School of Podcasting - Podcast Tips to Plan, Launch, Grow Your Podcast

Do you have comments on this episode? Call them in and we will play them on the show (unless you specify not to). Call 888-563-3228 (courtesy of podcastvoicemail.com ) Great Content To Consume Capturing the ears and hearts of hundreds of thousands of monthly podcast listeners doesn't happen overnight. But once you know Danny Peña's story, you'll understand it was inevitable. Sunday, 2/25 is going to be an important day for the Gamertag Team. Gamertag Radio turns 13 years old AND Twitch is going to feature my first film on the front page for the world premiere. The first event of its kind on Twitch's front page. Watch it live and help them make history. http://twitch.tv/gamertagradio If you listened to the podcast Startup, the first season was all About Alex Blumberg and quest to start a podcast company. That has now been made into a TV show on ABC called, "Alex Inc.  It stars Zach Braff who you might know from the scrubs TV show. He is also the executive producer. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 28th at 8:30|7:30c on ABC! Set you DVRs as hopefully, this will get more people asking, "What is this thing called podcasting?" Podcasting Is Grooming People For the Big Time In a recent article on mediapost, it stated that "Oxygen sourced Missing Maura Murray, the true crime podcast, for a six-episode television series, which featured the podcast’s hosts. In Britain, No Such Thing As A Fish, a fun talk-show podcast, was made into a BBC Television show. Lore, the podcast that explores frightening history folklore, became an Amazon original series, and Gimlet media’s Homecoming is also being developed into an Amazon TV show for Amazon. This trend isn’t just exclusive to television, says the report. Blink Publishing in the UK turned Untold: The Daniel Morgan Murder podcast into a book. Los Angeles talent management agencies are getting involved in podcasting, and are helping podcasters break into TV and publishing, says the report." I've already reported on Emily Prokop wh does the story behind podcast getting a book deal. Quick Lesson on Apple Earbuds I had an audio technica plugged into a Zoom H1 using a special cable and it sounded fine. To make a long story short, I ran it through auphonic.com which always seems to fix everything, but it still sounded bad. The issue? I was plugging my Apple earbuds into the laptop and Apple earbuds should not cause an issue, but either the laptop didn't like the earbuds or vice versa, but in my ears the audio was unreleasable. It turns out it was fine. The bottom line is you need to use the right tool for the job and monitor through a "regular" set of headphones. Squadcast.fm - Recording Great Sounding Interviews This is a tool that records you and your guest (up to three people total) and gives you a recording of each person that you can then stitch together in your software (which makes it easy to mute the dog barking on one track). It's $20/month for unlimited recording (it's BETA - brand new so use at your own risk).  The interface is super simple, and it records in WAV Format (Sample rage 48 khz 32 bt).  When someone joins your call they are prompted to pick their microphone to connect the service to the microphone they have plugged in, and then connect the system to their headphones. It's super simple.  They have a calendar that you can choose to pick a time (although I was bummed I couldn't manually pick a time like 10:45, I only had 10:00 or 10:30). At first, I had a hard time to getting back into a previous session, but when you first login it prompts you to start a new session, and you can choose to go back to an older session from that screen (and then get access to the previous session) Squadcast can dominate this area by doing one very simple thing: JUST WORK. Tools like tryca.st and zencastr.com have had some issues over time. Podcasters are not very forgiving, so all you have to do is make a system that we count on and it just works.  This system is in beta, so you might need an extra amount of patience. I had zero problems with the small amount time I spent testing it.  Check it out at www.squadcast.fm Special Thanks to My Podcast Buddies David Hooper from redpodcast.com and the new Podcast event in April in Nashville podfecta.com  John is from Audio Editing Solutions How Much Should I Share About My Personal Life? I got an email from a listener who recently had a spouse die. He needs to take care of his child who has special needs. He can't go back to his old job working 50 hours a week.  How do I turn it into a business so I can take care of my child? When it comes to making money with a podcast you Sell your stuff Sell other people's stuff (affiliates) Donations Crowdfunding (Patreon) Sponsors The bad news is to build an audience that can truly support a full time takes years (typically, your mileage may very).  "If I mention this on the show I'm afraid people will feel I am cashing in on my tragedy..." Your audience wants to help you as there is no spam in podcasting, and they know you and will know you are NOT trying to capitalize on your situation (there may be someone who feels you are, ignore that person, they know you, and probably have a negative disposition).  Using Personal Stories I like to use personal stories to make a point. It allows my audience to get to know me while making a point to help educate them on a point.  It's Your Podcast - Not Your Family's A person I met at Podfest is starting a show about sex. I told her she better check with her husband as if she talks about her own sex life, she is (I'm assuming) talking about her husband as well. Be careful with what you share as the Internet writes in ink. I've pulled some episodes in the past, but someone has those episodes.  Mentioned In This Show Podcast Engineering School Building a Better Dave - Grief is Like a Website Is This Adulting You Wanna Do What? Audio Editing Solutions redpodcast.com podfecta.com Mentioned in this episode:2025 Audience SurveyI Want Your OpinionI am doing an audience survey and I want your input to help me make this show exactly what you want. If you have a few minutes, I have a quick survey at www.schoolofpodcasting.com/survey252025 Audience Survey

So this week I spent some time this week at the Podfest Multimedia expo in Orlando Florida. This was a fantastic event. Today we hear: A Podcast One Year After Launch Carol from speakingyourbrand.com explains what life has been like after starting her podcast at last years Podfest 2017. The first 6-12 months are really tough due to lack of feedback. While the podcast numbers are growing slowly, the engagement in her community is going up Because of my Podcast: Kyle from Merchants of Dirt and Gagglepod explained how he landed as a speaker at Podfest. Rent Before Your Buy Podcast Microphones Dave interviews Stephen Arruda from MicRentals.com This is an interesting service that could be used to help you test a microphone for less than $100 and avoid making a $300-$500 mistake. Sponsor: Podcast Movement 50% of what you paid to rent the mic will be used if you decide to buy one. Use the coupon code rent15 to save on your rental  Podcast Movement is the world's largest gathering of new and veteran podcasters, or anyone looking to start their own podcast the right way – Join over 2,000 podcasters from around the world in Philadelphia this July 23 through 26 for three days of workshops, panels, parties and more – The conference offers over 100 sessions on topics ranging from the technical aspects of setting up your equipment and the audio production to marketing and monetizing your current or future show. – The expo hall features over 60 podcast service and equipment providers, so whether you're in the market for a microphone, or trying to figure out where to host your podcast, anyone who matters will be on site to help you out It's Jule 23 – 26th in Philadelphia PA. Use the code SOP when you sign up at www.podcastmovement.com and get $50 off any level of registration Mentioned In This Episode Podcasters Survivor GuideMentioned in this episode:2025 Audience SurveyI Want Your OpinionI am doing an audience survey and I want your input to help me make this show exactly what you want. If you have a few minutes, I have a quick survey at www.schoolofpodcasting.com/survey252025 Audience Survey

Welcome to episode 604 of the School of Podcasting Listen here Update on the PreSonus StudioLive AR12 USB Mixer The last episode I explained how I had purchased at PreSonus StudioLive AR12 USB Mixer. It's not cheap ($499) but there is an AR8 that is $150 ($350) less. The problem I had was when I record to the built-in SD card, there was a very faint (but noticeable) high pitch whine. In working with tech support that has been resolved and after updating the driver, it seems to have quit freezing up the audio on my computer. All in all, I'm happy with it. This is partially due to me having a DBX 286 which adds extra gain. I am using an Electrovice RE320, and it just seemed odd that I needed to really turn every (almost) all the way up to get things to peak. The fact that these units have built-in SD records can save you from buying a Zoom H1 (or any portable recorder) to get the recording off the computer. The Zoom H1 is typically around $100. Look for the price of the Zoom H1 to go down (more on that later) as they just announced a new Zoom H1n which will be available soon (that unit is geared a bit more towards musicians) Sponsor: Podcast Movement I am so looking forward to Podcast Movement. This is the largest Podcast Event that is solely geared toward podcasting. Being face to face with people is the best way to grow your network, and take advantage of all the opportunities. Starting a podcast is a great way to build your network, and coming to an event is like building your network on steroids. I got to talk to Marc Maron a couple of years ago. He just showed up to one of the networking parties, and I said hello and started talking. I can't do that sitting in my chair in my office. - Podcast Movement is the world's largest gathering of new and veteran podcasters, or anyone looking to start their own podcast the right way - Join over 2,000 podcasters from around the world in Philadelphia this July 23 through 26 for three days of workshops, panels, parties and more - The conference offers over 100 sessions on topics ranging from the technical aspects of setting up your equipment and the audio production to marketing and monetizing your current or future show. - The expo hall features over 60 podcast service and equipment providers, so whether you're in the market for a microphone, or trying to figure out where to host your podcast, anyone who matters will be on site to help you out It's Jule 23 - 26th in Philadelphia PA. Use the code SOP when you sign up at www.podcastmovement.com and get $50 off any level of registration Getting Productive With Jess Sanders I've been listening to The 5 AM Miracle by Jeff Sanders and I'm already taking steps to get more things done. Jeff is been nominated five times for a podcast award and comes highly recommended by some friends. I started listening to his podcast and soon bought his book the 5 AM Miracle on Audible (also available on Amazon) How long did it take him to get his sponsor The difference between his blog audience vs his podcast audience What goes into making an episode How does he pick his subjects Does he make more money selling his own products or sponsorship? Jeff shares how his podcast brought him a book publisher - TWICE Does Jeff have any radio experience? How Jeff inspired his mail carrier who is now a giant fan of his show Why he decided to kill his first podcast What got him hooked on his subject Does he really get up at 5 AM? Jeff's Tips on Getting Focused A simple tip for starting your day in the right direction What is the difference between his first book the 5 AM Miracle and his new Book The Free Time Formula How does he achieve work/life balance? What if you don't have time to write all this stuff down? How do you make yourself go to bed? Jeff has been using wavve to share his podcast, but that's not the thing that's been delivering more listeners How did he approach popular websites to get his show mentioned? Jeff has a TON of bonus content for those that pre-order his book at his website His membership portal is built in Digital Access Pass and Learn Dash What is his favorite Todo List Task Manage? Why Getting Organized is Important It only makes sense to go fast when you are headed in the right direction. For me, being somewhat A.D.D. I get new ideas all the time. If you walk into my kitchen, you will find the cabinets open as I have moved on to my next task (eating ) without completing the last 1% of the previous project (closing) so I'm taking some of this year to get more focused, identify what is important to me, and then put the gas pedal down so I'm going fast, in the right direction. My favorite tools are Todist and Evernote. I'm currently taking a class on getting the most out of Todoist and Evernote. Check out Carl Pullein's channel on YouTube For learning how to use these tools. How did I learn about his channel and content? I told someone I was listening to Jeff's book, and he had been watching Carl's videos. Tell people what you are up to, they may have some great insights. My favorite example of Todoist is I can read an email and turn it into a to an item. For example, we previously had an episode with Clay Groves from Fishnerds.com on the show and he was talking about doing appearances. Another listener (who asked to be nameless) wrote in that "When I was in radio, the standard appearance rate was $250 an hour and you couldn't book talent for less than 2 hours. When I got my first speaking contract (for a very large health company) it was $750 for a half day, $1350 for a full day, with expenses and transportation covered. These rates are about 5 years old and may not apply to everyone.. but in case you were wondering.. that's one perspective." I've had that as a "to do" item and when I went into Todoist, I clicked a link and it took me to the actual email in Gmail.  Great Advice on Growing Your Podcast Audience and Community Danny Pena has been on this show (amazing interview). He has a documentary coming out in February as he celebrates 13 years in podcast. He appeared on one my favorite shows about podcasting called the New Media Show with Todd Cochrane and Rob Greenlee. It's definitely worth a listen Mentioned In this Podcast Jeff Sanders Website Red Podcast The 5 AM Miracle Book and 5 AM Miracle Podcast Free Time Formula wavve  audio sharing tool Todist and Evernote New Media Show  Mentioned in this episode:2025 Audience SurveyI Want Your OpinionI am doing an audience survey and I want your input to help me make this show exactly what you want. If you have a few minutes, I have a quick survey at www.schoolofpodcasting.com/survey252025 Audience Survey

Last week we talk about media hosts, this week we are talking about your Web Host, and what to do if you hate yours. Sponsor: Podcast Movement I am so looking forward to Podcast Movement. This is the largest Podcast Event that is solely geared toward podcasting. Being face to face with people is the best way to grow your network, and take advantage of all the opportunities. Starting a podcast is a great way to build your network, and coming to an event is like building your network on steroids. I got to talk to Marc Maron a couple of years ago. He just showed up to one of the networking parties, and I said hello and started talking. I can't do that sitting in my chair in my office. - Podcast Movement is the world's largest gathering of new and veteran podcasters, or anyone looking to start their own podcast the right way - Join over 2,000 podcasters from around the world in Philadelphia this July 23 through 26 for three days of workshops, panels, parties and more - The conference offers over 100 sessions on topics ranging from the technical aspects of setting up your equipment and the audio production to marketing and monetizing your current or future show. - The expo hall features over 60 podcast service and equipment providers, so whether you're in the market for a microphone, or trying to figure out where to host your podcast, anyone who matters will be on site to help you out It's Jule 23 - 26th in Philadelphia PA. Use the code SOP when you sign up at www.podcastmovement.com Do You Need a Podcast Website? After all, can't I just use a media host and a Facebook page? To this I say, would you buy a car from a person selling them out of a tent? If you ever plan on telling people where to find something, you NEED a website. Case in point, if you do a real estate podcast and say "Find me in Apple Podcasts" you have a very good chance of not being found. Not because the search tools bad (it could be improved) but because there are so many real estate shows. The same goes for Entrepreneur shows.  The solution is instead of saying "Find me in (whatever) app" is to say go to mywebsite.com/subscribe and I've got a tutorial that will walk you through the process. You Can Get A Website For Free Of the media hosts I recommend (Libsyn.com, Blubrry.com, Podbean.com) they all have a basic website that comes with your plan. How basic is basic? You can listen and have people subscribe to your show. If you're looking to add products, newsletters, scripts to see what they click on, etc, then you need your own website. You can do some of that with their basic site. For example, while you can't put a MailChimp sign up form on a site that doesn't' allows javascript, you can use the link they provide to link to your sign up form that mailchimp provides. With this in mind, there are ways to work around some of the things that are out of bounds. What Do You Need On Your Podcast Website? A Play button. An About page A Contact page A subscribe page A Play Button You need a play button because asking someone to subscribe to a show they've never heard is like asking someone to pay for a sandwich they've never eaten. Your play button is like the person at the mall who gives out samples of chicken at the food court. They give you a sample and hope your purchase. With podcasts, you make it easy to play and hope they subscribe. One other note, there are still some people who do not have smartphones. An About Page Your About page should explain how your audience is going to benefit from listening to your show. Think of your target listener looking at your listing. What are you going to say to convince them? I recently look at my description of the School of Podcasting and it needs work. In the first sentence, I mention that I've been podcasting since 2005. I often introduce myself that way is it speaks to my experience, but I'm not sure that is the first thing to lead with. In general, most people don't' care how the sausage is made. Explain what they are going to get, how they are going to benefit or fell upon listening to your show.  The beauty of this is you can always change it late The tough part is some consultants have a website for their consulting, and then add a podcast. Do you have a paragraph for the show or for the host? The answer is both. The harder question is which one is first? If your goal is to get hired as a consultant, then put your paragraph first. If you are hoping to use your podcast to build that relationship that leads to more consulting, then maybe you put the podcast paragraph first. Your Contact Page I put every way you can contact me on my contact page. Email, voicemail, social media, etc. This way if someone wants to contact me, they only need to look in one place. If you are using some sort of form, be sure to use the form yourself and make sure you get the message. A Subscribe Page As more and more podcasts are added to different directories, telling people to find you is becoming less and less of a good thing to say. As more NEW podcast listeners get involved with podcasting telling them to subscribe may fall on deaf ears. Instead, make a page that shows people how to subscribe to your show with links directly to your show on the top platforms. Currently, in 2018 I recommend Apple Podcasts/iTunes, TuneIn, Stitcher, and Google Play Music (I have tutorials for all of these inside the School of Podcasting) Web Hosting Has a New Breed In past, I've used Hostgator (and was even a reseller), and BlueHost (I've never had great luck with them), Godaddy (I am a reseller at www.coolerwebsites.com). Recently I new breed of websites came on board and these were geared to host sites built on Wordpress. I tried a few using Godaddy as a platform and thought I saw some increase in speed. Then I put a Wordpress website on what I will now call "Traditional" hosting, and can say the difference is notable. The fees are typically a little higher (A few dollars more a month), but the speed is higher. That's the good news. The bad news is most of these Wordpress Hosting Packages come with email addresses. This was the case when I hosted a WP Engine. I solved this by getting email through Google at the price of $5 a month per email. WP Engine is a fine company, but to make a long story short, if you get any kind of traffic you pay through the nose (At one point I was paying between 50-70 a month). This is why I liked Godaddy's Wordpress Hosting as it was around $10 a month for 400,000 visitors. I've been using them (again my reseller is www.coolwerwebsites.com) but then I heard about Siteground. Siteground has Wordpress Designed packages, and they offer your email addresses as well. I moved some sites to their platform to test, and again noticed a speed increase with my pages loading. I finally chose to move the School of Podcasting to their platform (from WP Engine) and again saw an increase, plus I got as many email addresses as I want. Their support is AWESOME And I couldn't be happier. Oh yea, the price? $11.95 a month.  I am very happy to be saving some cash each month and getting more services. How Do You Move Your Site? The good news is most web hosts will move your site for free. Siteground did the School of Podcasting for free. However, I wanted to move more sites. They charge $30 to move your site over. So here is how I did it. I used ManageWP. I love this service. I installed a free plugin to my site, and paid $2 to back it up. I then installed WordPress with a few click on Siteground and updated my domain name to point at my blank site. Here is a video that shows the power of Managewp I know, there are all sort of ways to do this without having your site go offline, but this is a way to do it without having to go into a cpanel, use ftp, etc I put a message on the front of the website saying we are moving and we would be going temporarily offline. I would refresh my screen every five minutes, and the minute I saw the deal Wordpress screen, I went into ManageWP and had them restore website from my backup. It worked flawlessly. So instead of paying $30, I paid $2. If I had used their service, they probably could do it without the site going offline, but you can choose your own path. How Many Sites Can You Have on One Site Ground Plan? (images at www.schoolofpodcasting.com/603 ) Currently, on their biggest plan I loaded the following sites: http://podcastreviewshow.com http://betterdave.com http://davesblanksite.com http://feedingmyfaith.com http://podcastingresources.com http://powerofpodcasting.com As you can see on the left, I've got some room to grow. Most of these sites are fairly dead. You can see this information by going into the cpanel and looking on the left-hand side of the screen. Wherever you host your website, be sure to have a backup, keep your themes and plugins up to date, and remove any plugins and themes you are not using (don't just deactivate them).     Adding Apple Podcasts Episode Numbers How Last year Apple added the ability to add episode numbers to your show. These may come in handy later with different apps. Currently, you can now ask Siri to subscribe to your show. That makes it easy. In the future, there is speculation that you will be able to request an episode number if it is in place. There is also speculation that this field may be used by Amazon in skills for your podcast. What if you already have a bunch of episodes? If you're on Libsyn, currently ask Rob Walch (rob@libsyn.com ) to send you the secret link (as it's not public) and he will send you a link that makes it super easy to add your episodes to your entire back catalog in minutes. If you're using Blubrry, you can edit your episode to enter the information   In terms of where do you start? I would start with the latest episode and work backward. It's not as easy to count that way, but for me, I feel your latest episodes are getting the most attention. If you are using Wordpress, you can right-click on the edit link and open in a window. This keeps you in the same location.    Start Your Podcast at  www.schoolofpodcasting.com/start Got a Comment? 888-563-3228Mentioned in this episode:2025 Audience SurveyI Want Your OpinionI am doing an audience survey and I want your input to help me make this show exactly what you want. If you have a few minutes, I have a quick survey at www.schoolofpodcasting.com/survey252025 Audience Survey

As a podcast consultant, I like to try all sorts of technology to stay informed with what is going in the space. Today I'm going to talk about things to keep in mind when you move, how to move, and why or why not you should move. I also have a resource if you're moving your entire website without learning any code.  First the disclosure. I was a customer of Libsyn.com for 10 years before becoming an employee almost two years ago. So when I talk about Libsyn competition, I do my best to keep my Libsyn employee hat off, and keep the Dave Jackson School of Podcasting hat on. I also have taken extra effort to base my comments on what happens. Now what I think should happen. I will be sure to tell you when something is an opinion and when something is a fact (as I know it).  Here are my Updated Criteria for Podcast Media Hosting  Don't mess with my file name* Don't mess with my file format (bit rate, ID3 tags) Give me the ability to have an unlimited back catalog (unlimited storage) Don't limit my audience size (unlimited bandwidth) Don't control my feed, and make it easy to leave if I choose to do so. I need to be able to put in a 301 redirect. Give me support. Preferably within 24 hours. Charge me for your service so you can stay in business Give me stats so I can see what's working. It would be nice if they were accurate. Support the iTunes Serial, Episodic, Season, and Episode Numbers Be IAB Compliant (please note as of 1/2017 certification is not in place, when it is, I want me Podcast Media Host Certified) *Some media hosts offer to inject your mp3 file with an advertisement and in those instances, they get a pass on this criteria. So if I look at the following media hosts Amazon S3  Buzzsprout.com  Podomatic.com Libsyn.com Blubrry.com Podbean.com Spreaker.com Soundcloud.com Simplecast.com Podmio.com Pinecast.com Whooska.com  Here are the ones who made the cut Libsyn.com Blubrry.com Podbean.com Use the coupon code sopfree to get a free month at any of these services. Full show notes at www.schoolofpodcasting.com/602Mentioned in this episode:2025 Audience SurveyI Want Your OpinionI am doing an audience survey and I want your input to help me make this show exactly what you want. If you have a few minutes, I have a quick survey at www.schoolofpodcasting.com/survey252025 Audience Survey

Because Of My Podcast - I Got To Hang With Rock Royalty Paul Colligan has a client who invited him to comes to a charity event run by Alic Cooper where he got to meet Ace Frehley (Kiss) Slash (Guns and Rose) Edgar Winter, Rob Halford (Judas Priest), Alice Cooper and his wife Cheryl (WHO COOL IS THAT???!!!) Find Paul at paulcolligan.com and check out The Podcast Report podcast. BONUS We previously reported how Emily form the Story Behind Podcast got a book offer, we can now say she has a book DEAL (the offer was approved).  Check out Emily at www.thestorybehindpodcast.com   SPONSOR:  Are you going to Podcast Movement?  Podcast Movement is the world's largest gathering of new and veteran podcasters, or anyone looking to start their own podcast the right way - Join over 2,000 podcasters from around the world in Philadelphia this July 24 through 26 for three days of workshops, panels, parties and more - The conference offers over 100 sessions on topics ranging from the technical aspects of setting up your equipment and the audio production to marketing and monetizing your current or future show. - The expo hall features over 60 podcast service and equipment providers, so whether you're in the market for a microphone, or trying to figure out where to host your podcast, anyone who matters will be on site to help you out Use the code sop when you sign up at www.podcastmovement.com Find a Guest - Be a Guest at Podcastguests.com  I signed up at podcastsguests.com and I've already been asked to be a guest on a podcast after signing up as an expert. Today we talk with Andrew Alleman the creator of Podcastguests.com I love this story as Andrew started it using free services, and has grown with a lot of blood, sweat, and money to build up the email list.  Sign up for free and get a list of potential guests who are available to be on your show Sign up as an expert and be featured in their email list that goes out to thousands of people (currently only $29) Some people are getting 20-30 responses to your call for guests (depending on how niche your show is) The beauty of this story is Andrew did wait until he had everything in place. He started it an improved it over time based on user feedback. Your podcasts can do the same. Within two years Andrew now has 3000 people on his email list.  Andrew's wife (Stacey Higginbotham)  also has a very popular podcast Internet of Things Podcast and Andrew handles the sponsorships for that show. Andrew explains how the typical podcaster should avoid using the CPM (price per thousands downloads) model as their pricing model as it doesn't work for the average podcast. Andrew also do a show about the domain world at DomainNameWire.com How Being a Guest Can Help Your Show One of the things we need as podcast producers is more podcast listeners. When you appear on a podcast you are in front of people who already know how to listen to a podcast. Most podcast listeners say they hear about other podcasts on other shows.  Go listen to the show you're going to be on. This way you can have a better understanding of their audience.  Make sure your bio is up to date and provide a headshot for them to use and your podcast artwork. Always confirm the day of the interview the data, time etc of the interview When you are a guest, be a good guest and help promote the show you appeared on.  How Using Guests Can Help Your Show When you have guests that appear on your show (that bring value) you get insights and experiences that you may not have. They have stories to share, and strategies to help your audience.  While many people feel a guest will tell their audience to listen. That is not always the case (so don't count on it), but as a podcaster you need to make sure the guest has everything they need to share your show (give them a pre-written tweet with an image, give them the link, make it a no-brainer to share). Make sure to take the time to make your guest sound great (that might mean editing out ums, ya-knows, etc). Guests won't share shows where the interview was crap and the audio is worse. Always confirm the day of the interview the data, time etc of the interview  Ready To Start A Podcast? Join the School of Podcasting at www.schoolofpodcasting.com/start Have a Podcast That Needs Tweaking? Order a one on one consultation with Dave. Schedule it now at www.schoolofpodcasting.com/scheduleMentioned in this episode:I Want Your OpinionI am doing an audience survey and I want your input to help me make this show exactly what you want. If you have a few minutes, I have a quick survey at www.schoolofpodcasting.com/survey252025 Audience Survey2025 Audience Survey

Every 100 episodes, I break my format. Today I completely broke it and decided to try something I've heard others do and that is an "Ask Me Anything" episode. It was hard as people sent in some questions that were very hard. If you're a new listener looking for podcast help - this is not the episode for you, please go listen to any of the other episodes (Except episode 400, and 500). Here are the questions: 00:38 A Quick Look Back 2:06 Binky and the Whiz 03:10 Craig from Ingles podcast and Kim From http://activetraveladventures.com/ want to know where I would travel too if money was not an issue. 06:16 Zack from Rasing Rents (pa Rents that is) want to know if I have Any Regrets in Life? 8:38 How Do I Win At Slot Machines? - Easy go to www.professorslots.com (I told Jon to Send this in so I could Plug his show). 09:21 Bobby from Live Nude Puppets wants to know if I believe in Bigfoot, If I have a Favorite Old Testament Character and my thoughts on a handmade guitar pick 13:25 Worst and First Concerts I've attended from Jason Bryant from Mat Talk Online (college wrestling shows) 17:56 Lee From the Covert Nerd Podcast wants to know what video games I played back in the day 20:31 Chris Hache (Noshing Nova Scotians) if I could put a billboard anywhere in the world, where would you put it, and what would it say? 22:14 Dave Got Shot at, at Point Blank Rank and Lived. Scott From the Computer Tutor Show (great computer tips) and Ron want the details. 31:04 Johnathon from Weekly Awesome wants to know if my childhood fueled a passion for podcasting? 34:32 Brad from the Cinema Guys wants to know my top three movies and bottom three? 37:47 Marc from the Talk Star Wars Toybox Daily Show wants to know if I have any Star Wars collectibles? 38:55 Win from Butterflies of Wisdom wants to know the Origins of Bernie the Cat and How I ended up with him? 42:48 Binky wants to know what its like to whack your cat. 43:47 The Ghost of Bernie 44:05 Darren from www.donkeytells.com wants to know about my Favorite High School Moment. Where I Will Be Pofest Multimedia Expo Feb 8-1 Social Media Marketing World Feb 28- March 2   Ready To Start Your Podcast I can help you with One on One Coaching, or you can join the School of Podcasting Subscribe to the School of Podcasting on iTunesMentioned in this episode:I Want Your OpinionI am doing an audience survey and I want your input to help me make this show exactly what you want. If you have a few minutes, I have a quick survey at www.schoolofpodcasting.com/survey252025 Audience Survey2025 Audience Survey

Every year I read/listen to the book Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World. For me, this is the same as a football go saying, We need to get back to the basics. It reminds me of what my goals are as a content creator. In the book, Michael talks about making good content isn't really good enough anymore if you really want to get noticed. You need to make content that makes people go WOW. Then this response is followed by them telling a friend. Two Podcasts Episodes That Made Me Go WOW! Episode 100 of the Story Behind Podcast - Emily Create this Episode as a Musical. I had numerous people ask me if I had heard it. This episode too more than four days to assemble. Carey Green on episode 81 of Podcastification did an episode comparing Skype, Ringr, Zencastr, Zoom, and Cleenfeed. Carey said that including research, recording, setup, editing, show notes, probably 8 to 12-ish hours, all done in chunks over the course of a month. Carey also runs Podcast Fast Track (audio editing and show notes) Seth Resler who works for Jabs Media did an article on if there is or isn't a discovery problem in podcasting (read it here). While he had to do a little work to take all the answers and put them into an article that was easily read, he also pointed out, "It took years, because the only reason that the podcasting leaders that are quoted in that article responded to me at all is because I've invested years in the podcasting space, not just learning about the craft, but also building relationships at conferences and trade shows, and establishing my own credibility by writing, speaking, and hosting webinars about podcasting. This Doesn't Mean Your Next Episode Should Take 14 hours Please dont read this and think, "I need to spend at least 10 hours per episode. That's not my point. My point is that it takes some planning, it takes some strategy, it takes knowing your audience, and it takes some practice to create WOW content.  Here are the ingredients to wow content ( Adapted for podcasting from Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World). Surprise. Wow content should exceed expectations.  - The Stacking Benjamins has great information but also is pretty funny. Anticipation.  Anticipating a wow experience is almost as good as the experience. David Hooper's latest episode of the Red podcast had a huge teaser at the end.  Resonance. A wow experience touches the heart. It resonates at a deep level. It might even cause goosebumps or tears. Dictionary.com shows resonate as "to produce a positive feeling, emotional response, or opinion." Transcendence. A wow experience connects you to something transcendent. Michael states, "You experience purpose, meaning, or even God. " Dictionary.com shows, "to rise above or go beyond; overpass; exceed," and "to outdo or exceed in excellence, elevation, extent, degree, etc. ; surpass; excel." Clarity. A wow experience creates a moment when you see things with more clarity than ever before. I've had people tell me I do a really good job of explaining things. Presence.  A wow experience has you experiencing the NOW. You are fully present. Universality. A wow experience is experienced by everyone in the same way.  Evangelism. A wow experience has to be shared. The minutes the content is done, you're already thinking of the people you need to tell. Longevity. You can experience it time and time again without growing tired of it.  Privilege. You're glad to be associated with it. I wanted to add a few things of my own. Scarcity/Uniqueness. You can't get it any place else Bravery. People that have the courage to stand up and tell the truth Intimacy. When someone shares intimate details of their life, this somewhat ties into Michaels surprise, but it makes people uncomfortable. Other Things To Consider With Your Content Managing your audience expectations. If you set the bar too high, you might leave the door open to disappointing your audience. What about Passion? Audio Quality? Microphones?    Mentioned In This Episode Podcasting in Six Weeks Starts January 6th Join Now Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World. Jim Collison From the Average Gut Network Ask the Podcast Coach Jonathon Oaks Trival Warfare Ravi from Subscribeme.fm and Coolcastplayer.com Darwin Dave Dealing with My Grief Master Kuldrin from Kuldrin's Krypt SP from Better Podcasting Alan Two Chairs No Waiting Epodcast Productions (edit and show notes ) The Audacity to Podcast David Hooper Red Podcast Podcast Talent Coach Podcast Review Show Harry Durran - Podcast Junkies Pat Flynn Smart Passive Income Episode 598 Because of My Podcast Segment Gallon Smashing Pranks on YouTube Brother Love Congressional Dish John Lee Dumas The Heroes Journey Podfest.us Podfest Multimedia Expo in Florida  Social Media Marketing World Bernie The Cat Show Let Me Help Start Your Podcast Podcasting in Six Weeks Starts January 6th School of Podcasting Self Paced Online Classes One on One ConsultingMentioned in this episode:2025 Audience SurveyI Want Your OpinionI am doing an audience survey and I want your input to help me make this show exactly what you want. If you have a few minutes, I have a quick survey at www.schoolofpodcasting.com/survey252025 Audience Survey

Every year I wind up the year by asking you what your favorite podcast is (if you could only listen to one sh0w) and more importantly why is it your favorite show. Here are the responses: 2:53 Kit from Active Travel Adventures Podcast - She Loves StoryBrand as she learns things she can use in every show 3:36 Adam from Dark Knight Minute loves Digital Dads. He loves the inspiring message. 4:43 Anna Authentic Moments loves The Good Life Project by Jonathan Fields for the in-depth conversations 5:46 Darwyn Dave -Dealing with My Grief podcast enjoys the Grief Dreams  as it has similar views on the subject. Dave and Josh have bonded over the subject. 8:21 Ben from Modern Self Protection likes the Survival Podcast with Jack Spirko. He enjoys to tips to help you in your life every day (not just end of the world stuff) 9:42 Abby  from A time for Horses  loves the  Wooden Overcoats podcast because it's  really Really Funny 10:47 Brian from Engaging Missions likes The School of Podcasting for the interviews and engaging stories wrap up in a professional production 11:56 Clay from Fishnerds loves the Beyond Data podcast due to the  Uber geeky information about Fish 13:14 Daniel Everybody's National Parks loves the Wow in the World podcast as she can listen with the kids 14:28 Paul - Fighting Through Podcast (Great unpublished History) love Dan Carlin's  Hardcore History - The Storyteller's Storyteller, Content is just Awesome 18:32 Justin from Optimal Living Daily loves the Feed from Libsyn. They answer his questions and he gets information that is so good he needs to write it down. 19:28 Kim from Toastmasters 101  she loves the  Clifton Strengths Coaching Blog Theme Thursdays. They even have notes and worksheets you can print out 21:34 Matt from The Author Inside You Podcast really enjoys Ask Drone U  Matt has recently got into Drones and the info is informative and fun. They are also the perfect length. 22:19 Steve Stewart is still listening to Stacking Benjamins (for the fourth year in a row). It's informative, super creative, and very helpful for managing your finances 23:05 Randy Cantrell  from the Peer Advantage - His favorite podcast is the last one he listened to as he changes topics all the time. 24:09 Patrick and Aaron from the  Broken Line Podcast  loves the in-depth information provided by the Meat Eater Podcast 25:03 Scott From the Computer Tutor Podcast loves the  Podcast Rodeo Show for its honest, entertaining reviews of different podcasts. 28:30 Seth From geekvillradio.com and classicwrestingmemories.com loves the Rebel Force Radio and considers it the best Stars Wars podcast for its great production. 29:29 Cheri from the Creation Science 4 Kids Podcast just found and loves  The Story Grid podcast. It's great for helping people who write non-fiction write fiction. She feels deeply connected to the hosts and has purchased Shawn Coyne's book The Story Grid Book 31:59 Win Charles Butterflies of Wisdom like the Dreams in Drive podcast 32:38 Zack Raising Rents (as in paRENTS) love the  Based on a True Story Its where History meets Hollywood. I love history books, but don't have alot of time. He educates while he entertains me. 35:30 Erik K Johnson from the Podcast Talent Coach show likes Flippedlifestyle.com as they provide real-life strategies for making and selling products. They are real people, and they deliver more than theory. 39:09 I've created the ultimate Because of My Podcast Mega Mix spotlighting the many ways people have benefitted from launching their podcast. This includes: Attending a taping of a TV show Speaking to celebrities, athletes, supreme justices, and others people we have no business speaking to.. Getting paid to travel to different places (in some cases by 220%) Getting millions in sales from billion-dollar clients Getting Free Stuff Organizing Charity Events Building a network of resources and people Be contacted to write a book, to create videos Have their face on the cover of a comic book Getting free wine Getting numerous jobs Quit their job as a Doctor to do podcasting full time. Have boosted time with their family and now feel they have a purpose Make 2018 the Year You Start Your Successful Podcast Please let me help you in any of these ways One on one podcast consulting I can help with any podcast situation School of Podcasting Self Paced Tutorials (and Facebook Group, Live Coaching, Priority Email Support) Podcasting in Six Weeks - Live Group Coaching starts January 6th (includes a year at the School of Podcasting). Be in iTunes by February. (A $5299 Value for $1499). Price goes up January 1st.Mentioned in this episode:I Want Your OpinionI am doing an audience survey and I want your input to help me make this show exactly what you want. If you have a few minutes, I have a quick survey at www.schoolofpodcasting.com/survey252025 Audience Survey2025 Audience Survey

This weekend I had "Christmas" with most of my family as my brother goes to Florida for Christmas with his in-laws. We bought my nieces and nephews who are ages 8 and under some of the toys we grew up playing. I noticed that these games are often very simplistic.  What does this have to do with podcasting? Becuase sometimes we make things harder than they need to be.   Because Of My Podcast - I'm Getting to Talk to Some Very Cool People Darryl E. McCullough Darryl hosts the Full Circle Podcast and helped launch National Podcast Power conference. Daryl has met actors, authors, politicians, YouTube Stars and more. If you want to get doors opened, start a podcast today. Keeping Simple Is Sometimes All You Need I spent the weekend playing with my great-nieces and nephew. We brought out some classc board games. Battling Tops My entire family ended up playing this game by the end of the day.  What makes it a great game is that it is easy to learn and the action is fast and furious. The tops come out the gate very fast and often one or two of the tops go flying out of the arena. You pull a "string" (now a plastic tie with teeth) and the tops go into what amounts to a bowl and bounce off each other. The last one in the bowl spinning wins. Simple. Checkers This is another game that takes very little skill, and you get to the action fairly quickly. It takes some thought and strategy. Hide and Go Seek This game requires the ability to count to ten Mississippi. There is suspense, and tension as you wait to see if you can get home without being caught. Here again, it requires a good hiding spot and strategy to determine when you would try to "go home." I love helping people understand the best path to get to your podcast going in the right direction. There are times when people ask a question and they expect a simple answer, but the absolute truth about podcasting is there are very few absolute truths. The other thing I want to talk about today is letting your personality shine. So many people make podcasting harder than it is. Don't get me wrong there is still a learning curve, but some time we make the curve much higher than it needs to be. Sometimes Too Much Technology Can Take the Fun Out of Things I do a show called "Ask the Podcast Coach" and at one point I had a cohost located in another state, a phone line coming in (with a screen where I could put people on hold and see my callers), and I had a chat room. I streamed it live on Google Hangouts (now YouTube live), as well as mixlr.com and spreaker.com When I started the show I needed eight arms to start everything. My co-host and I Jim Collison (from theaverageguy.tv) noticed that most of our questions come in via chat. We still offer the ability to join the Google Hangout, but I would say 98% of our questions come in via chat. We also stream the show via Google Hangout and based on audience feedback, only stream via mixlr.com (for those who want an audio only). Simple Can Work and Sound Great My friend Cale Nelson from the Modern Christian Men show (and previously Ham Radio 360) got an email from a listener. In it, they said, " You have always sounded great! Better than some national broadcasts/podcasts." So what equipment does Cale Use? Did he spend thousands of dollars? He is using an  ATR2100 Microphone, Yamaha MG12XU Mixer, Zoom H2n Digital Recorder. Record Locally to Zoom, then Edit in Audacity. Bernie The Cat Wishes Everyone Happy Holidays 13:44 Bernie from the Bernie the Cat Show stops by to wish everyone Happy Holidays. New Statistics From Apple inside PodcastsConnect. Apple.com 14:45 See Video  https://youtu.be/VmSDwb3iU9s New Stats From Blubrry and Libsyn 20:28 Libsyn.com  launched a new stats interface that works on your phone. The backend of the stats system now provides IAB compliant (once the IAB launches their certification) stats. Blubrry Statistics just got better, with the introduction of regional reporting for Canada, UK, and Brazil. More Information Get a free month of Service at Libsyn.com or Blubrry.com using the coupon code sopfree. Where You Can Find Me In Person 22:41 February 8 -10 Orlando Florida  Podfest.us I will be speaking on AI and Podcasting and I will be Roasted. February 28 - March 2 in San Diego California Social Media Marketing World Speaking on Podcast Monetization   What Podcast is the Easiest Show To Create? 26:48 There are a number of formats you can choose from when creating a podcast. You can do a show with just you (a monologue) You can do a show with a co-host You can do a show with a panel Looking at the above list, one might think a solo show would be the easiest. Why? No scheduling conflicts, no arguments over the direction of the show. You have total control. So what is the problem? You need to be comfortable talking to the wall. It takes a little confidence to pull this off. Michael Hyatt is one of my favorite authors. I read his book Platform every January to kick of my year. Michael has publicly stated that he is not comfortable doing a solo show. So then doing a show with a co-host is easier? This sounds true up front. You don't have to do all the work, and there is another person to help promote the show. But you now have the occasional challenge of scheduling conflicts. The more people you have, the harder it is to get everyone together. The solution is to pick a time when everyone knows you will be recording and make a commitment to that time. This is easier said than done, especially when multiple time zones are included, and multiple life configurations are included (kids, jobs, etc). So again, it depends. Taking Phone Calls I think we all grew up listening to radio shows who take phone calls and we want to recreate that scenario. So how do you take phone calls. The answer? It depends. If you are doing a solo show, you can get a Google Voice Number or a Toll-Free Number at Podcastvoicemail.com and plug the phone into a mixer using your headphone jack. Then you can talk into your microphone that goes into the mixer, you plug the phone into the mixer, and send the mix of you and the phone out to a service like Mixlr.com Send the same output into a portable recorder like a Zoom H1. But what if you have a co-host? What if you want a phone screener? Then things get way more complicated including two mix-minus setups that I won't even attempt to explain it here (it would be something we could do some consulting on). The bottom line is, "It depends" Sometimes You Have to Jump In I bought myself a new 55" TV for Christmas. I brought it home, and went to put it on my old TV stand, and it was too big. I had to buy a bigger stand. Then I went to plug it into my sound bar, and you guessed it. Even though both the TV and the soundbar were from the same company, I needed to go buy a new cable to plug in. Some things you only learn things by doing them. If you want to avoid making the common podcast mistakes when it comes to planning your show, purchasing gear, promoting your show, I urge you to sign up for the School of Podcasting or join the Podcasting in Six Weeks Course which is starting on January 6th.   How Can Help You? One-on-one Podcast Consulting. Schedule a Session Today Learn At Your Own Pace at the School of Podcasting Group Coaching "Podcasting in Six Weeks" Course (includes 1 year at the School of Podcasting)Mentioned in this episode:I Want Your OpinionI am doing an audience survey and I want your input to help me make this show exactly what you want. If you have a few minutes, I have a quick survey at www.schoolofpodcasting.com/survey252025 Audience Survey2025 Audience Survey