu then processes, levels, converts them all, pieces the clips together, adds your theme music automatically, and publishes the episode, direct to your podcast host. If you need to edit out any mistakes, then you can use Alitu's custom podcast editing tool to do just that, before creating your finished episode.   The idea behind Alitu is to make Podcasting and quick and simple as possible, removing a bunch of the tech barriers and to let you concentrate on the bit you do best – talking about something you love!   It can take an interview where each person records their side of the conversation, and it will combine them together (how cool is that?)   Check it out at www.alitu.com check out this video How To Get Rid of Crutch Words Identify them Monitor your use of them Practice NOT Using them. This may include getting use to silence (that you can edit out) Try to figure out what is going on when you use it. Try to determine why you chose to use that word at that time. Next Month's Question: Are you paying for any part of your podcast process? If so how much, and on what? (not so much who you are using). I need your answers by 4/27/19 see my contact page for more information (you can upload pre-recorded files) Mentioned in This Episode Alitu web-based podcast Creator You Wanna Do What Podcast "You Can't Read the Label from the Inside of the Bottle." Where I Will Be April 6-11 National Association of Broadcasters Las Vegas June 8th Utah Podcast Summit Sandy, Utah August 13-16 Podcast Movement  Orlando Florida September 8-10 Military Influencer Conference Washington DC October 17 – 18 DOYO Live Youngstown Ohio. Other Events You Might Want to Check Out She Podcasts Live: The Women's Podcasting Experience Podcast MidAtlantic September 6-7 Work With Me Join the School of Podcasting or let me be your podcast mentor

I got an email from someone struggling to start their podcast, "The biggest issue I’m dealing with is psychological: the show is not coming together in the format that I really wanted—and at this point there seems to be nothing I can do about that— but that, combined with fear, uncertainty, and doubt, and the inevitable self-comparisons to what others are doing as well as my own personal expectations has quite frankly got me a little bit paralyzed. It’s like I’m on the firing line, I’m locked and loaded and I’ve got a good site picture, but I just can’t get myself to pull the trigger because I’m afraid of the kickback."  I've mentioned in the past how to Overcoming Imposter Syndrome and the story of Monica Rivera, and today I want to talk about how it feels to podcast. What Does it Feel Like to be a Podcaster? Excited By the possibilities Frustrated When computers decide to be, well, computers. Smarter When you figure things out Nervous As you are learning new things, and getting outside of your comfort zone. Confident When you publish your first episode Frightened When you realize everyone can hear your show. Humbled / Shocked When we inspire someone or affect someone. Normal When you find out you’re not the only one who thinks this way. Safe Because you are surrounded by people similar to you Amazed At the opportunities to that come your way, the people you get to speak Mentioned in This Show Overcoming Imposter Syndrome Episode Monica Rivera The Nudge You Need Podcasting in America The latest edition the Edison Research Infinite Dial was published. Here are some insights: 70%  are familiar with the word podcasting ( 197 Million people) 51% have listened to at least one podcast ( a 7% jump) 32% listen on a monthly basis (up from 26%) 22% listen on a weekly basis (up from 17%) 17 million more people are monthly listeners than last year. 14 million more podcast are listening Work With Me Join the School of Podcasting or let me be your podcast mentor

Podcast Industry Leaders Gather in NYC I attended the On Air Festival in NYC in New York City where what some might describe as "Procasters" were in attendance. When I went to talk to people instead of finding people who spoke into microphones I found: Producers Editors Writers and I was amazed to find that: Some episodes of Radiolab take up to two years for ONE episode Missing Richards Simmons took one year to produce You can create an entire season of a podcast using 5% of the budget of a TV pilot. Advertisers want more stats even though podcasting is providing more data than they've ever received. Start With the Story Dan from Sporkful had a great talk and explained how it took him nine years to make his podcast his full-time job. Kristen Meinzer from By the Book podcast (which reviews self-help books) explained how she took a book review and worked a story into it. Special thanks to Monica Rivera from the You Wanna Do What Podcast for being my tour guide SPONSOR: Alitu Web Based Podcast Maker It's a web app, where people can log in on their web browser and then use it to edit and produce their podcast episodes. Mobile app coming soon too. Podcasters record their show as normal, then upload their recordings to Alitu. Alitu then processes, levels, converts them all, pieces the clips together, adds your theme music automatically, and publishes the episode, direct to your podcast host. If you need to edit out any mistakes, then you can use Alitu's custom podcast editing tool to do just that, before creating your finished episode.   The idea behind Alitu is to make Podcasting and quick and simple as possible, removing a bunch of the tech barriers and to let you concentrate on the bit you do best – talking about something you love!   It can take an interview where each person records their side of the conversation, and it will combine them together (how cool is that?)   Check it out at www.alitu.com check out this video   Mp3 Chapter Marks I mentioned how I started adding chapter marks in the mp3 file, and I wasn't sure if any apps even used these chapters. It turns out there are more software titles that recognize these than I originally thought Overcast used them (and not much else). It turns out that MP3 chapters can be displayed with Instacast, Overcast, Downcast, Podcat, Pocket Casts and iCatcher!. On Android you can use Podcast Addict, which supports chapters in all file formats (MP3, M4A/MP4, Opus, Ogg, etc.), uPod to display chapter marks with URLs and images in MP3 and MP4 files, the open source AntennaPod supports chapter titles with URLs in MP3, Opus and Ogg Vorbis files and Pocket Casts supports MP3 chapters. Apple Has Too Much Power? With Apple threatening (and then rescinding) to pull people from Apple podcasts some people were really upset and stated we should take steps to remove Apple of it's power. I've been around long enough to remember podcasting before Apple added podcasts to iTunes, and that gave podcasting a boost in the arm. When they added the podcast app to be native to their operating system. Yahoo, Microsoft, Odeo, Google (multiple times) have created and deleted a podcast directory. With Spotify spending a TON of money, I say if you want to "topple" Apple I have a two-word plan: STEP UP. Don't create software that doesn't have half the power of the current leading titles step up and provide all the current features AND THEN SOME. Create something that makes it easier for the listener (Which is what Apple did). For those that think Apple has too much power, feel free to remove your show from their directory if you hate it so much. Apple is giving best practices on how to get the most out of their software and they are complaining. Back in 2012 some consultants came up with a "file for download only" strategy that was REALLY STUPID in 2012 (and just Hideous in today's terms) and Rob Walch from LIBSYN said, "This is a bad way to use LIBSYN," and some people didn't listen. Those are the people I am helping today and they say, "Wow, I didn't realize I was missing so much syndication...." Apple is giving us suggestions on how to use their software, and some people are going to listen, and some people are not. Question of the Month What is your crutch word, and what did you do to get rid of it? Contact me and let me know (Preferably in audio format) Work With Me Join the School of Podcasting or let me be your podcast mentor

I was on the Podcasters roundtable with Ray, Bandrew talking burnout. We talk about The Signs of Burnout The Sources of Burnout Solutions to Burnout SPONSOR: Alitu Web Based Podcast Maker It's a web app, where people can log in on their web browser and then use it to edit and produce their podcast episodes. Mobile app coming soon too.  Podcasters record their show as normal, then upload their recordings to Alitu. Alitu then processes, levels, converts them all, pieces the clips together, adds your theme music automatically, and publishes the episode, direct to your podcast host. If you need to edit out any mistakes, then you can use Alitu's custom podcast editing tool to do just that, before creating your finished episode.   The idea behind Alitu is to make Podcasting and quick and simple as possible, removing a bunch of the tech barriers and to let you concentrate on the bit you do best - talking about something you love!    Check it out at www.alitu.com    Mentioned in this Episode 660   Video of A Star is Born being filmed   Bandrew's YouTube Channel   Ray's Podcasters Studio Podcast   Podcasters Roundtable Podcast   Bandrew Says Podcast

Podcast Pet Peeves 2019 06:13 A peeve is defined as "a source of annoyance or irritation." Today we are talking Podcasting Pet peeves, but not just pet peeves but your TOP pet peeves. When you listen to a podcast and you hear this you reach for the unsubscribe button. Contributors: Stephanie - Ex Pat Rewind at stephfuccio.weebly.com Jonathan - Weekly Awesome Scott McCarthy - Moving Forward Leadership Bill from Youth with a Mission Trish - Honest Nurse Podcast Scott - What Was That Like? Issa Fears and Desires Brian - Conspiracy Theoryology Emmanuel Laroche - Flavors Unknown Anna Seawalt - Authentic Parenting Podcast Marc - Resourceful Designer Justin - Optimal Living Daily Laura Reviews and Randomness Matt - The Author Inside You Scott – Code 3 Podcast Moxie – Your Brain On Facts Brian - Engaging Missions Ryan - My Perfect Podcast Win Charles - Ask Win C.L. - Plantrama Your Podcast Consultant - NEW SHOW 2:00 I launched a new show in January for those who want to learn about podcasting in bite-sized chunks. It's called "Your Podcast Consultant" and you can find it at www.podcastconsultant.com you can subscribe to the show in Apple or Google, Spotify Episodes include: Why start a podcast How long should my podcast be? How to overcome your fear of technology Starter Podcast Microphones How do I pick my subject? 9 Strategies to get on other podcasts Update on Anchor Advertisers 43:24 In the past when I created three test shows on Anchor, the only sponsor I was offered was Anchor (so what was described as a way for Anchor to make money, seemed to be yet another way for Anchor to lose more money). I mentioned this in an article and video I created.  When I logged into my Anchor Sucks (IMHO) show, I was surprised to see that Squarespace and the Black Tux wanted to sponsor a show that only had 70 downloads. Black Tux is .02 per downloads. Squarespace is .0175 per download and Anchor is .01 per download. If I included all three (which would mean a minute of 90 seconds of ads in my show) I would make almost .05 per download. Assuming an audience would sit through so many commercials. A show with 150 downloads would make $7.13 per episode. Work With Me Join the School of Podcasting or let me be your podcast mentor

As valentines was this week so we have a special edition of "Because of My Podcast," and speaking of finding things, today we talk about some tools to help you be found in Google. Because of My Podcast We Found Love: John Bukenas from Audio Editing Solutions is dating Samantha from I Shake My Head With Lisa and Sam Chris and Krissie from I Am Salt Lake share their story of dating, marriage, and BABIES! Jeremy from Podcast We Listen To and Dina Marie from the Twisted Philly podcast Podcast Rewind: Podcasts We Listen To I appeared on the Podcast We Listen To podcast talking about my show and the early days of podcasting. This podcast also has a great Facebook group filled with podcast listeners, but it's NOT A PLACE TO PROMOTE YOUR SHOW (this group does that). I Was Wrong About M4a Files 13:57 I published an article on the Podcasting Busines Journal website and mentioned how mp3 files are more reliable then m4a when it comes to pressing play. In the past, I've seen m4a files just spin and spin and not play in Apple Podcasts. When I went back to see if this is still true, it's not. Free SEO Tools To Help You Be Found in Google 18:11 As the search in the podcasts app chokes on the huge amount of shows coming into the podcasting space, there are times when it seems you just can't be found. So if you've done all there is to do, another strategy is to make sure you can be found in this other tool that helps people be found called Google. I've taken SEO For Podcasting by Daniel J Lewis SEO Courses from Yoast Podcast SEO Marketing from Ploymash (Juergen Berkessel ) Tools I've Added and Started Using Monster Insights Wordpress Plugin that allows you to see Google Analytics in Wordpress. Neil Patel's Ubersuggest Domain Authority Checker Another great suite of tools is Mongools SEO Suite Question of the Month: What is your TOP Pet Peeve? You can only pick one. Please send them in by 2/22/19 Alexacast For Sale 31:26 I've come to the conclusion that I can't continue (or in this case bring back) the Alexacast. This is a show about the Amazon world, and especially what is happening with Alexa. If you'd like to take this show over, please contact me. You'll need to pay for your media hosting and web hosting. I prefer you host it at www.coolerwebsites.com    Podcasting For Fun 34:00 Just a reminder you can podcast for fun. You do NOT have to make money with a podcast. Work With Me Join the School of Podcasting or let me be your podcast mentor