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

I attended the first ever PodCon in Seattle this weekend. It was cofounder by Hank and John Green who are You tubers who have a successful Dear Hank and John show, Joseph Fink from Welcome to Nightvale, Justin and Travis McElroy (My brother, My brother and Me). I went to the opening ceremonies with close to 1000 people in the room that reported any of these people came on the stage. They had other podcasters as well. They were asked questions and were all very witty. When asked about any weird jobs they had done in the past one person answered “Youth Pastor” and the audiences erupted into laughter with people falling out of their seats. I stood there grinning. I realized that there was an inside joke but I was not inside to get it. The only way to get inside is to talk to as many people as I could. Lollapalooza for Podcasting As the music business is having a hard time, many bands now tour together as a festival. These bands may not bring enough people out to support a solo show, but combine them together you have enough people to warrant the expense of the tour. You then get the added cross-promotion benefits. Cosplay? I found out that ar events like ComicCon and DragonCon people dress up like their favorite characters. This was happening at PodcCon. What some might call “Weird,” is actually called cosplay as many people dressed as characters (especially from the Adventure Zone show, and Welcome to Nightvale ). Community One of the great things about a podcast event like podcast movement or Podfest multi media nations expo is everyone there wants to learn podcasting. When I attend these, I am with my people. When the people with elf ears walked in, I’m sure they felt the same. Speakers The sessions I attended were not awful, except one. I was surprised at the lack of experience on some of the panels. The panel on monetization announced they had a combined level of 2.5 years. This probably explains why the only two ways they listed to make money from your podcast was sponsors and Patreon. There are also affiliates, selling your own products, donations. Because Of My Podcast - I'm Talking To People Who I Thought Would Never Talk to Me 17:17 Kira and Kenza are on episode four and have had their podcast open doors to people they never thought would talk to them. Check them out at https://www.tellmeeverythingpodcast.com A Quick Tip To Grow Your Audience from Drew Ackerman of the Sleep With My Podcast 32:40 When you reply to an email, tweet, comment, thank everyone for listening, and then ask them how they found your show. If it was from another person (word of mouth) find that person and thank them and ask them how they found your show. Check out Drew at www.sleepwithmepodcast.com and check out Drew's interview with Dave. Mentioned In This Show tellemeeverythingpodcast.com My brother, My brother and Me Dear Hank and John show Welcome to Nightvale Adventure Zone show Sleep With My Podcast Podfest Portable Media Expo (in Florida) Blue Yeti Microphones (Best Podcasting Gear) Social Media Marketing World Ready to Start Your Podcast? Check out Podcasting in Six Weeks or Join the School of Podcasting and learn at your own pace.  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

Because of My Podcast - My Band Sold Out Our Kickstarter 1:30 Matt from the band EleventySeven tells how his band had "taken a break" for the better part of four years. They decided to get the band back together, but how are we going to get the word out about the band reforming, and reconnecting with their audience? By starting a podcast! They connected with their audience and reached their Kickstarter goal in just a few days Check out the band's music and podcast at http://www.eleventysevenisalive.com/ How To Flatten Your Podcast Learning Curve 14:07 As someone with 20+ years in the education field, one of the things I do when I learn a new subject was to take a ton of notes on ANY question that came across my mind as I consumed content as a student. This week, I got into a subject that I had not dabbled in the early 1990's. To go from playing techmo bowl on the first nintendo to playing Madden 2018 on an Xbox One is a bit of a culture shock. This is a good thing. I'm WAAAY out of my comfort zone with a huge learning curve in front of me. So here are some tips on overcoming and managing learning curves. Define Your Goal It's not enough to join the School of Podcasting, your goal is to launch your podcast. I'm going to through in here that you need to Define Your Why. For example, if you're doing a solo show with no guests. There is no need to read up on creating a mix minus. Some might even say you don't even need to read up on a mixer.  When you are first starting out, keep things simple. The problem is you don't know what you don't know. This leads me to point number two. 2.  Talk to someone who is doing what you are doing. As you don't know what you don't know, you need to find someone who can help you define the area you need to investigate and those you don't. There is one statement that I have seen from my chair and I believe to be very true. You will pay for your podcast in one of two currencies. You will pay with time searching for your answers, or you will pay with money paying someone to help you get to where you want to go.  3. Make Sure You're Using Good Resource Material There is a ton of GREAT material for FREE on YouTube. There is also a TON of outdated material that can steer you in the wrong direction. So when you do a search on YouTube currently there is a filter option in the upper right-hand corner that allows you to sort by upload date to have the latest videos at the top. There are tons of Facebook Groups, and other resources (meetup.com) where you can find a community of people who can answer some questions. However, be sure to check out who is answering your question. Every week I see tons of articles on the subject of podcasting written by people who apparently have no podcast. Check out this video Also when you do find a good resource, use it. I've worked in different tech support departments,  and I know we are in a hurry to get going but ask anyone and they will tell you that most companies put a tremendous amount of effort into the "on-boarding" process (getting your customer setup). This typically includes some sort of welcome email, and in many cases a video. You need to read more than the email title, and if you are given resources, use them. 4. Break Your Goals into Tasks As the old saying goes, "How do you eat an elephant?" The answer is one bit at a time. So once you understand where you want to go, you break your goal into smaller tasks. So you can take the goal of identifying your podcast and break it into the tasks of creating a list of five potential names, check domain availability, and perform a Google search to see if the name is in use.  5. Don't Try to Learn it All In One Sitting While you may be excited, when you try to do too much in too little a time, you can burn yourself out 6. Give Yourself a Timeline, but Don't Bite Off Your Face Timelines can help you see the plan, and give you an idea of when your goal will be met. However, I've seen people make really bad decisions because they are way behind based on their self-made deadline.  7. Set a Time to Work On Your Goal in a Focused Fashion Set a specific time when you will work on your goal. When you are working on your podcast, turn off distractions (Facebook, Notifications on the Phone, YouTube).  8. Track Your Progress There is something that happens in the brain when you write something down. By writing down your goals, and your steps, you can then go back and check these off as you accomplish them Help The Smith Girls 35:50 I only met Scott Smith once on the Podcasters Roundtable. I was deeply saddened that Scott shot and killed his wife, then turned the gun on himself leaving his two daughters. If you'd like to help these two children (every little helps) see https://www.gofundme.com/helpthesmithgirls Spotify Now Available in Libsyn Dashboard to All Libsyn Customers 38:00 You can now get your show listed in Spotify if you are a Libsyn customer. Previously they were only approving a small percentage of the shows that were submitted. They say that once you add Spotify to your destinations, you should be able to see the show in the Spotify app in two weeks (I wouldn't be surprised if this doesn't get pushed back to four weeks as they are going to get a ton of podcast submissions. See https://support.libsyn.com/kb/spotify/ Libsyn has also launched their new stats interface which is completely mobile friendly Be Part of the Ask Me Anything Episode 600 40:33 Episode 600 will be in January 2018. I'm looking for you to send in questions for me about anything but podcasting. I need them by January 1, 2018. See my contact page Where Can You See Me Podcon in Seatle December 9-10 February 8-10 Podfest.us in Florida Social Media Marketing World Mentioned On This Show Speakpipe Cale Nelson from Ham Radio 360 Music Radio Creative Jingles Better Podcasting - Thanks for the Twinkies Glenn The Geek at Horseradionetwork.com Casey Kaen Loses it about Doing a Dog Death Dedication   Let Me Help You Launch a Your Successful Podcast Would you like One on One Consulting? Schedule a session Want to learn at your own pace, and network with other podcasters. Join the School of Podcasting Want to get started quickly? Check out Podcasting in Six WeeksMentioned 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 now and then I do an episode where you provide an answer to a question and we all learn together. This episode we asked the question, "What will you be doing differently in 2018?" Here are the people and their answers (in Alphabetical order) Here is Who Contributed to the Episode 1:50 Abby From atimeforhorses.com - is going to keep podcasting because she is having fun. 3:22 Anna from Authentic Parenting has planned her entire 2018, is going to do deep dives based on audience feedback, and create a form for potential guests. 6:18 Ben from http://modernselfprotection.com/ will be more consistent and is adding a blog to his site, and create some online courses to deliver this content. Dave uses Thinkific to manage the School of Podcasting membership area. 8:50 Brad- wearethecinemaguys.com 11:04 Bryan - engagingmissions.com 13:45 Clay - Fishnerds.com 16:24 Daniel Everybody's National Parks 18:22 Erik K Johnson from Podcast Talent Coach and the Podcast Review Show 20:06 Kim from Toastmasters 101 21:34 Kit from Active Travel Adventures Podcast 22:57 Landen from Calling All Platforms 25:08 Randy Cantrel from Peer Advantage Groups 26:18 Scott from the Computer Tutor podcast (plus a big announcement about Podfest.us) 29:16 Seth from Geekville Radio 31:17 Todd From Trucker Dump Podcast 35:29 Darwyn from Dealing with My Grief Podcast 37:59 Win from Butterflies of Wisdom 39:38 Zack from Rasing (pa)Rents Summary Some people are adjusting their schedules (wanting to be more consistent, most are planning on doing fewer episodes to avoid burnout, and to provide more time to promote Some listeners are planning on focusing on running their show like a business and attempt to bring in some income with their podcast Some are updating their platform by trying interviews (if they were solo) and vice versa (doing solo shows if they were doing primarily interviews) Some are looking to find ways to engage their audience more by attending events, creating Facebook Groups, and ramping up their social media presence. Some are having fun doing their show, and because of that, they aren't going to change a thing The bottom line is your show is just that YOUR SHOW and you can do whatever you want. If things are going great, then don't change a thing. If you want to try something, then you can. There is only one way to know if it will work. That is to get it in front of your audience. This can be in the form of an email or Facebook looking for feedback, or by just trying something in your show and seeing what kind of feedback you get. Next Question Episode For episode 600 I am breaking format. I am doing what is called an "Ask Me Anything" episode (AMA). I am throwing in one more bit of criteria. You can ask me about anything EXCEPT podcasting.  So if you've ever wanted to know the person behind the microphone, now is the time. This feels a little narcissistic, but the people I passed this idea by thought it would be a good way to let people get to know me (just this one time). I need your questions by January 1st, 2018 (preferably in audio format). Episode 600 is January 8th, 2018. There are different formats you can contact me on my contact page How Can I Help You With Your Podcast? One on One Consulting? Self Paced Tutorials and Membership at the School of Podcasting? Six Week Group Coaching Podcast Course I've been podcasting since 2005, and my background is in Technical Education. I'm an award-winning podcaster ( and trainer) and would love to help you with your podcast.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

Last week I explained how I learned of a strategy from Doug Sandler of the Nice Guys on Business show where the goal is to bring on guests who would be a good client for you (assuming you're podcasting as part of your business). Doug's business is Turnkey Podcast. There is little focus on your audience and more emphasis on your guest. The presenter also requires that their potential guest subscribes, to their podcast and gives them a five-star review to be considered. This was the part that I thought was a little "black hat."  I wanted to reserve my judgment until I spoke with Doug. Today I have Doug Sandler on the show to share his insights into his strategy. Because Of My Podcast I'm Much Better at Public Speaking: Bill Huchison 1:45 Bill Hutchison is a full-time missionary and has a podcast  every now and then Bill is asked to speak in churches. Today Bill shares how he had to think on the fly when he hit a technical snag, anbecausese of his podcast he was able to pull it off.  Preparing for Episode 600 4:55 I'm doing an "Ask Dave Anything (except podcasting questions)" will be the topic for episode 600. Send in your questions (with the title Episode 600) by January 1st, 2018 Your Target Customer as Your Guest Part II Doug Sandler Interview 7:00 Feedback from last week's show In today's discussion you hear: 9:23 Doug did his podcast for 16 months without making a dime. He went from 20,000 downloads to 1.2 million in the second 16 months. His guests are his target clients How does his stop his guests from being boring? Why his potential guests MUST give him a five-star review and subscribe to the show Does having guests on your show ensure 1.2 million downloads? Doug didn't get into podcasting to make friends Summary: There are no rules in podcasting? Will I look into using my podcast to get clients? I already do. The whole point of the School of Podcasting is to exhibit my expertise, and show you I know how to create a show that engages your audience. I might try this strategy in the future and do something like Natalie Ectal from BizChix.com where she records coaching calls and uses them as episodes. While I force potential guests to subscribe, rate, and provide a five-star review? No. Where Is Dave Going? 35:09 Podcon in Seatle Dec 9-10 Podfest in Florida Feb 8-10 Social Media Marketing World  2/28- 3 /2 San Diego Fixing a Podcast Episode After Your Published It 36:07 There is nothing worse than waking up to an inbox full of emails from listeners letting you know there is a mistake in your latest episode. This could be silence, or an edit point that you thought you took out (but didn't). You panick. Oh No! What do I do? Here is what you do. Do NOT Create a New Episode If you're using Libsyn.com go to Content > Previously Published and edit the Episode. There you can use the replace option to upload the repaired version of the episode. I strongly suggest you use the exact same file name. This way you don't have to wait for your episode to propagate across the Internet. Your feed has the name of the file, and when someone who didn't download the episode with the mistake presses download, they get the repaired version. If you're using Blubrry, you can go into PowerPress and upload your repaired file (and it will replace the old file). Again, I strongly urge you to use the exact same file name. Who Gets the File? When someone gets the first (wrong) version of your file, the app they use doesn't know there is an issue. Consequently, the app won't download the new version (because to the app, it's the same file). But I Want Everyone to Get the New Version! The only way to have all of your audience to get new version is to create a completely new episode (and delete the old episode). This might annoy your subscribers (who typically are the people who get your episode first as it's automated). They may have already listened to and delete the episode, and then all the sudden here it comes again. What's the Best Solution? The best solution is to ALWAYS listen to the ENTIRE episode before uploading it to your media host. In other words, the best way to fix the mistake is to not make it in the first place. With that in mind, we are all human and it will happen. I personally just replace the old version and if someone tells me about the mistake I apologize to them and explain they now have a collectors edition. How Can I Help You Need one on one conslting? Schedule Some Time Learn at your own pace at the School of Podcasting Podcasting in Six Weeks Group Coaching Mentioned in Today's Show Scott Johnson From the Computer Tutor Show Podcast Review Show Podcast Rodeo 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

Today I'm back from Speaking at DC Podfest (what a great event) and I went to a session that had some interesting points that I wanted to share.  The session was titled, "Size Doesn’t Matter: Build a Monetization Program with Any Size Audience with Doug Sandler and Strickland Bonner. Doung and Strickland host the Nice Guys on Business show. Their website states they have over 1 million downloads, and they showed proof in their session, and I can verify they are not lying. They explained a new strategy to grow your customers using your podcast. Because Of My Podcast: Stephanie Logan 8:35 Stephanie does the DC Diary show (sharing stories of DC Professionals) and she explains how Because of her podcast she was able to transition from a job that was more policy to now working in Media and communications Interviewing Your Potential Customers - The Power Of Podcasting 11:05 I have said one of the benefits of starting a podcast is people who would normally not give you the time of day, now will sit down to talk with you on a podcast. We've seen people use the power of being part of the media to partner with events and get access to vendors.  Interviewing people that you want to start a partnership with is a solid way of breaking the ice.  Doug repeated his main point, You have to reverse your thinking and focus on the guest, and identify people who would be a good client for your business. This was an interesting idea.  One example in the session was someone who did a show about visiting the national parks. This is a hard show to monetize outside of a guidebook, or maybe mosquito spray. Doug said you should find the person who is in charge of the national parks budget, and have them on as a guest. They would know alot about the National Parks. When the interview is done you could mention that the show takes a lot of effort, and to keep going needs to find a sponsor and see if they would be interested in sponsoring the show (I would twist that and ask them if they knew anybody who would be interested in sponsoring the show). Again, interesting. I know consultants Natalie Echtal and Katie Krimitsos who have offered discounted coaching calls with the knowledge that the call may be used on the podcast. This provides content for the audience (as you help to solve the problems of your target audience) and shows off your expertise.  So Doug pointed out that if you were a coach, you might interview people who need a coach. This does get a little confusing. If someone needs a coach, then one might think they aren't that successful (cause they need a coach), and with that in mind,  if it's not a live coaching call, what kind of content does that create? This is where this idea goes a little south for me. It's the part where you have to put your brain on backward.  What if you target customer is a prime prospect, but a horrible guest? If you've listened to my show (or Moondog Marketing) I am all about content, content, content. This is not focused on the audience, or the downloads, it is focused on getting in front of your target customer. They said their conversion rate was around 20%. For every 10 guests, they would get two new clients. This really goes against my main ideas, and I asked, "What if you guest/future client is boring?" They answered that they did their best to create good content.  They then also stated there was a vetting process. They don't let "just anyone" get on the microphone.  I left the session scratching my head a bit and realized I would need to listen to an episode to maybe complete my opinion. Their show is well produced and has a fair amount of comedy built in. Maybe a bit too much for my taste as I was five minutes in and they were still having a "how the sausage is made" discussion about the show's publishing schedule (which for me was boring as watching paint dry) and I never made it to their interview. Maybe I'll go back later. There is more to their strategy, and in my opinion, it's slightly sketchy. I've invited Doug Sandler to come on so we could have a dialogue about. We'll save that for a future episode. Questions of the Month 22:09 I need your answers to: What will you be doing differently in 2018? If you could only listen to one show, what would it be, where and what is it, and WHY is it your favorite (be sure to tell us about you too) Deadline is 11/20/17 How to NOT Make Money with Podcasting 24:34 Jessica Kupferman from JKM Agency (which recently merged with a new agency) comes with a story of how to NOT MAKE MONEY with a podcast. In this example, a podcaster knew they were going to start a campaign for a product. The campaign was going to start in the next episode. The podcaster covered ALL the competition of the sponsor in the current episode.  The sponsor saw the post and asked, "Are they sponsoring the show?" As you might imagine they might wonder why they have to PAY for exposure while their competition did not. While you're always in control of your content, when sponsors get involved you may want to tread lightly around certain topics.  Start Podcasting With Any of the Three Resources 28:00 One on one Podcast Consulting (Quick and specific to your podcast questions) Join the School of Podcasting (Step by step tutorials, private Facebook group, priority email support, and live group coaching) Podcasting in Six Weeks - Live Group Coaching for Six Weeks starting in January 2018, plus a year membership at the School of Podcasting Mentioned In This Show Moondog Marketing episode discussing the importance of content Good Grief Podcast The Story Behind podcast Epodcast Productions  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

Today we are talking with Mark Deal who has grown Podcast Atlanta to over 500 members (www.podatl.com). We get great tips on growing a local meetup, tips, and resources for better interviews, and how is creating podcasts for a living.  How Long Does it Take Until Your Show Catches On? George Hrab answered this question on his Geologic podcast, and George told me a long time ago that if I ever want to use a clip I could. George's show spotlights his life as the drummer of the Philadelphia Funk Authority, but also features George's Skeptic point of view with highlights on Science as well as the "Religious Moron of the Week." George mentions that you shouldn't start a podcast to "be something" but instead make it because you can make something cool, interesting and fun. Make a podcast because you have a different point of view and it needs to be heard. It took him two years before an absolute stranger mentioned they listened to the show. As George says, "You're making something and that is more than most people." Growing Your Local Meetup Group Mark Deal runs podcast Atlanta and in 18 months his group has grown to 500+ members. In today's discussion you hear: Not all 500 show up at the same time The different formats of meeting he uses What he's doing to grow the group What didn't work in regards to growing the group How a meetup group is not exactly the same a growing a podcast How to pick a location How he offsets the price of running the meetup group How he got Gordon Firemark to come to a meetup The typical breakdown of a meeting How often they meet, and how they stay connected between meetings. The pros and cons of Meetup vs a Facebook Group The kind of "Special Events" they have Podcast Guest Experts and the Podcast Editors Facebook Groups What has happened because of hosting a podcaster's meetup (18:00) Podcast Studio Certifications, and what he feels every studio should have How he is making a living with podcasting Having Alcohol at events Other platforms he uses in addition to Faceboook, and Meetup. (Eventbrite.com ) He makes money from Podcasting not Podcasters Why he uses Steve Stewart to edit his show Check out Mark at www.podatl.com Podcasting in Six Weeks Starts January 2018 Six weeks of group coaching and personalized attention 1 Year Subscription to the School of Podcasting Private Facebook Group Be in the relevant Podcasting Directories by February Direct access to me / Priority Email Support Focus Group to Help Shape Your Idea Your Podcast will Sound Great  Erase Your Fear of "Sounding Stupid" Go to www.podcastinginsixweeks.com for more information. Class Size is limited. Want a more leisurely pace, check out the School of Podcasting. Mentioned on This Show Gordon Firemark (Entertainment Lawyer) Author Inside You Podcast Eventbrite.com (ticketing for evens) Social Media Marketing World Podfest.us DC PodfestMentioned 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

Because of My Podcast, I Will Be Attending A Taping of the Black List Television Show - Troy Heinritz 1:58 Troy Heinritz has had story after story when it comes to his Black List Exposed show. He recently won a podcast award, and now was called by Sony to attend the taping of the 100th episode the Black List. Troy was on the Ask the Podcast Coach show and talked about he when he gets these opportunities, he prepares and delivers, and consequently keeps getting more opportunities. Check out his show at www.goldensprialmedia.com Questions of the Month 3:00 I need the answer to two questions by November 13th 2017. What will you be doing differently in 2018 with your podcast? What is your favorite podcast (if you could only pick 1)? What is it, what is it about? where is it? and most importantly WHY is your favorite? (be sure to mention your show as well). I need your answers by November 13th, 2017. For more information go to www.schoolofpodcasting.com/contact  Embracing the Experience Gap 4:52 When podcasters first start, they put a lot of thought into their launch (sometimes too much), and they get their show out and into Apple Podcasts and the other directories.  Then they do one thing that can really knock the passion out of them: they compare themselves to others.  They want to know how many downloads other shows get, and start to focus on other podcasters instead of focusing on their audience.  Back to the Woodshed I've played the guitar since I was 11. When I got done with school I would deliver my papers to my paper route, eat dinner, and my friend would come over and we would play guitar for hours. We weren't very good. We weren't taking lessons, and I was learning to play lead by trying to recreate the sounds I heard on albums.  In other words, I would study music, and then practice, practice, practice, until I could play it. The music that was produced on the path to "getting it" was not pretty. I have hours of tapes of us playing Ted Nugent's Stranglehold for hours. Each of us would take turns soloing over the top of it.  I recorded these so I could evaluate my process. I never intended to release them to the public. You can do the same with your podcast. Record a couple test shows for evaluation. How Can Podcasters Get Better? Podcasters get better by podcasting. I know that sounds stupid, but there is no way to know if you're content is good unless you get it in front of your target audience.  You can also study other podcasts and entertainment. You see podcasting is part of the entertainment industry. Sure some of it is educational. Then again so is Sesame Street, and it's pretty entertaining.  I recently watched a documentary on Steven Spielberg. Spielberg got turned down to be in the USC film school due to grades. He would take a tour of Universal Studios, and when the bus stopped for a bathroom break he would sneak away and watch people like Alfred Hitchcock direct.  One of his first films  (Amblin 1968 ) was geared toward studio executives to show he was not a normal independent filmmaker. - he knew his audience, and it worked it got him hired. As the youngest director under contract, he was a bit of a novelty item, so he had to prove himself over and over. One famous director pulled Steven aside and said, "There are days you will go on the set and have no idea what you're doing. Your job is to make sure the cast doesn't know that. The film interviewed Richard Dreyfuss who sais he was hired on the third day of the Movie Jaws. He said they didn't have a script, and they didn't have a shark. Steven decided to the movie on the ocean instead of a back lot of a movie studio.  In fact, the first shark doesn’t appear until one hour and 21 minutes into the two-hour film. This was partly due to the mechanical sharks they built didn't work. The cost was 225,000. So you'll notice the use of barrels moving instead of the shark. You didn't need to see the shark. Just the music and the thought of the shark made it scary. The sharks were smaller than expected so they hired shorter actors to be next to the shark. The line, "“You’re going to need a bigger boat" was improvised. Jaws became the first motion picture to gross more than $100 million and won three Academy Awards (for Best Sound, Best Film Editing, and Best Original Dramatic Score). So how did Steven Spielberg get getter? Jaws had come in way over budget, and instead of taking 55 days, it took 159. His next two films also came in way over budget. This actually stopped from studios from working with him. Yes, he was making a lot of money at the box office, but his integrity was on the line and he improved.  As podcasters we are storytellers. The only way we can get better is to keep podcasting. Final Lessons In the same way that Steven Spielberg didn't have all the equipment he wanted, you can make great content without having the top of the line equipment.  Your next episode should be better than your previous one. You will get more confident, and your skills will improve.  The only way to get better at any skill is to do it.  Don't be distracted by other podcaster's success. Keep working to improve your own skills (keep woodshedding). The Best Compliment a Podcaster Can Receive 24:20 For me, to have someone say that I am the same off the mic as I am off the mix is a huge compliment. This happened to me when Jim Collison from theaverageguy.tv was a guest on the Podcast Junkies Show. They talk about Jim's background, a bit about his network, working with me, and how Jim balances his podcast and his life.  Its a great interview, and Harry Durran is a great interviewer.  My First Impression with Squarespace 28:42 I was under the assumption that the Squarespace platform for building a website was so easy that the site almost built itself. I've head a million commercials about it. I decided to try it for my Podcasting in Six Weeks Course.  While it is flexible, it is more or less a "page builder" tool. I've seen these on WordPress like Divi From Elegant Themes. The Second Line theme I mentioned comes with a page builder. Squarespace is not that different. You add an element to a page and edjust the properties of that item. I was surprised there weren't more elements. While they had enough elements to make most websites, you can look at it two ways, "hooray I'm not overwhelmed with the choices," or "Hey where is the FAQ template?"  I was surprised that I couldn't change the background color of different elements. The biggest complaint is they have an e-commerce tool. This ties in with Paypal and Stripe. Both of those tools take about three percent plus a transaction fee. This is normal. What is not normal is Squarespace takes an additional three percent. When you are talking about products that are four figures, that can be a chunk of change you are paying to keep people on your website (instead of sending them to another page to check out).  The bottom line is everyone says this is super drag and drop easy, and while it is easy to drag and drop, to really adjust customize items, there are lots of little boxes that pop up based on where you click. While I didn't expect zero learning curve, the onboarding process was not as easy as expected.  Speed up Podcast Production 36:20 If you're on a pc, you can add a folder to the quick access area (left column) of the File Explorer Window. Go to the folder you want to access all the time, and right-click and choose Pin To Quick Access." Now you will see it on the left-hand side. You can remove it by right-clicking on it and choose "unpin from quick access." This avoids you having to "Drill down" by double-clicking on folder after folder to get to that folder. Mentioned In This Episode The School of Podcasting Podcasting in Six Weeks (Early Bird Special Ends December 1st) Podcast Junkies Show Squarespace Elegant Themes Divi Second Line Podcast ThemesMentioned 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

The Essential Items For Your Podcast Website Let me state, that this has nothing to do with Wordpress vs Wix vs Squarespace. These are the items that I feel should be on your website (and why) A Play Button Think of this as a free sample. If someone is going to subscribe to your show, they need to hear it first. This is why there is a guy with the chicken on a toothpick at the mall. It is the teaser, the free sample of your podcast with no commitment to buy. A Contact Button/Page I'm not making this up. I just read an article in Pod to Pod, and I read a story about a podcaster that might have a good "Because of My Podcast" story. There wasn't any contact button at the top, bottom, left, or right side of the screen. It wasn't on the about page, it wasn't there. The only way to contact the person was via twitter. Being somewhat of a geek, I pulled up his RSS feed and dug through the code to find it. Realize, nobody is going to dig through your RSS feed to get your email address. Make your contact button easy to find, and don't get cute and name it something like "Let's get coffee." Be sure to test your button/page to make sure you get the messages from your website. Your About Page There are two answers here. If your website is primarily the home of your podcast then the first paragraph should be about the show. If your website is the home of your brand (products, press, etc) then the first paragraph should be about the host. Then a second paragraph about the show. In my travels, the about page is one of the pages that receive the most traffic. If you've been podcasting for a bit and have some reviews, take some of the phrases used by your audience and use it in your about page (use the native tongue of your audience). Subscribe Buttons We all love to talk about iTunes/Apple Podcasts, as we should. They have a huge amount of the market. There are android phones as well and it's a bit of a chicken or the egg. More podcasts are consumed on Apple products than Android. Well, most podcasters talk about subscribing on Apple products (and leave the android people out to dry). If Google would get off their butt and make a native app for podcast listeners that would be great (they did just purchase the 60 db app). So make sure people can subscribe to your show. You REALLY want to avoid telling people to "Find me in iTunes." Extra Credit Don't just make a subscribe page, but add directions with screenshots. You could even do a quick presentation on YouTube Live on how to subscribe to your show, and then send people to the video on YouTube. There is more power in subscriptions than reviews. Because Of My Podcast Scott Orr  is Going to the Movies for Free Scott Orr does the Code 3 Podcast and was approached by the people behind the new movie Only the Brave. Check out Scott's podcast for Firemen at code3podcast.com Not sure what is up with Scott's voice? Check out the first 30 seconds of his show at code3podcast.com Always Be Open For New Input I've heard reports from one person or another. Anything on the internet that is repeated enough becomes an undeniable fact. With this in mind, I always stay open to new feedback. I always consider the source and always allow new ideas to challenge my beliefs. If I'm going to believe something, it is typically based on things I believe to be facts. Beliefs are based on input and your ideas and feelings (your feelings can skew the input). Actions are based on beliefs. Beliefs are based on perceived facts. Facts are based on input into your brain. For example, I don't like coconut. Any candy bar with coconut, I'm not a fan. The one day someone handed me a drink. I wasn't sure what it was, it was supposed to some drink better than soda. It was white. It turned out it was some sort of vanilla coconut mix. I have input. I now can say, I don't like something that is predominantly coconut, but I don't mind it mixed with vanilla. You have to be open to someone challenging a belief (I don't like coconut) and taking a look at the other side of the story (having a sip). Then allowing that information to influence your beliefs, which then influence your actions. I co-host a show called the "Podcast Review Show" where you can get your show reviewed, and in the past we've had people who were NOT open to ANY feedback New and Noteworthy Insights I've been begging people to share their before and after numbers if they got into New and Noteworthy and that is just what Matthew McClain did on this post about downloads from Apple He states before being on the Front Page of New and Noteworthy, "In this period we had an average of 71 downloads per day." This is with two episodes (36 downloads per episode - DPE) On their first day, the traffic went, "from 26 total downloads the day before (our lowest day ever) to 241." (122 DPE) He does say, "We released episode two on the 8th which pretty much doubled the recent total downloads to 1,447" (so he now had three episodes counting his trailer) (482DPE) One day they reached 1,928 downloads for the day (1928/3 = 642 DPE) He states, " At the time of writing, episode one has 6,978 downloads, episode two 6,161, and episode three 2,295. So 37% of listeners followed the podcast from episode two to episode three. According to VP of Podcast Relations Rob Walch when it comes to iTunes/Apple Podcasts rankings, "“100% about the total number of new subscribers in the past 7 days, with a weighted average for the last 24, 48, and 72 hours” Things to Consider This was on the FRONT PAGE of iTunes/Apple Podcasts  New and Noteworthy (not a category) Their genre may fit a wider audience than yours. If you don't make New and Noteworthy, your life is not over. iTunes/Apple Podcasts is a directory, a phone book if you will. It is a central location where people can put in the full name of your show and do a search. Plays From Your Website Add Up Ravi Jayagopal (the man behind Digital Access Pass, and the Cool Cast Player along with being the host of the Subscribe Me show sent a link to a post. Last week I mentioned how there are a ton of players out there, but the majority of downloads come via mobile devices. In his post, he pointed out that: A player on a website is more suitable for "introducing" someone to your podcast - not necessarily for long-term consumption. Introduce on your site, lead them to subscribe on a mobile app on your actual show. Promote your website to cold and luke-warm traffic, like ad traffic and social-spraying content marketing, so you can cookie/pixel them for later retargeting, promote your brand, show them your face, maybe connect with them with a personable video, offer them your lead-magnet and get them to maybe give your their email id, etc etc. But once they're on your list, promote Apple Podcast and Stitcher and Google Play links to those already on your "list", because they don't need to be "convinced" or "converted" anymore about the value that you provide. Here is a link to the Facebook Post. He shows how he is getting thousands of new plays on different websites. Launching Your Podcast With a Massive Amounts of Downloads Most good ideas are not a single thought. A single idea comes up, and someone says, "You know what else, you might try this..." I always want people to know that: When you launch with more than one episode, the additional episodes do not download automatically. New and Noteworthy will not deliver you 10,0000 downloads per episode (if that is the goal) While you should focus on generating buzz when you launch, a podcast is a marathon and not a sprint. Some Reasons Why You Might Not Want to Launch with a Ton (25) New Episodes If you record 25 episodes and find out at episode two that people hate your super jumbo deluxe lightning round, they have to sit through 23 episodes (unless you go back and edit them) until you put out a "new" episode with the changes. You might pre-fade. What I mean by this is you never make it to episode 25 because you aren't seeing the downloads, getting any feedback, and so you quit before you ever launch. People will need to go and download your earlier episodes. By default, they will download your latest episode, and then manually download 1-24. Some Reasons Why Might Want to Launch with 25 You maybe have found your voice by episode 25, and with episode 26 you sound more confident, organized and professional. Maybe it's not such a bad idea. If you can't come up with 25 episodes, maybe you shouldn't be podcasting? A Compromise on Launching Your Podcast with 25 Episodes Instead of putting all your 25 episodes out at the same time, release your episodes (one at a time) to your website, and to your feed. However, don't submit your show to any directories like iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn, Google Play music just yet. You can tell your friends if you want, but any traffic will come from people searching for your content via search engines. You might also use Facebook to assemble a "Focus Group" and ask people for feed. This way you can get feedback as you are creating it. When you get to a certain number where you feel confident your show will have a positive impact on your target audience, submit it to the directories, sound out an email blast, tell your friends, family, and neighbors, and do your "launch." Questions Of The Month I have two questions for you to chime in on. What will you be doing differently in 2018 with your podcast? (please answer by 11/20 put "2018" in the subject line to  email dave"at" schoolofpodcasting.com). This will be used the last week of November What is your ONE favorite podcast and WHY? (please email that by 11/20 with the email subject line "my favorite podcast is 2017").This will be used in our Year End "My favorite Podcast is" episode.  Podcasting in Six Weeks Starts in January 2018 This will be a live group coaching session. If you're interested (more information next week) get on the waiting list at startapodcastinsixweeks.com  Ready To Plan, Launch and Grow Your Podcast Now? Join the School of Podcasting risk-free with a 30-day money back guarantee Get Immediate Access: 16 courses you help you plan, launch and grow your podcast Private Facebook Grou Priority Email Support Live Group Coaching Calls (Twice a month)  Go to www.schoolofpodcasting.com/start  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

I was listening to the Book Feed the Muscle Burn the Fat and he relayed the story of a man at a Tony Robbins event (Tony is a major Business Guru). He told Tony that he had done EVERYTHING to grow his audience. Since he had tried everything Tony asked him, "Tell me the last 100 things you've tried." To this, the man answered, "Well I haven't tried 100 things." Tony then stated, "Then tell me the last 50 things." The man replied, "I haven't tried 50 things" Tony replied, "Then tell me the last 10 things you've tried." It turned out the man had tried about four things. We think we've tried everything, but there are more ways to connect with your audience, many of them that require just a little bit of time to setup up some technology. Today we need to look at ourselves in the mirror and ask, "Have I really done everything I can to promote my show, connect with my audience, and increase my reach? I think if we look deep into our hearts we know there is more. Here Is The Low Hanging Fruit Social media: You should be promoting your show on the social media channels. There are plugins such as social warfare. There are automation tools like Social Jukebox. Media hosts like Spreaker and Blubrry will publish your audio file as a video on YouTube. Spreaker will tweet out about your episode. Blubrry will create a sample of your show to tweet out and paste on Facebook. Libsyn will post to Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, iHeart Radio, LinkedIn, Blogger, Tumblr. Podcast Directories: There are four main directories you should be listed in. Apple Podcasts (formerly iTunes), Stitcher, TuneIn, and Google Play Music. Do You Have Subscribe Buttons On Your Site? One way to keep your numbers going up is to get people to subscribe. This includes buttons for ANDROID. Subscribeonandroid.com is a free site from blubrry where you can point people to that site (using your RSS feed) and if they don't have any apps to subscribe they will be prompted to download one. My friend Daniel J Lewis has a great plugin call Social Subscribe and Follow that creates amazing looking subscribe buttons Do You Have Share Buttons on Your Website? There are plugins (again I love social Warfare) that make it easy for your audience to tweet out your show. There are players like the coolcast player, the Smart Podcast Player, the Simple Podcast Press player. Don't get hung up too much on players as 80% of people are listening on on portable devices. With that said, can people share your episodes from their phone? Local Meetups I've had three people sign up for the School of Podcasting and I got to be on TV all from meeting local podcasters in Ohio. If you don't have a local meetup, do what I did. I created one. In the words of my friend Glenn "the Geek" Hebert, it's not who you know, it's who knows you. Check it out at www.meetup.com I run a local podcasters group for Northeast Ohio www.neohiopodcasters.com Reach Out to Other Similar Podcasts Some of my best friends are my "Competition." Daniel J. Lewis from the Audacity to Podcast, Ray Ortega who does the Podcasters Studio, Mike Dell works for Blubrry and does the Podcast Help Desk, there are others as well. Reach out to them and see if they'd like to co-host an episode or a segment, or be interviewed, or... or ... or.. Remember there really isn't any competition in podcasting. They can listen to you on Monday and your competition on another day of the week. It's not like radio where you are both on at the exact same time. Reach out to Businesses? If I did a show about weddings, I would reach out to every dress shop in the area and see if I could put some CDs at the check out for exchange for a link to their site, or a mention in the show. Go Record People at Events You can get a portable recorder for as little as $99 for the Zoom H1 or just use your phone. Then give these people your business card, and tell them they will be on a future episode. You do have business cards right? There are TONS of ideas Speaking of Daniel and Ray, we do a show together called the Podcasters Roundtable and we did an episode pointing out ways to promote your show (how to grow your audience from 100s to 1000s). The point here is you can't think about these ideas, you have to do them. In a recent (not safe for work) video Gary Vaynerchuck explained that he would Google his topic and connect every blog/podcast about his topic. He said 1 in every 347 will write your back, and that is better than zero. You Need to Quit Reading, Quit Watching, Quit Listening, and Start Doing If you're thinking of getting into podcasting, you can read articles, get confused cause some say to launch with 15 episodes, and some say (like me) it doesn't matter. Some say New and Noteworthy is the goal, and others (like me) say it's not that great. You can't improve what you don't start. How NOT to Make Money In Podcasting She's back! Jessica Kupferman runs the JKM Agency has a fun story today. In the same way that you learn new skills when you start podcasting, you will learn new skills when you take on a sponsor. You will need to learn how to read an advertisement. It's not as easy at it sounds. If you just read the bullet points, you can be boring. If you stray too far from the bullet points, you may forget to hit all the talking points. Today she talks about someone who had to redo an advertisement three times. The lesson is, read all the paperwork that comes with the sponsor. Know what you HAVE To say, know what you are ALLOWED to say, and then try to say it in an entertaining fashion. If you mess up, you don't get paid for that sponsor. For more information about getting a sponsor for your show check out Jessica at http://www.jkmagency.com Because of My Podcast Story Jessica Rhodes of Internet Connections had a live panel on her latest episodes. The people on the panel had been interviewed on other shows, as well as some have their own podcast. Becuase of their podcast: Getting interviewed has helped his public speaking ability 100 fold It has brought clarity about his message from telling his story so many times One guest was very nervous in the beginning, but in ten years he can trace back all his clients to podcasts and many of his best relationships Check out the episode at http://www.jessicarhodes.biz/ic023/ Where I Will Be October 21 I will be attending the Big Podcast Event in Nashville Tennessee. Use the coupon code SOP to save $50 on your ticket. November 10-11 I will be speaking at DC Podfest. My presentation will be "Is your podcast making these mistakes?" February 28 - March 2, 2018, I will be speaking at Social Media Marketing World February 8-10 2018, I will be at podfest.us  Mentioned in This Show Danny Pena Interview Jessica Kupferman Interview  Start a Podcast in Six Weeks (Starts 2018) Start Podcasting NOW Join the School of PodcastingMentioned 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

Simply Sound Company SS1 PreAmp Review While I've never used any preamps like the Triton Audio Fethead Microphone Preamp or the Cloudlifter CL-1, I was really impressed with the amazing amount of boost to the sound. The large dose of extra gain can make help a budget microphone/preamp combination sound clean and more professional. Some microphones such as the Heil Pr-40 and the Sure SM7B are known for really low outputs. This creates a situation where you have to turn the gain up on your mixer or recording device. This can leave the door open for added hiss depending on your mixer or recording device. The Simply Sound SS1 is designed for dynamic microphones only. More Clean Gain Triton Audio Fethead provides 27 db of clean gain with a price for $89 Cloudlifter CL-1 provides 25 db of clean gain for $149 The Simply Sound SS1 - provide 27 db of gain for $99 The Simply Sound website shows the Fethead at a $149 price tag, but at BNH, I show a price of $89 My Opinion As I had said, never using any preamp (besides the one in my mixer, and I've also used the DBX 286,  and the Aphex 230) even without a preamp, I never thought I sounded bad. With that said, the concept makes sense. I know that when I turn the gain up on any mixer there comes a point where noise is introduced. Using the SS1, I basically turned my gain all the way down. The construction is super rugged and resembles the Cloudlifeter all-metal casing (but cooler looking in black) you're not going to break this. You do need some phantom power (so a typical route might be to plug your microphone into the SS1. Then plug the ss1 into your mixer. The mixer would need to have the Phantom Power Turned on. For my recording today I had my EV Re320 going into the SS1 and that went directly into the Zoom H5. It was an amazing amount of boost. How I did the test. I set my levels using the H5 recorded some audio, removed the SS1 from the chain, and plugged it back into my Zoom H5 without touching any knobs. Do you NEED this? As with all things podcasting, it depends. If you're happy with your audio, no. If you struggle to get enough signal into your recorder, or the sound has a fair amount of noise, then this is well worth the money. Check it out at simplysound.co Second Line Podcasting WordPress Theme I no longer recommend Appendipity themes. This is a theme I loved and have on most of my websites. The face of the company Joey Kissimmee was last seen online in late 2016, and they are no longer replying to any support emails that I send. Unfortunately, this is not the first time I've done this. Semiologic was a cool theme until Thesis came out. Then they went from needing no knowledge of code to having to know a ton of code. I really like Appendipity themes as there was a lot of flexibility (and no need for knowledge of code). I love the Divi theme, but they come close to having too much flexibility and people can get overwhelmed because it does everything (and the learning curve can be a bit large). Divi is a well-managed theme, with a huge community and awesome support. You can join Elegant Themes (the creators of Divi) for $89 a year. I did the one time fee of $249 for lifetime access. In addition to their themes, they have some cool plugins. One thing I just discovered is when you purchase a Second Line Theme, you can only use it on one website. This puts it int the "Depends" situation. The good news there is a one time fee. On the Evanto market, it shows six months of support with extended support for $17.63 a year. If you have multiple sites (for me I have at least four) that can add up ($59 X 4 = $236). Second Line Theme Support So far Second Line support has been great answering all my questions. The theme I'm using (Dixie) is skewing my featured image. When I informed this of the problem, they told me exactly what to do if I wanted to edit some files. The means you're going to need to understand FTP, and not be afraid to edit some code (always make a backup of any files you are editing when it comes to theme code). I was surprised that the theme allowed a featured image to be skewed disproportional as I don't know ANY designer that would allow an image to be reshaped (and if you have any text on your image it makes it blurry). The Power Of Elementor While the Second Line theme makes it easy to set colors, headers, and the theme seems to make it possible to adjust everything (except a skewing featured image...) what I also found amazing was a free plugin that they recommend you use (and they have some built-in features for it ) called Elementor. This is an open source page builder (That looks a lot like, Divi). This will work with most themes, and its a super easy drag and drop page builder. The cool thing is you can use that plugin on any theme.  Always Consider Your Source I hear people that advise new podcasters and they try to sell people packages and strategies that work for them. The problem is they are not you. For example, as I have multiple websites, I might lean toward Divi over Second Line. If you had one website, then a like Dixie or Satchmo might be just the trick if you only have one website. It might be a better fit for you. What Is Up With Libsyn Stats? Libsyn rolled out new stats back on September 18th. Here are our blog posts that go over the stats changes: https://blog.libsyn.com/2017/09/18/stats-overhaul-iab-compliance-podcasts-stats-libsyn-company-announcement/ https://blog.libsyn.com/2017/09/18/libsyn-stats-overhaul-need-know/ NOTE:  Libsyn sent out an email to all Libsyn users on September 18th - if you did not see that email - you might want to check your spam folder.  It would have gone to the email registered to your Libsyn account. Rob Walch  also talked about it more on our latest episode of the Libsyn Podcast: http://thefeed.libsyn.com/105-stats-follow-up-and-apple-podcasts-feed-tags The conversation starts right after the promo at the 52 Minute mark. My Poker Game Analogy Picture yourself at a poker game (a really, really big table) Ben Robins, Audible.com Lindsay Lawrence, WideOrbit Ilwira Marciszek, AdLarge Media Eurry Kim, New York Public Radio Earl Swigert, WideOrbit Yukifumi Touya, Digital Advertising Consortium Inc. Hirofumi Kanda, Cyber Communications Inc. Dan Misener, Pacific Content Mohammad Al-Abdullah, RhythmOne Jose Alvarez Muguerza, BlogTalkRadio John Zoephel, Pandora Kevin McCaul, Acast Stories USA John Rosenius, Acast Stories USA Ilham Elkatani, DoubleVerify Steve Mulder, National Public Media Stephen Haptonstahl, National Public Media Candace Williams, BlogTalkRadio David Marple, Triton Digital Conrad Trautmann, Westwood One Robert Peterson, Westwood One Bob Charish, BlogTalkRadio Jason Cox, Slate Bosko Milekic, AdGear Technologies, Inc. Francois Fortin, AdGear Technologies, Inc. Andy Toh, BlogTalkRadio Bruno Nieuwenhuys, Adswizz Inc Rob Walch, Libsyn Joel Withrow, Slate Erik Barraud, Adswizz Inc Erik Diehn, Midroll Media Robert Freeland, Podtrac Dan Jeselsohn, New York Public Radio Angelo Mandato, RawVoice Hugo Martel, Triton Digital Tim Clarke, Cox Media Group Greg Batusic, PodcastOne Hernan Lopez, Wondery LLC Allan Bressler, CBS Local Norm Pattiz, PodcastOne Kit Gray, PodcastOne Jim Kott, WideOrbit Rob Kass, Nielsen Millie Mrvica, Westwood One Jaime Singson, Sizmek Kelli Hurley, Westwood One Brian Lynch, Westwood One Ryan Granner, ESPN.com Joe Mead, ESPN.com Skyler Tobey, ESPN.com Jennifer Susalis, CBS Local Silvia Mihailescu, Adswizz Inc Stefan Olson, Minnesota Public Radio Karim Rayes, RhythmOne Todd Cochrane, RawVoice Jean-Luc Wasmer, Triton Digital Peter deVroede, Midroll Media Todd Pringle, Midroll Media Yi Huang, Condé Nast Gregg Rogers, Sizmek Alixandra Liner, New York Public Radio Brett Robinson, National Public Media The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) empowers the media and marketing industries to thrive in the digital economy. Its membership is comprised of more than 650 leading media and technology companies that are responsible for selling, delivering, and optimizing digital advertising or marketing campaigns. They were up to deal the next hand and they stated that "downloads are wild" and everyone went "WHAT?" at the table and they didn't want downloads to be wild. For the industry to be able to move forward, the table had to come together and decide on what would constitute a download. Their answer can be seen in this report. They are currently working on a second version.  If you were going to "Sit at the table" you had to agree to the terms and they all did. Much like when the music industry went from Cassettes to CD's it was a pain. This meant we had to buy all of our favorite music again. But the audio was better. As a music listener, I had no choice but to buy a CD player. It's the way the industry went. Could Libsyn communicate better? I guess so, there is always room for improvement. It gets tough as no podcast company is going to peel back the curtain 100% as if they tell you how they do their stats, you open the door for people to game the system. I personally don't know the formula (I just help you "drive the car" as a Libsyn support person, I don't build it). This is similar to the guy who throws the chicken in the Fryer at KFC. He knows hows to cook the chicken but has no idea what the 11 herbs and spices are. The numbers are lower as the INDUSTRY (remember to poker table above) decided to move toward a number closer to the unique downloads This is an Industry-Wide Situation I did a test over the last few weeks, and I released an episode that had tracking from Libsyn, Podtrac, and Blubrry. In a recent episode of Podcast Ninja, Todd Cochrane explained how years ago Podtrac, Blubrry, and Libsyn came up with specs for an organization for the Association of Downloadable Media (it starts at the 11:44  mark ). So for years, Podtarac, Blubrry, and Libsyn were close in numbers. Fast forward to today and due to how apps are now consuming media it appears that the larger the file size, the greater your numbers were being inflated. So last week I sent out a file that I encoded at 320 kbps (DO NOT DO THIS) and here are my numbers after 24 hours. Libsyn: 1193 Podtrac: 991 Blubrry 1748 If you click into the episode on Blubrry you will see the number of 1247 unique downloads which is closer to the IAB standard that Libsyn and Blubrry are using. You Didn't Lose Your Audience I know it is quite a blow to your ego to have the total number of downloads decline, in some cases, people are losing large amounts of their audience. The truth is the same people that listened to your last episode are listening to your current episode. The way it is reported is different. In a way, it's like if we all told time in minutes. There were 1440 minutes in a day, and then everyone decided to tell time in hours and agreed there are 60 minutes in an hour. So now there are 24 hours in a day. That sounds like a lot less than 1440, but I didn't lose any time. I just changed the way I report it. Obviously, those who have CPM deals with advertisers are in a completely different situation. Remember that some of the people on the IAB technical board were from companies like Midroll, Adswizz and other advertising companies. It doesn't make it any better, but they should have an idea of why this is happening as they were they during the planning. Yes it Sucks As I said, any time your numbers go down, it hurts. Hang in there, they will go back up (if you look at the Edison research on podcast listenership on the graph there is one year where it shows the numbers went down - why? They changed the criteria). In the long run, the podcast industry will benefit from this move. It Will Get Better I was recently in the Libsyn headquarters in Pittsburgh PA, and I got a brief tour of the new stats. It looked very impressive as libsyn continues to bring you the best media hosting in the industry. Use the coupon code sopfree. Start Podcasting in Six Weeks  I'm bringing back the six-week group coaching class where we meet live on Saturdays and we walk through the whole process. You can start with zero, and by the end of February have a well researched, properly planned, properly executed podcast. To be first in line go to www.startpodcastinginsixweeks.com Where Will I Be? Big Podcasts - Nashville, TN October 21st I will be attending the Big Podcast Event put on by David Hooper and Rik Roberts about growing your audience in Nashville Tennessee see bigpodcasts.com DC Pofest - Washing DC November 10-11, 2017 I will be in DC at DCPodfest speaking on "Is Your Podcast Making These Mistakes?" Podfest Multimedia Expo - Orlando Fl February 8-10 I will be presenting at the Podfest Multimedia Expo in Orlando Florida see podfest.us Social Media Marketing World - San Diego, CA The ultimate event on Social Media. I will be leading a panel on Podcast Monetization See Social Media Marketing World Ready to Start Podcasting Now? Step by step tutorials Private Facebook Group Priority Email Support Live Group Coaching $49/month or get two free months when you sign up for a year. Go to www.schoolofpodcasting.com/startMentioned 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