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

In the past, I've talked about transcriptions. The fun part of transcriptions is you still have to end up with something that is easy to read and brings value. I've mentioned temi.com and revs.com but the one thing I didn't think about is how you can use it as an editing tool But What if Things Go Wrong? I drove to Nashville this week to attend two events. One was the Nashville podcasters meetup, and the other was the launch party of Without Warning by Sheila Wysocki which had a room full of private investigators who are thinking about starting a podcast, and music business people looking to start podcasts. When I first thought about it, I went to hotels.com and did a search for cheap hotels. I normally don't look at reviews, but as I was choosing the cheapest hotel I could find, I saw some reviews with words like "bed bugs," "Drug Deals," and  "Cockroaches." It made me very nervous. I thought of getting bed bugs into my luggage and bringing them home. I thought of my last trip to Nashville where I ended up hitting a dear on the way home and totaled my car. But What if Things Go Right? I met some great people and strengthened the relationships I already had. I was interviewed, and it turns out that the Ramada Hotel I stayed at was the same one I chose the last time I was in Franklin Tenessee.  By the time I left many more people knew who I was, what I do, and how to contact me. What I Learned If you get a bunch of private investigators together they are just as talkative as podcasters. Why? Becuase much like podcasters, the only people who understand what it's like to be a Private Investigator are other private investigators. My comfort zone is 7 hours in a car, but if I'm driving home I can go 8.5 and be wide awake at 3 AM. You can use transcriptions to help with editing. The two I mentioned are temi.com and rev.com More and more people are assembling teams to create a podcast (and I'm not sure people know there is an alternative) People often follow the guidelines based on their environment (so people in Nashville think you need to go to a professional studio to record - you don't) Danny Ozment of Emerald City Productions ( speaking of studios) has a great mixing room, and David Hooper of Big Podcast and Red Podcast converted his walk-in closet into a studio How Podcasting Is Like Show Shopping I was so excited to go to Podcast Movement I forgot my shoes and I realized this when I was about 4 hours into the 7-hour drive. I stopped and bought a new pair. There are all sorts of dress shoes with colors, materials, heals, souls, etc. Some are shiny, and some have a texture. In the end, you need shoes to protect and provide comfort for your feet. With this in mind, it doesn't matter what they look like, the texture, etc. Fashion is what dictates those types of guidelines and those are not really NEED, but more WANTS. For me I needed a black pair, that didn't pinch my feet, let my feet breathe, and had a soul that wasn't' going to have me sliding. I looked around, found a few that fit the criteria, and then bought the pair that fit my budget. I could've looked a lot longer, but I found shoes that fit what I needed, and I moved on and continued driving to Philadelphia. Sometimes you just need to decide, put on the shoes and go. Usually the first day, your f00t need to kind of get used to the shoe, but over time the show adapts to the foot and all is well. So Man Varieties of Show Openings Jeff Brown from Lead to Read will be coming on the show in the future to discuss this further (as we did a talk on this at Podcast Movement), but we share the opinion that the show should let people know what the show is about, what the episode is about, why we should listen to you, and then get to the content. We will dive into that deeper in the future. The Perfect Podcast Intro I'm going to play samples of podcast intros from many shows today and let you know that you don't HAVE to do an intro like mine if you don't want to. Don't want music? Don't need it. Like shoes, podcast intros come in many shapes and sizes. Mentioned in this show New Media Show Big Podcast A Very Fatal Murder Oprah Super Soul This American Life What Was It Like Chad Michael  Story Podcast Ready To Start Your Podcast? Ready To Grow Your Podcast? I have multiple plans for multiple budgets at www.schoolofpodcasting.com/workwithme Question of the Month Have you ever attended any Podcast Event? Was it worth it? www.schoolofpodcasting.com/contact (I need the answer by 8/24/18)   

In the age of social media is email still relvant? If so, how do you grow your list? What makes a good lead magnet? Do I need a lead magnet? This is all discussed in episode 630 of the School of Podcasting Sponsor: Podcast Engineering School [1:38] Podcast Engineering School – next semester starts September 18th and runs through October 30th. The classes are live and Chris packs the 2-hour classes with tons of information Today I did a quick search on Indeed.com for “podcast engineer” and saw quite a few options 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 EARLY BIRD PRICING IS NOW – SIGN UP TODAY AND SAVE BIG https://podcastengineeringschool.com/ What Makes a Good Lead Magnet? 3:23 Thanks to Win Charles from the Ask Win show, Matt Rafferty from the Author Inside You podcast, and Jerry Williams from the FBI Retired podcast for contributing Ryan Deiss at Digital Marketer defines a lead magnet as “a small chunk of value that solves a specific problem for a specific market that is offered in exchange for an opt-in. My buddy (and co-host of the Podcast Review Show) Erik K Johnston did a whole episode about lead magnets. Today we talk about email lists and why you might want to start using one.  OptinMonster (which is a great tool/plugin for capturing leads) breaks it into seven parts: Solves a real problem – if your lead magnet doesn’t solve a real problem that your customer avatar has, or if it doesn’t give them something they really want, it won’t work at all. Promises one quick win – your lead magnet should promise (and deliver) one quick win for your avatar. In other words, it should help them to easily achieve something. Super specific – don’t create a lead magnet about something general. The more specific you are about the benefit of your lead magnet, the better it will convert leads. Quick to digest – PDF checklists tend to convert really well because they are so quick and easy to digest. eBooks or lengthy reports may make your prospects feel overwhelmed. High value – your lead magnet should have both high perceived value and high actual value. Instantly accessible – your lead magnet will work best if it is something that can be delivered right away. People love instant gratification. Demonstrates your expertise or Universal Value Proposition – when someone consumes your lead magnet, it should demonstrate your expertise or your unique value proposition. This helps turn leads into customers down the road. Here is a list of 69 effective lead magnets (no email required) Advantages of an Email List? 17:44 The biggest advantage of an email list is you are one click away from your desired call to action, and more than likely you have someone's undivided attention. Most people (hopefully) are not reading their email while driving, etc. You can email your list directly and not have the information appear on your website. You are in contact with your engaged audience. 2000 Facebook followers is not the same as 2000 email subscribers According to a 2015 study, 3.57% is the average open rate. So if you have 1000 subscribers, 35 will open your email Derek Halpern of Social Triggers sent his latest post to his email list and his twitter account Here are the results he got: 50 people clicked on his link from Twitter 1,200 people clicked on his link from his email list His email list might be twice as large as his Twitter following but it still generated about 24 times more clicks. Even your grandma has email. Where To Start? 21:38 Mailchimp is many times the place you start. Why? It' starts free (but if your list grows can be expensive). There are many, many companies out there. I've used Aweber before moving to Convert kit. Aweber is $19/month for 500 subscribers or .038 cents per subscribers Convert kit is $29/month up to 1000 subscribers or  .029 cents per subscriber MailChimp is free up to 2000 subscribers but limits the number of emails sent out in the month to 12,000. If you have 1000 subscribers and wanted unlimited emails per month it would be $15 a month at Mailchimp  Do I NEED an Email List? Do you need an email list when you starting a podcast, no. But, I hear time and time again that someone in year three pivots their show in a new direction and really, really wishes they had started an email list. Be Very Careful With Affiliate Links Both Amazon Associates (amazon's affiliate program) and Mailchimp have it in their terms of service that sending email with affiliate links is against the rules. Take the Time To Learn Your Email System One of the things you should do upon signing up for an email service is to take the time to go through whatever tutorials they have. For example, I use Convert kit and to make a long story short I'm not using half of the features. When I was at Podcast Movement, I went to their booth, explained my situation and the rep show the features I could be using, and show how easy it is to use. With this in mind, I still need to take the time to learn the system. There is no sense spending money on a system that sits dormant.  Example of Podcast Lead Magnets Erik K Johnson has 17 Ultimate Podcast Interview Questions David Hooper of Big Podcast has 25 podcast episode templates (bottom of the page) Daniel J Lewis has 20 things you should do before recording every podcast episode (right sidebar) He also has an email list devoted to pointing out great deals at Podcastingdeals.com I have a resource to help you write better Podcast Episodes titles at www.schoolofpodcasting.com/headlines I also have a video series for those thinking of getting into podcasting that walks you through the first few steps at www.schoolofpodcasting.com/babysteps The Question of the Month 28:50 If you've attended any podcast event, was it worth it? If so, why? If not, why not? Please send those in by 8/24/18 go to www.schoolofpodcasting.com/contact if you are emailing them in please put "August Question" in the subject line. (and don't forget to mention your show).  Also Mentioned in This Episode Without warning Podcast at https://sheilawysocki.com/ Nashville Podcaster Meetup  Get a Free Month of Media Hosting at Libsyn.com using the coupon code sopfree Ready to Sart Podcasting? I would love to work with you. I have multiple plans for multiple budgets, see www.schoolofpodcasting.com/workwithme

Sponsor: Podcast Engineering School 2:42 Podcast Engineering School – next semester starts September 18th and runs through October 30th. The classes are live and Chris packs the 2-hour classes with tons of information Today I did a quick search on Indeed.com for "podcast engineer" and saw quite a few options 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 EARLY BIRD PRICING IS NOW – SIGN UP TODAY AND SAVE BIG https://podcastengineeringschool.com/ My Induction Into the Academy of Podcasters Hall of Fame This past week I was inducted into the Academy of Podcasters Hall of Fame. I am honored to be in such good company, and deeply grateful for all the kind words. In looking back at my 13 years I noticed a pattern: How Podcasting Works Valuable content leads to relationships that lead to opportunities. The key word is VALUABLE content. Then you have to work at relationships, and you need to take advantage of every opportunity. Look back I see how: 6:00 Who are Dave's influences? Dave Barry, David Letterman, and Dan Klass 7:59 Thank God I was bullied? 9:25 Hope for all the introverts 10:05 You learn from all your failures  11:00 Content - Relationships - Opportunities 12:50 Dave's first podcast attracts Marcus Couch 14:45 Dave gets to go on the radio to explain podcasting to Music Business Radio 16:30 Marcus Couch invites me to get involved with Podshow. The Internet's first free podcast media hosting 17:25 Why it's not the tech 17:55 Dave tries to sound like Scott Fletcher of Podcheck Review 20:33 Why free media hosting drives me nuts Podshow/Mevio 8/2005 – 4/2014 (116 months – 38.8 million dollars spent) Podango 9/2006 – 12/2008 (27 Months) wildvoice.com 7/2006 – 7/2009 (36 months) mypodcasts.com 2007 – 2011 (estimated 48 months) Audiometric.io 11/ 2012 – 8/2014 (21 months before being purchased by panoply and taken off the market). Opinion Podcasting 11/2015-10/2017 (23 months) The average is 45 months. Take Podshow and the 38 million out of the picture and that drops to 31 (which is close to my typical answer of three years or 36 months) Anchor.fm was started in August of 2015. If they make it 45 months that is May of 2019. If they go 31 months that would be May of 2018. So far Anchor has burned through 14.4 M already (see https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/anchor-fm#section-locked-charts ) 24:00 How I got the job as the director of the New Media Expo 25:57 Podcasters Roundtable shows embracing your competition 26:30 Podcasters Roundtable leads to me interviewing Jordan Harbinger 27:11 My relationship with Daniel J Lewis leads to me getting involved with the Membership Guys 27:48 Talking to Mike Morrison leads to me speaking at Social Media Marketing World 30:11 Podcast Movement and Steve Stewart leads to me meeting Glenn the Geek Hebert 32:50 Glenn invites me to speak at Podfest 34:22 Jared Easley introduces me to Danny Pena 36:16 My second trip to Podfest leads to me being interviewed 37:10 My interview, leads to me being featured in the Messengers a Podcast Documentary 38:16 My speaking resume made it easier to get more speaking gigs 39:20 Podcasting is like farming. You plant, fertilize, and harvest.  38:50 It's not all about downloads. How my audience helped me through tough times. 42:48 Are you ready to work with Dave? 44:45 The one memory that bugs me from PM18 46:50 Daniel J Lewis from the Audacity to Podcast and Podcasters Society inducts Dave Jackson into the Podcaster's Hall of Fame 53:20 Dave Jackson's acceptance speech.

Becuase of My Podcast:  1:30 Haley Radke from http://www.adopteeson.com/ shares how the only people who can understand what it's like to be adopted, and more importantly how to deal with a reunion with your biological parents. Nobody knows what that is like except those who have lived it. You might feel alone, but by creating her podcasts she is how building a community and actually had a meetup when she was traveling. People able came from out of state to come to meet her, and to be part of the community SPONSOR: Podcast Engineering School 9:22 Podcast Engineering School – next semester starts September 18th and runs through October 30th. The classes are live and Chris packs the 2-hour classes with tons of information 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 If you're looking to start your own audio editing service, or just want to make your show sound better. This course is for you. EARLY BIRD PRICING ENDS VERY SOON – SIGN UP TODAY AND SAVE BIG https://podcastengineeringschool.com/ Imposter Syndrom Continued 12:15 Last week we looked at what is Imposter syndrome, and how to overcome it. I was listening to the Dennis Miller Option and he shared some insights into how he feels when he is at a party with "celebrities." If you are new to Dennis Miller, here are some facts from his Wikipedia page. Dennis Miller: Saturday Night Live 1985 to 1991 Dennis Miller show (last seven month ) in 1992 Dennis Miller Show Live 1995- 2002 winning five Emmys for HBO Hosted three-hour radio show on westwood one from 2007 to 2015 He also had shows on CNBC, and has done featured spots on many television shows. He is listed as #21 on the great comedians of all time top 100 chart from Comedy Central This is paraphrased from this show, " As far as being a celebrity, I'm complete "wobbliness." The moment I'm with some people who are famous I can do my little patter. I can make them laugh, and we can have the exchange that they want to have and I want to have. At the end (of the night), if they say, "Here is my number call me," when I get home and I'm alone, I don't tare it up, I keep them and think I'll call them someday. I NEVER get to those calls. I just think they didn't mean it. I would feel like I was cold calling them to sell them encyclopedias. It's a weird thing. " More Common Podcasting Mistakes 16:05 Are you ONLY putting a "jukebox" or "show player" for your podcast?  This is where you have one page with all your episodes. For an example see http://becausepodcast.libsyn.com/category/Binge+Listen PROS This makes it easy to go to one page and click listen and let it play all of your episodes. Cons Ther are now show notes on your page. Any shows notes that appear are actually on your media hosts website (and the player is served in what is called an iframe, so technically while this appears on your site, it's like someone cut a hole in your site and you are looking through to the original site). It makes it very hard to share the episode Do You Have Extra Words In Your Podcast Name That Are Not Needed in Apple? In this example, I'm not talking about the title of your episodes but the title of your show. Try to avoid having people "Search for the show in Apple podcasts." If you do, you need to tell them EXACTLY what to search for. EXAMPLE The kookcast is a podcast with a very unique name. I would deeply doubt there are two shows with that name. If you go to Apple podcasts and search for kookcast it comes right up. However, if you enter "The kookcast" even with its SUPER UNIQUE name it does not appear in the top 300 results. From what I can see when you add "The" your show is ranked against all the other shows that have the word "the" in the title and it doesn't appear. So in your case you might need to have them search for your name instead of the name of your show. This assumes you are listed as the author of your show. Is Your Podcast Created by Unkown? If you search for your show in Apple podcasts and it shows the author as "unknown" you can easily fix this by going to the system you use to make your show (for example in Libsyn.com you can go to destinations > edit > Libsyn classic feed and add the author information along with owner, email, categories) and enter the missing information. The listing in apple should updated in about 24 hours. Do You Not Care About Your Android Audience? This one confuses me, but I see it all the time. I go to a podcast website, I see the show. I can click play. When I go to subscribe there is one and only one option. Apple Podcasts. If you are on android, you are out of luck, I hope you figure something out. Check out this article. It shows a map with android being one color and iOs another color. Europe is entirely android. see https://www.moontechnolabs.com/apple-vs-android-comparative-study-2017/ according to an article at statscounter, android currently has 74% of the market in Europe. see http://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share/mobile/europe

Seventy percent of people have impostor syndrome. While an interesting stat, that doesn't really help people who have impostor syndrome get over it. Today I have 12 strategies to help overcome Impostor syndrome Because of My Podcast: I Got A Custom Wrestling Mat 01:26 Jason Bryan of www.mattalkonline.com shares the story how one of the top manufacturers of wrestling mats made a custom wrestling mat with Jason's Logo and microphone. HOW COOL IS THAT? You can hear more about how Jason is now doing podcasting as a career at http://schoolofpodcasting.com/jason-bryant-turned-his-experience-into-a-career-in-podcasting/ SPONSOR: Podcast Engineering School Podcast Engineering School - next semester starts September 18th and runs through October 30th. The classes are live and Chris packs the 2-hour classes with tons of information 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 EARLY BIRD PRICING IS NOW - SIGN UP TODAY AND SAVE BIG https://podcastengineeringschool.com/ We All Feed Like Imposters Seth Godin wrote in The Icarus Deception that after a dozen bestsellers he still feels like a fraud all the time "The beauty of the impostor syndrome is you vacillate between extreme egomania and a complete feeling of: 'I'm a fraud! Oh God, they're on to me! I'm a fraud!' So you just try to ride the egomania when it comes and enjoy it, and then slide through the idea of fraud." – Tina Fey "Sometimes I wake up in the morning before going off to a shoot, and I think, I can't do this. I'm a fraud." – Kate Winslett "I have written eleven books, but each time I think, 'uh oh, they're going to find out now. I've run a game on everybody, and they're going to find me out.' " – Maya Angelou Jodie Foster was interviewed for the television show ‘60 Minutes’ she revealed how she feared she'd have to give back her Oscar after being voted best actor for her role in ‘The Accused’. “I thought it was a fluke,” she said in the interview. “I thought everybody would find out and they'd take the Oscar back. They'd come to my house, knocking on the door, ‘Excuse me, we meant to give that to someone else. That was going to Meryl Streep.'” Ken Burns interviewed Meryl Streep, the most frequently nominated Academy Award and Golden Globe actor in history, she revealed her own insecurities "You think, ‘Why would anyone want to see me again in a movie? And I don't know how to act anyway, so why am I doing this?’” If We are All Imposters - Than None of Us Are Imposters I had a niece who for a while started to dress in a "Goth" style. The idea was she didn't want to look like everyone else. The problem was, "Goth" started to be cool. Soon, everybody started dressing Goth, and the result of "standing out" no longer was a byproduct of dressing Goth. If you are sitting there thinking, "I could never be like _____," guess what? That person is sitting there thinking the same thing too. The only thing that separates you from anyone else in the world is time and effort. Anything that anyone else can do, you can do. It’s impossible to feel like an impostor once you accept that everyone else is an impostor too. Imposter Syndrome Cycle In the book, The Imposter Syndrome Remedy Dr. Estcio talks about an Imposter Syndrom Cycle. This cycle shows often that imposter syndrome leads to two responses: Crippling Fear Overworking You are either crippled by fear which leads you to procrastinate. The second possibility is you are driven by fear of failure and you overwork. When you complete the task it may bring temporary relief. However, when it is time to evaluate performance, limiting beliefs associated with Imposter Syndrome may arise: If procrastination led to a successful outcome, then success is considered a fluke (“I was lucky things worked out in the end!”). If over-preparation led to success, then it reinforces the belief that working extra hard is needed, otherwise, there is no chance of success (“I’m not good at this. I just worked really hard.”). Thus, successful outcomes do not bring satisfaction. It only increases self-doubt, worry, and anxiety, with the thought that when either “luck” or “excessive hard work” wears off, they will finally be exposed as the incompetent fraud that they really are. And then, the cycle repeats itself. See The Imposter Syndrome Remedy by Dr E V Estacio. Strategies to Overcome Imposter Syndrome You feel like a fraud because of this huge opportunity that has been put in your lap. Maybe, it's not quite as important as you think. It's important to you, but you're not curing AIDS. It doesn't have to be perfect You have had some successes in the past. You've done hard things in the past. Think of the hardest thing you have to overcome. You did it. You're still here. Don't ignore your successes. DO NOT compare yourself to THAT person. There are always people "better" than you and people worse. You are never as good as your best review or as bad as your worst. You are not defined by your mistakes. The "I must not fail mentality" can be crippling. There is one person who really needs your message Not everyone will like you, and that is OK. Credentials don't always mean what you think they do. Find one person you know and trust and let them know you feel like a fraud Instead of saying, "I don't know anything" say, "I don’t know everything...yet. I’m still learning." Yes, there is luck and timing, but there is also talent, dedication, and charisma. While your feelings are real, this does not mean they are accurate. Quit focusing on you, and instead focus on your audience and how you will deliver value.   I'm Not Ready I do not have children, but I know many people who do and in some cases, they got pregnant before "they were ready." Some got pregnant when the thought they were ready, but found out later they were nowhere near ready. Yet, their kids are fine. You’re never going to be ready. Act anyway. Acting before you are ready is like a penicillin shot for Impostor Syndrome. It helps you build up immunity against the Syndrome. The more you act before you’re ready, the more you’ll realize that you’re never really ready for anything. But neither is anyone else. I Wonder What That Tastes Like Maybe you are trying the new Keto diet. You see a keto recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookies. It looks good. You see the ingredients and you have them. There is only one way to know if this recipe tastes good. You have to make the recipe. The only way to really see something is to do it. You have to experience it. Reading about other people’s failures and successes only go so far. Sooner or later you have to start succeeding and failing first-first hand. I'm Not That Good At It So you record your first podcast and listen back and thinking, "Ugh, I'm not that good." You know what? You're not as bad as you think, but you are right there is room for improvement. There is always room for improvement.  Instead of saying to yourself, "I'm not that good. I shouldn't do this." Try, "I am not very good at this yet, but I will continue to learn and adapt as I go." I Need to Know More Before I Get Started You do NOT need to know everything. You probably have more than enough knowledge to get going. Instead of saying, "I don't know enough," say "I don't know everything but I will use what I know to learn more as I go." With that said, know this: Don't use soundlcoud.com, anchor.fm, squarespace.com (for a media host), or a Blue Yeti (there are better, less expensive options). But I'm Scared Being afraid has times when it's very handy. Fear is good when you are face to face with a bear. Fear is good when you are on the edge of a cliff. Ask yourself, "What is the worst thing that could happen?" You might answer: "I will be embarrassed." To this, I say nobody is listening to your show when you first start out. The odds of running into someone you are not related to that has actually heard your show are minimal. When I looked up the definition of embarrassed it said to be disconcerted. When I looked up disconcerted it said "ruffled." I hear to get don't get ruffled. I have said things in my podcasts that I'm really surprised did not have negative side effects, but they didn't. I was scared my first day of JR High, of SR. High, but I walked through the doors anyway. So say to yourself "Yes, I’m scared, but I’ll get on with it anyway." The Bright Side of Failure Failure is fun. Think of it that way. If you’re failing, you’re doing it. You’re real. You can’t be fake and fail at the same time. And failure will eventually lead to victory. Failure is the only way to get to victory and it’s the only way to enjoy it because you can only enjoy something once you’ve tasted the opposite. I leave near an amusement park called Cedar Point. It has tons of super spooky roller coasters. Some people refuse to get on them as they are often the tallest, fastest, spookiest coaster in the US if not the world. To ride these, you have to stand in line. This is often a long line. Some people get bored and leave the line. Other tough it out, and they get on the ride, strap themselves in and after waiting an hour (or more) in line, the ride lasts 30 seconds and you get off the ride thinking, "It was OK."  You make a mental note, and you know to the only ride that ride if the line is short. With podcasting you are either going to have some positive outcomes or a story (which is also a positive outcome) Just because you failed, doesn’t mean that you are a fraud. It only means that you are willing to do something, even if it means risking failure. Another great book I read was Beyond Imposter Syndrome: Proven strategies for building confidence and finally feeling ‘good enough. What will happen if you never change? Podcasting leads to relationships which lead to opportunities. If you have a message, and a drive to reach people, you are missing at an opportunity to invest in yourself. There is NO WAY you start a podcast without learning something about yourself. Granted, one of the things you may learn is you hate podcasting, but I doubt it. Update on Radio Public Last week I talked about Radio Public. This is an app that pays you $20 per 1000 downloads as well as a $1 bonus for people who start to use their app. You can see what their player looks like and more at www.schoolofpodcasting.com/radiopublic I received an update: "Thanks for the follow-up and for highlighting RadioPublic in your latest episode. That's correct, right now only listens within the RadioPublic apps count toward Paid Listens. We’ll eventually include web listens down the road. The web presents some tough fraud detection problems we aren’t yet ready to address. You raised a great point on being able to combine earnings across podcasters or within networks for multiple shows. I shared this with Matt MacDonald our Chief Product Officer to see what's possible. We also recently expanded the guidelines of the program for shows to have their own sponsorships and still participate. The language on the site will likely be updated in the coming weeks but for now I at least wanted to pass along the update knowing there was a concern you brought up about one of your episodes including a midroll spot. Let me know if any other questions come up. Paid Listens is just the first step in our efforts to transform the podcast marketplace, making it much easier for podcasters to make money for their work. We’re currently prototyping ways for listeners to directly support the podcasters they love. Would you be interested in talking with Matt about this? We’ve updated our FAQ to address some of the questions and concerns discussed during the episode. Thank you for taking such a deep dive test run and pointing these out! We don’t touch the audio files by inserting ads into an episode, rather we place the ad spot before and/or after an episode - bookending it. (Updated here in our FAQ) The Loyal Listener bonus is a part of the Paid Listens payout, so with only 24 Loyal Listeners a podcaster would be eligible for the $25 minimum threshold for payout. (We updated this FAQ with clearer language around this as well as the math to get a podcaster to that understanding.) We also updated our “How do I get paid?” FAQ with clarification on what a podcaster can expect once their show is ready for a payout. Hopefully we’ll get the chance to meet in a couple weeks at Podcast Movement. Cheers, Joshua Rae July Question of the Month Do you have an email list, if so how big is it? What do you use? What strategies? If you send an email, please record something and attach it  (And use JULY QUESTION) as the headline. You can also call in your answer 888-563-3228 (don't forget to mention your show and website) The deadline is 7/27/18 Mentioned In This Podcast Podcast Envy Food Craftsmen www.schoolofpodcasting.com/radiopublic The Imposter Syndrome Remedy Beyond Imposter Syndrome: Proven strategies for building confidence and finally feeling ‘good enough   Ready to Start a Podcast? I would love to work with you. Please visit www.schoolofpodcasting.com/workwithme

My First Test of Radio Public You can get your podcast on the Radio Public platform at https://podcasters.radiopublic.com/. Once you’ve been approved at Radio Public, they send a weekly email summary to your email with details about your Paid Listens activity on RadioPublic. Once your podcast earns $25 it will be eligible for payout, and we’ll send an email with information about how to configure the payment step Earnings are a combination of your Paid Listens (at a rate of $20 per 1000 listens of your episodes in the RadioPublicapp) and for every new listener that hears three episodes of your show in the RadioPublic app, you’ll earn a Loyal Listener bonus of an additional (one-time) $1 - and yes, this bonus layers on top of your Paid Listens rate. What Is the Criteria For a Listen? We define a Paid Listen as a listener hearing at least 60% or 30 minutes of an episode, whichever is shorter. For now, only listens in the native RadioPublic mobile apps for iOS and Android count. Multiple listens to a given episode by the same user’s device/account will count as a single listen. Also, it is important to understand that a download does not necessarily equal a listen. On all podcast apps, including RadioPublic, a given episode's audio file might be downloaded multiple times: the user could have deleted it before listening; a user’s local network error can occur and the file needs to be downloaded again; a podcast hosting provider can have an issue that initiates another download, etc.RadioPublic measures when an episode is actually heard, so you should not always expect a 1:1 download to listen ratio in your hosting provider’s metrics or dashboard. What to Do If Your Episode Already Has Ads? Depending on your current approach to ads, you have a few options for providing ad-free episodes to RadioPublic: Remove the ads from your older episodes in your existing RSS feed by reuploading newly edited audio files to your podcast host.  Create another RSS feed that contains ad-free episodes and provide that feed to RadioPublic. Contact your ad sales team and podcast hosting company, as they may have the ability to turn off dynamically inserted ads when episodes are requested from RadioPublic.   Where Do The Ads Go? RadioPublic will place audio ads before and/or after episodes participating in Paid Listens, and the ads will be clearly demarcated with audio and visual cues as distinct from your show, not part of it. Where's the Catch? The catch is to get credit for the play it HAS to be in the Radio Public app. You will need 1250 downloads (the amount you need to make $25) to get paid on their app.  While they supply a player, it does not count that download as one to be paid for. You get $1 bonus if you get a new person to try the app and listen to three of your episodes. For me, I'm not sure I can look at my audience and say, "Please go listen on this app where I can better advertise to you." Patreon Vs Radio Public Last month on Ask the Podcast Coach I had 3, 852 downloads. If we play in fantasy land and says EVERYBODY heard it on Radio Public, I would make $76. What I do on that show is I do an extra 30 minutes of show with my co-host Jim Collison from www.theaverageguy.tv and put it behind a paywall using Patreon. Last month I'm made $398 (as someone took the option to pay $125/month and receive an hour of one on one coaching) if we removed that (as that slot is not always full that would be $248. (or 3.2 times the amount of money from Radio Public). Pennies Make Dollars If you're trying to do podcasting full time, you need multiple streams of income. As with other services I've used that inserted ads paid $1.5 for 1000 listens, Radio Public is a much better solution. But as the average podcaster get around 1500 downloads per episode (source:libsyn.com) I'm not going to retire on the $30 (again that would be if EVERY SINGLE ONE of your listeners was using the Radio Public app) Improvements Needed With the short time I tested Radio Public, they need to be able to group podcasts together. I would get to the $25 a month payout fee if all my shows were listed under one account. From what I've seen they are not. So now every show would have to get 1250 downloads (the amount you need to make $25) instead of all of my shows working together. That would make for more payouts, and make it worth my while. John Bukenas of www.audioeditingsolutions.com on the www.hatetoweight.com show that he tried to import his shows, and the app crashed.  Social Subscribe and Follow Plugin I had gone to the Internet along with using the branding assets of some apps and went through the joy of resizing them, and then having some with a black background and some with a white background and it looked like this: (see www.schoolofpodcasting.com/627 )   I know Daniel J. Lewis of the Audacity to Podcast. He is a friend of mine and I use his My Podcast Reviews service (which a great) so I decided to check out his Subscribe and Follow plugin and it just makes things so much easier. You can adjust the buttons to match your site. They are all up to date and are using the proper branding. He has everything you'd want to link to covered, and it's super easy to set it up. Check it out at http://schoolofpodcasting.com/socialsubscribeandfollow $25 a year and $24 sign up  for Five Sites $40.00 / year and a $39.00 sign-up fee for 10 sites $75.00 / year and a $74.00 sign-up fee for unlimited sites  You can see my new subscribe page at www.schoolofpodcasting.com/subscribe    Pipa Billing Plans Change My Criteria for Podcast Media Hosting 1. Don't mess with my file. What I upload is what I want people to download. 2. Give me the ability to have an unlimited back catalog (unlimited storage) 3. Don't limit my audience size (unlimited bandwidth) 4. 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 an iTunes redirect script. 5. Give me support. 6. Charge me for your service so you can stay in business 7. Give me stats so I can see what's working. It would be nice if they were accurate. 8. Don't own my content, control my links, or block my access to distribution or stats (like Anchor). Pippa Launched in October of 2017. With a goal of making it easy to start a podcast, and making it easy to monetize. They have done some questionable marketing (by scraping email addresses from the iTunes Database and accusing their competition of inflating their numbers). I've tested their service with The History of Six Shooter podcast. Their interface is simple, and they do offer free transcriptions. I tested their transcription service and it was only 70% accurate (so plan on spending a fair amount of time tweaking your transcription). Originally they adopted the Soundcloud business plan which enables unlimited uploads and unlimited downloads (And lost 100 million dollars).  Recently they updated their pricing. They STILL allow you to upload as many files as you want, but they limit the size of your audience (the more expensive the package, the more downloads you are allowed). For this show that gets over 20,000 downloads a month, I would be on the $50 a month plan. I currently use the $20/month plan at Libsyn.com (use the coupon code sopfree for a free month). As they limit your number of downloads (when other companies like Libsyn.com and Blubrry.com do not) they are just not a good choice in my opinion. I know people who have received thousands of downloads by being mentioned on an influencer's blog. For me, I'd take a pass on http://pippa.io For more information on media hosting, see www.podcastmediahosting.com Ready to Plan, Launch or Grow Your Podcast? I would LOVE to work with you. I have multiple plans (starting at $1 for bonus content, all the way up to a four-figure mentoring plan). I would love to help you with your podcast. See www.schoolofpodcasting.com/workwithme

Today we have a conversation with Kyle Gray author of the book The Story Engine: An entrepreneur's guide to content strategy and brand storytelling without spending all day writing. He has helped hundreds of startups and small businesses create scalable content marketing strategies. His book The Story Engine outlines his process for making content marketing and brand storytelling easy and effective. Because Of My Podcast: I'm Working with NPR 1:22 Monica Rivera hosts the "You Wanna Do What" podcast (giving you the nudge you need) and she recently celebrated her one year anniversary and shared how she was selected to take part in an NPR program where she will go to Seattle to work side by side with NPR on a story. The best part of Monica's story is her attitude and how she took the negative of rejection and turned it around and used it for success. Check out her one-year "13 Lessons Learned" anniversary show. Kyle Gray Gives You Action Steps to Make Great Content 3:54 In today's conversation, Kyles shares some of his favorite tools to create content and explains strategies to identify problems and create actionable content with lead magnets to grow your list, enhance your network, and move forward toward building your business. Kyle has worked with many well-known brands and businesses like AdEspresso, Advance Your Reach, WP Curve and Self-Publishing School. 5:23 What is Good Content? 09:08 What are realistic expectations for traffic? 12:50 How long does it take to make great content. 16:20 How important are keywords? 19:55 What examples can you share of covering a problem from multiple angles? 21:05 If you could only pick three tools to help with your content, what would you pick? The content strategy template Trello Co-Schedule Key Take Aways You need consistency He was talking about blog posts, and we are talking about podcasts but we still have nuggets. In the end, we are all content creators. So you heard in this interview where he is not winging it; there is planning. He does things other people may not be doing like finding graphics to go with the episode. He said that even if you spend hours on your content, it may take months before you start seeing any measurable traffic. So if you're looking to get rich in six weeks, this is not for you. I love that good content helps your audience. You may think that all of this discussion is for business, but if you're doing a comedy podcast your audience's problem may be that they just watched the news or had a bad day at work, and it's your job to find a way to make them smile. He talked about identifying some key problems for your audience and making a lead magnet to give away that helps solve them. This is a great strategy that not everyone does, but that's because it takes time. A cool graphic could be a picture of your guest with a quote you pulled from the interview. Focus on the relationships. It is these relationships that help on the way up, and also if things go the other way. Jordan Harbinger utilized to rebuild his show with his network. Check out the Story Engine on Audible at www.schoolofpodcasting.com/freebook July Question of the Month 27:59 Do you have an email list, if so how big is it, and how did you grow it? I need your answers (preferably in audio) by July 27th. See www.schoolofpodcasting.com/contact and if you send email, please use "July question" as the subject line Top Five Questions About the New Google Podcasts App 28:45  How do I know if my podcast in the Google Podcast App? Go to https://search.google.com/devtools/podcast/preview and enter your RSS feed What If I'm Not in the App? Then see this post Do I Need to Be In Both Google Podcasts and Google Play Music? Yes. I personally don't see Google Play Music makes it to 2019. I have no information, but it's just a feeling. What Kind of Features are in the App?Almost none. You can speed up and slow down, and that is it for now. It doesn't even automatically download the episodes Castbox.FM Makes Duplicate Feed for Shaky Reasons 31:32 I wrote a post about this on my blog at http://davidjackson.org/horrible-podcast-history-is-repeating-thanks-to-castbox-fm/ Ready to Start a Podcast or Grow One You've Already Launched? I've got multiple resources for multiple budgets (with pricing starting as low as $5 to $1299 for a full mentorship program. See www.schoolofpodcasting.com/workwithme  

I received 360 responses to this question, and if you do read show notes (better known as a description of what is in the podcast) what are you looking for. Comments? 888-563-32228 Because of My Podcast I Got to Appear on TV 1:45  Edward Schmitz from www.vidanostrilhos.com.br was featured on a TV show in Brazil. Make Money as a School of Podcasting Affiliate 4:30 Kim Kraji ( from www.toastmasters101.net ) explains why she became a School of Podcating Affiliate (and I set up www.schoolofpodcasting.com/kim for her to send her traffic). If someone signs up she earns a commission for every month they stay subscribed. Go to www.schoolofpodcasting.com/affiliates and sign up today. [spp-tweet tweet="Only 38 percent of people may be reading podcast show notes"] Your Podcast Show Notes: What To Include, How Long, and is Anybody Reading Them? 6:35 I put up some polls and ask you to send in your responses to www.schoolofpodcasting.com/coontact and here is what I got Out of 360 responses,  136 (38%) look at show notes, and 224 (62% fo not 8:33 Carey Green of podcastfasttrack.com feels show notes are important. He is surprised how many people don't put their social links in their show notes. 12:22 John from the Hate to Weight Show ( www.hatetoweight.com ) also wants social links and links to anything (like a video) mentioned in the episode. 14:38 Eliquite from the Travel Gluten Free Podcast (www.travelglutenfree.me ) is looking for resources. She hates show notes with one giant paragraph. 17:11 John from www.professorslots.com (a podcast about how to win at gambling) also looks at show notes and is deeply disappointed when you say you will put it in the show notes and you don't. 18:34 Win Charles from Ask Win hates it when you put a link to your website. She loves the show notes from www.todayinios.com 19:55 Shawn from Stories For Starters (www.storiesofstarters.com ) is looking for things that he wants to follow up (links, etc) 22:58 (Live from Books a Million ) Jill From http://becomingelli.com/ likes show notes to go back and review 24:49 The host of the new podcast www.cozycrib.com actually would rather read than listen 25:53 Kim from www.toastmasters101.net will read the show notes when they are emailed to her. 27:26 Tim from the www.hesaidshesaidmovies.com doesn't really look at them, but when he does he's looking links 28:49 Lee from www.covertnerd.net loves to use show notes for a resource. 30:34 James from www.podnews.not does NOT look at show notes. I interviewed James a few episodes ago. James wrote a great article called How podcast show notes display in 19 different apps ( https://podnews.net/article/how-podcast-show-notes-display ) In that article he recommends: Always show links with the URL visible. These links will be clickable in Apple Podcasts and will be visible - if not clickable - in every app. Using word links won't always work. Formatting, like using of the strong tag, may be ignored by many podcast apps. Ensure your show notes don't require this to be faithfully shown. Be aware that accented characters may not display correctly.   Recommended Things to Include in Your Show Notes The name of the person/guest Links to the guest site ANY website mentioned Links to videos or any resources mentioned Social Media Links for people to connect with you Readability (use subheadings to break up lots of texts) July Question of the Month: Email List and Tools 41:50 Do you have an email list? If so how big is it? What system/tools do you use? Any tricks on growing your list. Go to www.schoolofpodcasting.com/contact and use "July Question" if you want to record something and send it in via email (I do prefer audio over email) The Importance of Your Episode Title / Headline 42:31 I read an article that said 8 out of 10 people will actually read your headline, but only two out of 10 will read the article (this was about blogs), but it goes to show you how important your headlines are. In podcasting, the title of your blog post or your episode is your headline. There is a cool tool called Fresh Title. I have video demonstration at www.davidjackson.org/titles there is also a cool plugin from Thrive themes that you put in multiple headlines and it tests and uses the best headline. Where Does the Apple iTunes Summary Appear? 44:26 The Apple iTunes summary is just a few sentences that appear above the player. It is NOT a case where it is either the iTunes Summary or the Description BOTH appear. When making your Headline and Title for Appel Podcasts, do NOT put the episode number of the name of your show in the title (they just want the TITLE in the title). Put the episode number in the episode number field. See http://libsyn.d.pr/ZzecbV Pipa Transcriptions are 70% Accurate 47: 10 As we are talking about show notes, some of you may be thinking about transcripts. It appears that transcripts are "You get what you pay for." I recently tested the transcriptions and found that the one from the media host pipa was 70% accurate.  See https://youtu.be/N0jHY5cYBbk Mentioned in This Episode # 624 Northeast Ohio Podcasters www.neohiopodcasters.com  Podcast Rodeo Show www.podcastrodeoshow.com Headline Resources at www.schoolofpodcasting.com/headlines Libsyn.com Podcast Media Hosting. Use the coupon code sopfree to get a free month at www.libsyn.com SEO Expert Training www.yoast.com Dave's Voicemail 888-563-3228 (courtesy of www.podcastvoicemail.com ) The School of Podcasting Newsletter www.schoolofpodcasting.com/newsletter Transcription Accuracy test https://youtu.be/N0jHY5cYBbk Kyle Gray book The Story Engine: An entrepreneur's guide to content strategy and brand storytelling without spending all day writing Follow Dave www.facebook.com/schoolofpodcasting www.twitter.com/davejackson www.instagram.com/schoolofpodcasting   Ready to Podcast? I have mutliple ways you can work with me. See www.schoolofpodcasting.com/workwithme starting at $5

Comments? 888-563-3228 Today on episode 623 we talk with Cody Gough of the Curiosity podcast. Cody had a podcast that was successful, and based on the goals of the podcast decided to make a radical change to their publishing schedule.  Because of My Podcast  2:20 Brenda from My Tech Toolbelt shares the story of being able to score media passes for one of the top educational events that would've cost her $650 but she's going for free Because of her podcast.  Sponsorship Update 5:08 Every month we have one episode based on listener feedback, and somehow Todd's from the Trucker Dump podcast (www.abouttruckdriving.com ) went to spam. Todd shares an idea he may be turning into a podcast, and how he was able to get some sponsors for his podcast. Perfect is the Enemy of Good 9:00 I can't think of anything that was perfect right out of the gate. Yet, people will not start a podcast because it is "not right." In a recent interview on the "My guest needs no introduction" Howard Stern talks about how he has changed over the years because he went to therapy, and isn't as insecure as he used to be. He states, "I think that bad radio is when you don't somehow change it up constantly." In another interview, Jerry Seinfeld interview David Letterman and he explained how Johnny Carson had all sorts of stipulations on how Dave could do his show, and as Dave put it, "I picked up the crumbs and try to make something out of it." That lead to Dave being super creative, and doing something you couldn't find on the TV anyplace and brought him a super loyal audience. So what can you do with your podcast if you took away some of the segments, some of the format, and had to come up with something new? How Do You Know Your Audience Hates Something if You Don't Let Them Taste It 15:30 Cody shares how he got a gig on LinkedIn to produce a podcast He inherited a huge audience from Curiosity.com How he had to set expectations with his boss on what to expect in regards to production Their show was weekly for a year before deciding to change the format His audience gave him feedback when he switched formats He lost a small amount of his audience before he downloads starting growing As his content is evergreen, his back catalog is still getting downloaded He shares some podcast promotion ideas (www.gretta.com ) and now is focusing on email and the Amazon Briefing His Amazon Briefing is different than most "standard" briefings How the assets at the company are changing with the new format How advertisers are more interested in the US audience in some cases A great story about he had a HUGE guest on his show and his audience could not have been less interested 36:40 How he got a huge guest on his show (it was super easy) 40:05 Tips for creating a daily show 42:55 How often he checks stats, and takes the temperature of the audience 46:00 The only way to know what your audience wants 48:20 Who he is using for sponsors What If There Was No Social Media? 52:00 I was listening to the New Media Show and Todd Cohran brought up an interesting question, "What is there wasn't social media, how would you promote your show? That may be something we think about, and start doing. We can easily rely on promoting ourselves sitting in front of a computer screen, but there are other strategies that require you to get out from behind the desk. Ready To Start Your Podcast? See www.schoolofpodcasting.com/workwithme I look forward to working with you

Because of My Podcast: Free Tickets 2:00 Brad from the Cinema Guys ( www.wearethecinemaguys.com ) explains how he was approached by a small local Cinema Chain who listens to his podcast. Brad worked a deal that enables him to get tickets to movies. Brad (being the cool guy he is) is using them as a give away for his audience. He has also worked to do a screening of Brad's all-time favorite horror movie, "John Carpenter's The Thing." They get to introduce the movie and then do a Q&A afterward. Earn Money Referring People to the School of Podcasting 7:20 As a podcaster, people may approach you about how you started your show. You may be thinking of creating an online course, or an ebook. Instead of spending all that time and resources, you can signup to be a School of Podcasting affiliate and earn a commission when they subscribe and also for every month when they stay subscribed. For more information go to www.schoolofpodcasting.com/affiliates Why Knowing Your Why Matters 8:00 It keeps you focused. You are no longer distracted by things that don't help you achieve your goal. If you know why you're doing something, you can see the results clearer. This enables you to spot the small victories that then motivate you to keep going. It is then the motivation that enables you to try again. When another small victory comes along, you get another dose of motivation, and a pinch of this thing called confidence. How My "Why" Gave Me Super Powers I had been wanting to lose weight, and over the last year, I have been going up and down. I would get down to maybe 218 lbs, and then go up to 221 or 222. I wanted to get up and go to the gym in the morning. I knew to drink lots of water, and get plenty of sleep. I knew what to do. However, when I listed my priorities I wrote down things like rewriting my book More Podcast Money, I needed to update some tutorials at the School of Podcasting, and take a class on SEO. Nowhere in there is anything about my health. That's when I realized why I wasn't losing weight. It simply was not a priority. I got a call from letting me know that I was being inducted into the Academy of Podcasters Hall of Fame. The minute I hung up the phone, I said out loud, "Well somebody's getting up early tomorrow." While it is somewhat weird, as I normally try not to care what people think of me, I knew there would be lots of pictures. I even hired a photographer to take pictures during my presentation. Suddenly,  like a light switch, I had willpower. I had focus. I had a purpose. No longer did I need to watch TV. I realized that most of the taped TV shows I use to watch rarely delivered any real value. I could take that time and use it at the gym, or walk around, or cook healthy food, and THAT would deliver value to my goal of losing weight. When You Know Your Why You Can Make it Through the How “He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.” -Friedrich Nietzsche The two most important days of your life are the day you were born and the day you discover why you were born.– Mark Twain Apple Podcasts hits 550,000 Podcasts I listened to my first episode, and in it, I mention in April of 2005, there were maybe "4000" podcasts. This article says in 2005 there were 3000 podcats, now there are 550,000 and according to this TechCrunch article, there have been Fifty billion episodes have been streamed/downloaded since launch. The new numbers include 18.5 million individual episodes representing 155 countries, in more than 100 languages. So in 2005 when I was explaining to people how cool podcasting was, and how awesome it was that you could "teel the software to watch this site" (better known today as a subscription) and that you didn't ' need a Mac, and you didn't need an iPod to listen. IT WAS PAINFUL as many people just didn't get it (it took a while for me to get it). But I knew the potential power of podcasting, and I had quit listening to radio, and I wanted people to experience the same joy I had found. It didn't seem hard because if I helped ONE person understand and start listening to podcasts, and I had ONE more person to talk about Dawn and Drew with, it was worth my time and effort. When you know you're why the "work" doesn't seem like work. It just seems like something you do. When I first started playing the guitar it was BRUTALLY PAINFUL, but I knew I wanted to play. I wanted to be like my brother (who played) and so the pain wasn't so bad. I knew it was temporary, and I could make it through the how. My "Whys" I get to help people (my background is in training. I have a Bachelor's Degree in Education specializing in Technical Education from the University of Akron) It's creative (my hobbies are music, writing, photography, poetry). It's geeky (I get to play with software to build websites, track downloads, and more) I get to leave a very small fingerprint on the planet. Neither of my marriages produced any children. The word "Legacy" seems a bit much, but you get my point. I am meeting and creating great friends. It's helping me to pay off my student loans If I lost my job today, I would have a cushion of money coming to tie me over (and in reality, I would probably be able to the School of Podcasting Ful time) I'm not sure what I would do with my free time if I didn't. Your Why's Might Be: Share your knowledge Get your message out out Promote a business Stay connected to friends and family Be seen as an expert Open the door to possibilities Find like-minded people Inner office company communication Educate Entertain Getting the Motivation To Start I just listened to a great episode of the You Wanna Do What? Podcast by Monica Rivera where she interviewed Jeff Haden about motivation. It was a really good interview and had some great insights into motivation. Including: You only need enough motivation to start. If you set small achievable goals, those "little wins" give you the motivation to try again and keep moving. So some examples of small achievable goals my be Buying your equipment Plugging everything in and making your first recording Getting your artwork Publishing your first episode Syndicating to Apple, Stitcher, etc Getting 10 downloads for an episode Getting 50 downloads an episode When accomplishing these little milestones, it feeds your motivation to keep going. 25:10  Brenda from My Tech Toolbelt explain how her kids are grown, and while she is thankful for her job, it can be kind of boring, and she is podcasting because she enjoys learning. Yes, there is a lot to learn but as she put it, "It's fun. It's exciting, and I've already got two press passes (to be continued)"  27:37 Jim Collison from The Average Guy Network (and my Co-host for Ask the Podcast Coach) is a lot like me. We both love being around people, we both love helping people. We both like to talk and to influence people to help them do things.    The #1 Killer of Motivation and Why Podcasting is Like Golf 30;03 There is a reason that employees at companies are strongly urged not to share their income amount with other employees. If two people share that information, one person is leaving that meeting upset. So when people share how many downloads they get in a Facebook group, and their numbers are three times as many as you, ignore it and instead of focusing on their numbers, focus on your audience and how you can serve them. If two golfers shared their scores, someone is going to think, "WHAT?! How is that person better than me? Well, there are a number of factors: Better equipment More experience Better coaching Better attitude More athletic More time to practice So if you came to me and said, "I can't believe they are better than me! And I answered: Your sound quality is very distracting You have half as many episodes They have a completely different niche They have more time to promote their show They have a budget to market your show and you don't They have no children and you have five They went to the School of Podcasting and you watched outdated YouTube Videos Wouldn't you be able to see why someone might be getting more downloads than you (and keep in mind, there are more ways to measure podcast success than downloads). So unless you want to detail your podcast DON'T COMPARE YOUR SHOW TO OTHER PODCASTS. Heli PR77D Microphone Shootout   35:02 The Heil PR77D is basically a Heil PR40 with a bass roll-off switch, and something that will look very cool in any videos. It comes in black and purple and retails for $249 where the Heil PR40 is $308. You will hear these with my mic preamp the DBX 286 $199 off during the shootout. In today's shootout, I compare it to an Electrovoice RE320 $299   Audio Technica AT2005 $79, Audio Technica BP40 $349, Blue Yeti $129 The Heil PR77D has that traditional warm Heil Sound. When I switched it voice mode (which cuts out frequencies below 120Hz) it seems a little too clear for my voice). It comes with a nice black velvet bag to keep it in. It's a very sturdy microphone, and I love the retro look. Of the microphones above, the only one I steer people away from is the Blue Yeti unless you PROMISE to read the manual, buy an over-priced pop filter, and use it on a boom arm. I personally use the Electrovoice RE320, but I liked the warmth of all the Heil Microphones and I need to play with it a little more to see how the proximity effect is (if it has more bass when you get close to it). The rear rejection seemed about as good as the other microphones. Where Will I Be? 42:07 Catch me speaking at Podcast Movement July 23-26 in Philadelphia PA (and being inducted into the Academy of Podcasters Hall of Fame )  I will also be speaking at Podcast Midatlantic in September in Philadelphia PA Ready to Start a Podcast? One on one consulting Podcast Reviews Online Courses Mentoring Programs www.schoolofpodcasting.com/workwithme The Question of the Month As a podcast listener, do you look at Show notes? If so, what do you want to see in show notes? I need your answers by 6/22 go to www.schoolofpodcasting.com/contact  if you email me from that page, please put "June Question" in the title of the email. You can also call 888-563-3228 (be sure to mention your podcast)