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

Today on the School of Podcasting we talk content marketing, why podcasting is a perfect tool for this strategy, and how to overcome one of the biggest hurdles for those needing interaction on their website. Podcast Rewind 2:15 I appeared on the Maximize Excellence show with Joe Hicks. Joe walks you through an Ideology of the four pillars of excellence. I really liked the show, and Joe (a graduate of the School of Podcasting) is doing a great job. Check it out at www.maximizeexcellence.com  or subscribe in iTunes. Because of Podcasting 5:20 I have read the book, Epic Content Marketing: How to Tell a Different Story, Break through the Clutter, and Win More Customers by Marketing Less: How to Tell a Different Story, ... and Win More Customers by Marketing Less and it had some great stories of content marketing. There was a blacksmith that worked with farmers. He would listen to them complain about how mud would get stuck on their plow. He later invented a plow made of steel that the mud didn't stick to. He listened to his audience and gave them what they needed. In 1885, he started a magazine called The Furrow. The purpose of the magazine was to  educate farmers on new technology and how they could be more successful business owners and farmers (thus, content marketing). The Furrow was not filled with promotional messages and self-serving content. It was developed by thoughtful journalists, storytellers, and designers, and covered topics that farmers cared about deeply. The goal of the content was to help farmers become more prosperous and, of course, profitable. Now, 120 years later, The Furrow is still going strong. It is the largest circulated farming magazine in the world, delivered monthly to over 1.5 million farmers, in 12 languages to 40 different countries. Who was this blacksmith? John Deere, he was quite an inventor. You may have heard of his tractors. 1900: Michelin develops The Michelin Guide. This 400-page guide, now with its iconic red cover, helps drivers maintain their cars and find decent lodging. In its first edition, 35,000 copies were distributed for free. 1904: Jell-O recipe book pays off. Jell-O distributes free copies of a recipe book that contributes to sales of over $ 1 million by 1906. 1913: Burns & McDonnell Engineering launch BenchMark. This Kansas City engineering and consulting firm still produces its award-winning BenchMark magazine to this day. 1930's Proctor and Gamble started making radio dramas. This was an extremely successful strategy. It often would feature ads for Duz and Oxydol detergents. Later these would move to Television. Many people refer to them as Soap Operas. Your podcast could be the next Furrow. You use your podcast to build your brand. You use it to gain the trust of your audience. You build a relationship with your audience. Then later you can capitalize on that relationship. So content marketing is not new, but it can be tricky   Podcasting Boosts Grades 12: 52 Craig from Ingleaspodcast.com shared a story on the Ask the Podcast Coach on how he had students do extra homework by listening to podcasts. The other in the class did not. Those who reinforced their learning with podcasting had better grades.  He did have one student who originally did not listen to the podcasts (but his grades had improved). Later, he confessed he had been listening to the podcasts. Using Content Upgrades In Your Podcast 19:08 A content upgrade offers extra value on the initial article or content. It typically is a downloadable, email-gated piece that strikes while the proverbial iron is hot. For podcasters maybe the price of admission is not an email address, but simply a click to get back to your site, where you can then get them to subscribe, click, etc. Great Example Scott Johnson does the Computer Tutor Podcast. It is one of my favorites. It's around 5 minutes, and Scott brings cool tips that even as someone who was teaching software for a living for 20+ years, I learned things. Well in his last episode he did something that appears similar to a content upgrade. He explained that if you type in http://netflix.com/browse/genre/xxxxx  that XXX can be a category number that can range from Action & Adventure: 1365 to  Zombie Horror Movies: 75405  while this is helpful, if you don't have the category numbers you're stuck. So where do you go to get those category numbers? You guessed it Scott's Computer Florida Website So what does this do. You only get people on your website who really want this information. Casual Netflix users may not care. Me? I do a lot of Netflix, so I was all over it. So I went over, and I checked out some music-related categories, and then I went to documentaries. There it was. The documentary Alive Inside. Have you seen it? IT'S AMAZING. Check this out. So I find this MIND BLOWING MOVIE, and who gets credit? Scott Johnson from the Computer Tutor Podcast. I challenge you. Yes, you. I challenge you Netflix users to watch the movie Alive Inside and NOT tell someone about it. When I talk about creating content that makes people talk about your show, that's the kind of information I'm talking about. Being Real Can Inspire Real Results 33:00 In some cases, just being real can catch people off guard. Our world is one where lies are the native tongue of our politicians. When we hear someone be brutally honest, it can really catch us off guard. On Episode 701 of the WTF podcast with Marc Maron, he talks about dealing with grief as he prepares to go to a funeral and reflects on the death of Prince. He explained how he deals with his feelings, and how it's easy to ignore your feelings. He explained how it's better to deal with your feelings. It sounded as if he was at times fighting back tears. Then on episode 702 he reads a letter on how Marc sharing his feelings, and being honest, allowed someone to better deal with his grief, and to deal with a situation he is going through. It's not always about downloads and CPM rates. Sometimes, it's about connecting with people and leaving the world a better place.   Money Making Strategy for Those Promoting Kickstarter Campaigns 37:38 If you are ever promoting kickstart campaigns on your show (like Rob Today in iOs) you might want to check out kickbooster.me Here is how it works. Become a Booster to get immediate access of hundreds of crowdfunding campaigns in the Kickbooster Marketplace that are offering a reward for helping spread the word about their campaign. Choose the ones you want to promote, blog, post, and tweet about them, and get paid for your efforts. You earn 10% on all successful referrals. You can even earn 10% cashback on your own pledge Mentioned in this Show Podcast Review Show More Podcast Money Kindle Book Sign up for the Newsletter Podcasting Puzzle (Podcasting 101 Webinar)  

In this episode we are joined by Lawyer Gordon Firemark who produces multiple podcasts that include, Entertainment Industry Insights, Entertainment Law Update, and  The Law Podcasting as well as his own course that teachers lawyers how to podcast at Lawpodcasting.com. He is the author of the book The Podcast, Blog & New Media Producer's Legal Survival Guide: An essential resource for content creators (amazon) or if you want the pdf of the book go to http://www.podcastlawbook.com/ Today we talk about: How Gordon got into entertainment law How to register a trademark. How a trademark is your brand. Here is the US Patent and Trademark Office Website  www.uspto.gov Understanding Copyright When is it OK to play music in your podcast? How do you avoid being sued for slander? Fair Use (Gordan has a great video about this on YouTube) Tips on Negotiating contacts Dave explains how he got fined for using an image from images.google.com (so yes, you can get busted) How to avoid "Defaming" someone. Release forms. podcastrelease.com is a free example (email address required). How he found his co-host. How lawyers are using podcasting to get more clients. Affiliate links. copyright.gov dmca agent Gordon (like Dave) recommends the Audio Technica 2100  microphone   Because of My Podcast Dave Hooper of Red Podcast- I am Much Smoother on the Microphone when I'm doing promos for my radio show Ryan K park of Foodcraftsmen.com was much more confident when he appeared on the local news   Question For the Audience I've heard about Manage WP and CMS Commander, InfiniteWP,  WPRemote, iContrlWP,  iThemes Sync, but I've never used any. If you have any insights I would love to hear them. If you have any insights that would allow you to update multiple sites from one location (and I'm not looking to get into WordPress Multi-site ). Free Podcasting Puzzle Webinars The  Ultimate Podcasting 101 Live Webinar I will be holding three webinars as we prepare for registration to open at the School of Podcasting June 1. It's call "Understanding the Podcasting Puzzle" and you can sign up to get the links to the LIVE not pre-recorded) webinars. Here are the dates to attend: Saturday May 21 1 - 2 PM EST Wednesday May 25th 8-9 PM EST Saturday May 28th 1 -2 PM EST Go to podcastingpuzzle.com for more information on attending.    

Because of My Podcast: A Veteran Got a Home Robert Kerns produces the Living the Vet life. He had a mortgage specialist on his show. He was contacted by someone in another state (again, podcasting is global) and the mortgage specialist was able to get the listener in contact with another specialist and the veteran was able to get his loan with a special VA Home Loan rate. None of this would have happened, but it did because of hist podcast. Check out Rob at livingthevetlife.com If Podcasting Was A Sport. I live in Cleveland. A fairly famous sports town. Famous, for not quite being good enough. We were 1 pitch away from winning the world series. Two yards away from going to the Super Bowl. Over the years the Cleveland Browns Football team has taken over leading the pack of bad sports teams in Cleveland. Every few years we fire our coaches and their staffs. Our players get suspended. Our coaches stink when they are here, we fire them, and they win mutliple super bowls. What does this have to do with podcasting? Stick with me. In 2014 after having a miserable year the owners of the Cleveland Browns decided to work on the stadium. They installed: Massive, uniquely shaped video boards, Escalators that helped eliminate congestion and a cranked-up audio system The quote was they hoped these items "Improved the fan experience." The next year they added more concessions and better lighting. The cost over two years? $125 million Again they stated they wanted an "improved fan experience." The best way to improve the fan experience is to put a WINNING FOOTBALL TEAM TOGETHER. The last two years our combined record is 11-21. HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO PODCASTING? At the core of the stadium is the team. A team we come to root for, and a team we expect to win. When they win, the fans brave insane temperatures to pack the stadium in the winter. Everyone is talking about the game on Monday morning. When the team stinks, they don't. I don't care if I can take an escalator to my seat. If the team has no shot at winning, I'm not going. I'm not watching from home, and nobody is talking about it at work, because it is horrible. Well, we see people investing in a better microphone (when their original microphone was fine). They invest in a new theme for their website (that most of their audience never visits). They switch email list providers. They switch media hosting companies. They get a new player for their website. In a sense they are sprucing up the stadium of a losing team. They need to put a winning team on the field. They need to create content that will impact their audience. We need to focus on our audience, that leads to great content, and the finally we need to promote that content (and hopefully get our audience to promote it as well). How Do Sports Teams Get Better? They prepare. They watch film of both their opponent as well as watch tapes of their own games and look for mistakes they made to help avoid them. They Listen Good players are open to feedback. They listen to their coaches. They listen to their fellow players. They have a mindset of constant improvement. They might take a week off when the season is over, but then it is back to the gym to prepare for next season They Trade Players That Didn't Work When a player doesn't meet expectations (Johnny Manzel in my case) and you gave him a chance, you cut your losses. They Bring in A New Set of Eyes Tiger Woods has had numerous coaches over the years. The Browns hired a guy from BASEBALL who has a completely new perspective and strategy on choosing players. How Do Podcasters Get Better? They Prepare They Prepare. They think about what they want to say before they hit record. I am writing these notes way before I press record (it's the way I do it, and I find I get better content). They listen to other podcasts. Not to rip off the content, examine why a show works (and what they can learn from it) and what doesn't work (and how they can avoid it). Realize this is all subjective, but if you don't improve, and your show's content does not inspire people to come back and listen again, your show will die. They Listen They form a "Focus group" of listeners who are not afraid to give constructive feedback, or they take the time to think through a negative comment to see if there is any Merritt to it. They Lose Segments That Don't Resonate. I once had a segment where I would ask the audience to listen to three episodes before unsubscribing. Not a bad idea (I borrowed it from radio talk show host Jim Rome). I made a jingle for it, and it really annoyed a listener. I also started branding myself as an "Acquired taste." In the end, I didn't want to be someone you had to force down to consume. I dropped the segment. I also at one point started spotlighting my back catalog with a "This day in School of Podcasting History." There was only one problem. It bored me. You Bring in a New Set of Ears I get hired by people to consult on their show. Why? Because I have a fresh set of ears, and I also have an experienced set of ears. I also want you help to bring out the best parts of your show, and tweak those parts that aren't working. Now there are times when I'm not your target audience, but I can still spot things that you are missing because you're too close to see it. See podcastreviewshow.com Focus and Dedication is Key to a Long Career in Podcasting Johnny Manzel had talent, but no focus or discipline> Johnny focused on the money. Not serving his audience (the fans). Josh Gordon was suspended in his College Days for Marijuana, and that continues as a pro. He's been suspended three times (at least) He doesn't get the big picture. Wide Receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers was suspended without pay because of a failed drug test. His second suspension for the same problem. You have to stay focused making great content, and looking for smart opportunities to promote your show and create strategic partners. A Key Point About Making it Into the Pros According to a Google search: NCAA senior players drafted by an NFL team: About one in 50, or 2.0 percent. High school senior players eventually drafted by an NFL team: About nine in 10,000, or 0.09 percent. NCAA senior players drafted by an NBA team: Less than one in 75, or 1.3 percent. -- High school senior players eventually drafted by an NBA team: About three in 10,000, or 0.03 percent Less than eleven in 100, or about 10.5 percent, of NCAA senior male baseball players will get drafted by a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Approximately one in 200, or approximately 0.5 percent of high school senior boys playing interscholastic baseball will eventually be drafted by an MLB team. only 132 out of those 22,000 made it into the top feeder leagues for the NHL (.6%). Of those 132 players, only 7 played in the NHL. .0312% Those are astonishing numbers. These are people who have been playing the game all their life. Number of podcasters who get enough downloads to get a "big" advertiser: 8% (source Rob from Libsyn.com). (You can make a good living with smaller sponsors see Glenn Hebert Interview) Special Thanks Thanks to Kim for playing the part of the female reporter in the skit today. Kim does the Toastmasters 101 podcast at toastmasters101.net Podcast Conferences Where I Will Be Speaking Podcast Movement – Chicago – July 6-8 Use coupon (sop40) Podcast Success Summit – Online May 16th June 9th Podcast MidAtltantic – NJ – September 9 -10th Great Notes From Tim Ferris His goal is to not make money, but build his relationship with his audience. In this article he says: "I want to convert casual listeners into die-hard, fervent listeners, and I want to convert casual sponsors into die-hard, fervent sponsors. This requires two things: 1) Playing the long game, and 2) Strategically leaving some chips on the table. As a mentor once told me, “You can shear a sheep many times, but you can skin him only once.”" Later he added: Novice podcasters (which I was) and bloggers get too distracted in nascent stages with monetization. In the first 3-9 months, you should be honing your craft and putting out increasingly better work. The recording gear is better and cheaper every year. It’s extremely easy for me to travel with a small recording studio in my backpack. If you’re on a budget, even an iPhone will do, but–bang for the buck–the ATR-2100 is hard to beat. My mantra for gear is borrowed from my podcast with Morgan Spurlock: “Once you get fancy, fancy gets broken.” Keep it simple. Simple Can be Astounding Here are some songs that are incredibly simple. Who Made Who by AC/DC The first 15 seconds are one note, and one chord. Lick it Up by Kiss- Most of this consists of two chords and one note on the bass. Turn Me Loose - Loverboy - The beginning of this song is one chord and some hi-hat hits And yet, when I was a young boy, people would run -not walk - to the dance floor to "get their jam on." Ready to Start Podcasting?  Check out www.planningyourpodcast.com

Because of My Podcast: I'm Getting Married Today Matthew Cox from Brunch with the Brits explains how he went to a podcast event who eventually became his wife. Why I Turned Down My First Podcast Sponsor I had been contacted by a sponsor at advertisecast.com. I decided to low ball my pricing ($10 an episode) just to see if anyone would jump. An advertiser did. They wanted 10 episodes of my Weekly Web Tools podcast. That would be almost three months and the advertising would pay for my hosting (minus the 20% that advertisecast take). I would take home $96. My hosting will cost me $45 for three months. I might have some gas money. Here are some of the bullet points: To get started and receive a $50 signup bonus You’ll earn $1 for every new email lead and up to $200 for every new member you refer from your computer Has already generated millions of dollars for over 200,000 happy entrepreneurs My audience is predominant male, and I know I have some entrepreneurs in my audience. So far this sounds like a great fit. Then I went to see what I was promoting. It turns out the product was a video chat and dating service. Hmmm, that doesn't really fit, but maybe I would do this as an experiment. Then I dug a little deeper. You see this wasn't some ordinary video chat/dating service. It was porn, oh I wait I mean adult chat. Can we just call it what it is? Porn. Beside my religious beliefs there are lots of non-religious reasons that porn is a cancer that most people feel is "not a problem." Well I disagree. It's an opinion, and we're not here to talk about that. Let's get back to podcasting. I will not have a sponsor on my show that I can't go to bed at night feeling I served my audience by sending them toward a product I fully endorse. So I turned them down. I also contacted advertisecasts.com and suggested they put in a way for podcasters to save people time so I can say, "No porn, cigarette, alcohol, etc) Every podcasters starts with two things in common. Zero listeners, and they have integrity. When you lose your integrity, you may not ever get it back. Don't Be Afraid To Start Your Podcast and Find Your Voice When I started college I thought I wanted to "Fix stuff" so I went to an electronics school and got a degree in electronic engineering. The other thing I got was a clear understanding that I wasn't very good at fixing stuff. I fixed copiers, but luckily got an opportunity (based on relationships I had formed in the company) to go out and set up the equipment and train the users. I was a customer service rep. Had I not gone to college to be a technician, I never would've ended up in training. I later would go back to School to get a Bachelor's Degree in Education. My dream job was to get back to training people on Microsoft Products. I had the most fun doing that in the past, and I was good at it. I could be funny and educational. Because of my knowledge of computers I start to dabble in building websites, and the Internet. That lead to me a guy who had come back from a conference who told me about podcasting. I started podcasting, and got to know people in the industry. Using my strongest skills of serving and teaching, I created value. I developed relationships with all of the podcasting companies. I remember one day about a year and a half ago when a student asked me a question about combining two features in Microsoft Excel. I explained I had never tried those two features together, to which he pulled out his iPhone and asked Siri. Right in front of my eyes, the phone solved my customers problem. I thought, I'm going to be replaced by a phone. A year and a half later what was once a staff of five trainers, what cut down to one (and it wasn't me). However, because I had been playing with computers, and playing with the Internet, that lead me to podcasting. Those relationships I built over ten years lead me to being employed by Libsyn.com (A podcast media company). Now I would never have though my life would turn out the way it has. Anything that put me into position to help me later began by starting something. Knowledge is only power when you act on it. Richard Prior is considered by some to the THE best comedian ever. Richard launched his career being very safe, and incorporating a lot of physical comedy in his routines. He was basically trying to be Bill Cosby. There was only one problem. He was Richard Prior and being Bill Cosby-ish was not easy, and eventually Richard walked off the stage mid-performance cause he couldn't do it anymore. But he wouldn't have known that if he hadn't started stand up. You can manage, pivot, adjust, something that you never start. I Want My Podcast to Be Original It's hard to really come up with something completely original. Why? Because talking and entertainment and education have been around for a long time. In the movies most plots can be summarized by one of seven plot lines. Overcoming Monsters - Dracula Rags to Riches - Cinderella The Quest - Lord of the Rings Voyage and Return - Alice in Wonderland, The Wizard of Oz Comedy - Four Weddings and A Funeral Tragedy - Breaking bad Rebirth - The Grinch who stole Christmas Source Create an Original Combination As I write this, the musician Prince died last Thursday. Some might say there was nobody like Prince, and that is true. What was original about Prince was his mixing of Genres and styles. If you ever saw him live, he borrowed a lot from James Brown. If you watched him play the guitar, he reminded you a lot if Jimi Hendrix. There was a hint of gospel an blues. What Prince had that was unique to him was his vocal range. He took that range and surrounded with the stylings of James, Jimi, and his own influences. So the way he paired these genres was original.  Learn From Others Who Are Doing it Well I've spoken in the past about grabbing people's attention right up front. One of the longest running shows on television does this the best: 60 minutes. They pull at your heart making it near impossible to turn off the channel. Can you incorporate this into your podcast? You sure can. Podcast News: Google (Yawn) Play What should have been a tidal wave of opportunity was a drop of technology as Google Play Music was "Launched" kind of. Here is what's missing: 70% of podcasts are listened on a portable device but Google is using Flash technology which dosn't work on mobile devices. You can't download the podcasts. It's not really available anywhere except on the web The good news is starting today (28th) you will be able to have more stats to obsess over. HOORAY! Music MTV Is Getting into Podcasting MTV announced five new podcasts focused on film, politics, pop culture and, obviously, music that will roll out over the next week. The shows will be hosted by a mix of current MTV News journalists including Anna Marie Cox and several new hires. For MTV, the move into podcasting shows how it’s targeting young people who are staring at their phones, rather than the television. Dan Fierman, MTV News’ editorial director, told Digiday that of its young target audience, 80 percent of all content they consume is on their phones and that the audience has been underserved with podcast options. Customer FeedBack Multiple Feeds of a Podcast How do you handle more than one feed with Libsyn or Blubrry? WordPress as a Free Website Option John Wilkerson comments on last week’s show and wondered why I didn’t mention WordPress. BTW, I have a new favorite podcast because of your “favorite podcast” episode at year end.  Never heard of No Agenda until I heard someone mention it on your end year end show, actually it was last years show i listened to after downloading the transcript.  I know shame on me for being a podcaster and not knowing of Adam Curry’s show until recently, but I have not missed an episode since hearing about it earlier this year and have also sent a few dollars their way. ? it’s exceptionally good given the upcoming presidential election. Hope all is well and I’m sending money your way too via Amazon shopping.  ? Thanks, Richard Warfield, Jr. RDubStudios.com LoudPipes.net Podcast Conferences Where I Will Be Speaking Podcast Movement - Chicago - July 6-8 Use coupon (sop40) Podcast Success Summit - Online May 16th June 9th  Podcast MidAtltantic - NJ - September 9 -10th   Check out Dave's Course  Planning Your Podcast  

The Podcast Award Are Open If you've ever benefitted from this podcast, do please take the time and nominate the show (school of podcasting) in the EDUCATION category. The Two Most Important Parts of Your Podcast I was watching an episode of Live From Daryl's House (Daryl Hall of Hall and Oats Fame). He has all sorts of musicians of different styles and genres. There is always a small segment where you hear them getting ready. They have had time to prepare. They know the music, but there are two things you always need to figure out and this is no different in podcasting. How to start a segment. How to end a segment.  Why because the first part is your first impression. A bad first impression can really lose your audience for the rest of the song (podcast in our case). A bad last impression and we've just blown all the positive mojo we just created.  We talked a couple of weeks ago about the Podcast Interview Wizard software and how it helps you get to the point quicker. It gets you focused on the meat of the interview.  One strategy is to pick your main point, the one that really inspires people to laugh, cry, think, or groan and come back to that with a tone that signals to the audience that we're moving on, we are done, this is the final thought. Unless you're Jerry Springer, you don't need to announce "here are my final thoughts," you can just say them.  Likewise if you are transitioning to another segment, just transition. Get yourself some royalty free music, fade it, etc, (or just leave a pause of silence). There was only one person who could get away with announcing a transition and his name was James Brown. Why did he do this? Because his band would launch into a groove, and just repeat it over James's singing. So James would be in the middle of the song and ask "Can we take it to the bridge?" and eventually they would take it to the bridge. In other cases James would "hit it and quit it."  Announcing a transition is about as stupid as someone asking, "Can I ask you a question?" (cause they just did). At least that is my opinion.  Because of My Podcast Troy Henritz & Nick Seuberling Troy does the blacklist exposed (theblacklistexposed.com), and recently he's been getting flooded with swag. He got an album (as in an LP) and a Blacklist encyclopedia. Go to schoolofpodcasting.com/510 to see swag Nick Seuberling - First Advertiser Check for Minor League Soccer Podcast I was able to seal my first podcast/website sponsor. I've been podcasting for 11 years now and this is my very first sponsor. On a podcast that only has 8 episodes produced. I recently launched a new podcast that covers FC Cincinnati (http://cincinnatisoccertalk.com ), the newest soccer team in Cincy and I approached them about marketing their team store and ticket sales on my podcast. They immediately jumped at it. Today I received my first check in the mail, and I don't even have a signed agreement yet with the team. I'd say they're eager. Just goes to show, if you're in the right niche, you can sell it to anyone no matter how many episodes you've produced - Nick Seuberling   New and Noteworthy Update - Corey Finneran Corey did a push for iTunes reviews for Ivy Envy. He gained 56 reviews this week. He now has 226 ratings and 191 reviews. He did not budge from #3 when you search "Chicago Cubs" in iTunes. The two that rank ahead of us?#1 - 150 ratings, 128 reviews and the last published episode was 11/11/2010.#2 - 7 ratings, 4 reviews. Promote your show like iTunes doesn't exist. Use it. It's a tool. But I wouldn't put all my eggs in that basket.   Podcast Rewind I appeared on Creative Studio podcast on narrative podcasting Glenn the Geek and Jared Easley on Starve the Doubts check out Jared Easley Books on Amazon Wordpress as a Free Website Option John Wilkerson comments on last week's show and wondered why I didn't mention Wordpress. BTW, I have a new favorite podcast because of your "favorite podcast" episode at year end.  Never heard of No Agenda until I heard someone mention it on your end year end show, actually it was last years show i listened to after downloading the transcript.  I know shame on me for being a podcaster and not knowing of Adam Curry's show until recently, but I have not missed an episode since hearing about it earlier this year and have also sent a few dollars their way. :) it's exceptionally good given the upcoming presidential election.Hope all is well and I'm sending money your way too via Amazon shopping.  😎Thanks, Richard Warfield, Jr.  RDubStudios.com  LoudPipes.net My Podcast Episode is Not Appearing in iTunes!?!? Here are some things to keep in mind. It takes up to 24 hours for your show to show up in iTunes Your subscribers get it instantly If you have the file on your website, your visitors have instant access Is your feed valid? Check it at feedvalidator.org Is your artwork in spec?  1400x1400px (minimum)3000x3000px (maximum, anything in between as long as it’s square)Under 500kbUse sRGB color spaceBe a JPG, JPEG, or a PNG file  If so, you can go to podcastsconnect.apple.com and click on your artwork, click Refresh (and then leave immediately - this is a very dangerous place).  There is a video on Libsyn's support page to explain more    Check out    planningyourpodcast.com for Dave's COurse

Feedback from Last Week's Show About Video Podcasting Hey there! I checked out your podcast today where you spoke about video podcasting. I think the way you explained it makes perfect sense. I  was actually looking for a way to upload videos faster to YouTube and found a specific way to do it where you compress the file.   There is free software called Handbrake that people suggest. (I think it has been used in the past to rip DVDs illegally, but that is not what I am using it for.) Basically, once you create the HD file (which is usually about 1GB for videos I have made that are about 5-7 minutes at 1080p) and then use Handbrake to compress the file. I can usually get it down to around around 100-150mb (yes...MB) and less if the file is smaller.   I was wondering if you thought this was a good option so you can have HD on all platforms. It doesn't seem to lose in quality especially with simple "blog" type videos.   Anyway, just thought I would check in on that. Thanks for all the hard work!   -Derek Daniel   Free Websites For Those Podcasting on a Budget I had someone contact me this week. They were on SoundCloud, they didn't have a website, and yet, they wanted to end up making a living from their podcast. Their topic was "talking about movies and video games with my friends." Not to say that you it is impossible to do this, but without hearing your show it I would say it is highly unlikely.  Why do you need a website to do a podcast? 1. Easy Clicks If you are going to force people to search for the item that will bring your revenue, you're making it too hard. It has to be easy - peasy. 2. Email List Growth IF you want to build an email list (and as they say the money is in the list, why? Easy Clicks) you have to have a sign up form. No website- no form. 3. Reputation It's $10 a month if you go to www.schoolofpodcasting.com/hosting and go with the cheapest plans it's around $9. If you drink 5 20 oz bottle of Mountain Dew a month, you have spend close to $10 on soda. Switch to water, and you have the money. Would you buy a car from someone selling it out of a tent (and it looked like they were going to bolt the minute they got your money). You don't date someone who is going to leave it two weeks. You get the point. In a nutshell If you don't have $10 a month (.03 a day) then don't start a podcast expecting it to pay your mortgage. Seriously. In the immortal words of Mick Jagger, "You can't always get what you want." 4. Ease of Listener Subscriptions When you have a website, you can put a link to your iTunes listing, and make it easier for people to subscribe in iTunes, Stitcher, etc. Without a website, you're saying things like "Find my show in iTunes." Have you tried the iTunes search? I've typed in the exact name of someone's show and still had zero results. 5. Easy Contact The one page you need on a website is a contact page and and about page. We all want interaction with our audience. While you can say your phone number and email address in your podcast, when it is a clickable link on your websites, it's super easy and requires no memorization. I Am Always Open To Other Points of View So when a client told me they were using Tumblr as their website I thought, "Really?" Then I looked at the website notold-better.com and yeah, that's a free tumblr website.  Now to be honest, he had his graphics made by a graphic designer, and that graphic matches the artwork of his podcast. So if you have 2-3 hours to learn how to adjust a tumblr site, check out their themes, and go from there. Keep in mind, you won't have all the flexibility of a Wordpress site, but you will be saving $9 a month. You can even put Google Analytics code into a tumblr site for stats. So if someone is really pushed for a budget, or they just wanted to test the waters, I would Tumblr is a platform I would recommend. Time Saving Tip Using Libsyn If you decide that you are going to use Tumblr as your website, you could use Libsyn as your media host (use the coupon code sopfree to get a free month at Libsyn.com) and Libsyn will automatically publish your content to Tumblr. One More Thing about $9 a Month Just so I know we're on the same page, you say you don't have 30 cents a day to spend on your podcast. Thirteen dollars a year on a domain (another .03 a day), and you'll use Canva to make your artwork for free, and you want the product and art you provide enough income to generate enough money to live on. Can you please enlighten me of anyone who has put out no money, and generate a business that provided enough income to live on? Even a lottery player has to buy a ticket, and the chances of you spending no money and generating a podcast that will generate enough income to live on is about the same odds as winning the lottery. Not Updating My WordPress Cost Me $200 I've always said to keep things simple. Remove any plugins or themes you are not using on a WordPress website. I thought I had done that, but I forgot to do it on one website. I do a show about Jillian Michaels. She has raving fans, and they love to buy her stuff. The best part is most of that is sold through places that have an affiliate program. When her book came out on Audible, I made a four figure affiliate check. You can be an audible affiliate by clicking here. Well on my website for Jillian Michaels I had been using the Thesis theme years ago. I now use themes from Appendipity which runs on the Genesis Framework. I never removed the Thesis theme, and my site got infected with Malware. I got blacklisted by Google. I went to my hosting company who in 2013 DID remove the malware for free, only to find out they no longer offer that. I went to a few different places, and could not find anyone who did a one time cleaning. I ended up going with sucuri.net who (like everyone else) charges $200 for the year. It's a great system, and they keep me more than updated on the status of my site. They even have a security tool to help block hackers. If you're website is healthy now you might look into the plugin Wordfence. It can help keep you safe (and it's free). Podcasting Pulling in Some Big Names Tony Robbins (famed motivational speaker and New York times best Selling Author) now has The Tony Robbins Podcast. Jeffrey Glaser who has quite the TV resume.  He oversaw such hit shows as “Glee,” “Empire,” “Arrested Development,” “Modern Family,” “New Girl” and “American Horror Story” at the network’s production arm, and guided more than 25 shows to syndication. He has been named president of content at podcasting network Wondery, spent 19 years at 20th Century Fox Television, where he oversaw many hits and guided more than 25 shows to syndication. More info The New York Times has launched a podcast team. Full Report. They launched a Modern Love show that is getting 300,000 downloads a week.   Podcast Rewind I appeared on the Podcaster's Roundtable where we talked about Show Prep I appeared on the first episode of the Podcast Producers  Jessica Rhodes is the person behind interview connections, and she has her own Rhodes to Success podcast, Corey is the man behind Podfly.net a podcast editing service.   Thanks for the iTunes Reviews I was turned on to SOP by Daniel J. Lewis, Cliff Ravenscraft, & Ray Ortega. Dave's content is solidly produced from a technical POV. Great audio as one would expect from a podcast about podcasting. The flow of the show is superior and feels like radio but no commercials :-) As I've made my way through the back catalog I am picking up so much information as I look to take my own podcast, House of #EdTech to a higher level! ~ Chris Nesi Host, House of #EdTech Podcast chrisnesi.com To leave a review go to www.schoolofpodcasting.com/itunes (view in iTunes, and then rate and review). Want yuor reviews from all countries and stitcher coming to your inbox? Check out My Podcast Reviews   START YOUR PODCAST Go to www.schoolofpodcasting.com/start

Because of My Podcast: My Audience Fixed My Website Cale from Fotimepodcast.com was having a problem with his website (using Wordpress) when an audience member offered to help out. It turns out the audience member works for the creators of Wordpress. The DBS 286X vs Aphex 230 Master Channel Before I even start, you do NOT need either one of these to start podcast. It's a nice piece of icing on the cake. It makes you sound better, but you will not gain a single subscriber by using these. If you have poor content, great sounding garbage is still garbage. I've got the older version of the DBX 286 (I have a 286A which has now been replaced by the 286S). Likewise I recently picked up a used Aphex 230 Master Voice Channel (which is now replaced by the Aphex Channel Master What's the difference? Cost: The Aphex is 999, the DBX is 199. So you are looking at $800 in difference. The Aphex's gives you more options in regards to inverting polarity, changing the phase polarity. It also offers a low cut filter. The Aphex noise gate is super easy to set and sounds great. You simply talk and turn the dial until a red light illuminates, and then turn the other knob to scale back any background noise. I love the sound of the gate more than the DBX. Anytime I set the DBX to be aggressive, the cutting in and out was a bit more noticeable. Yes you can hear the Aphex's gate, but to me it's less noticeable. With the DBX you have low and high enhancers. You have the same thing on the Aphex, but you can choose what frequency to boost. You also have a parametrix equalizer so you can find a frequency that you either want to boost or cut from your voice and the determine how much you want to cut/boost. This is the same for the Aural Exciter on the Aphex. It does what the DBX does with more control. You can "tune" what frequencies you want to boost on the high end. I never will get de-essers. I know what they are supposed to do, I don't hear any difference on either unit. I swear this is a feature that manufacturers build into units so they can charge more. While appreciate what the unit does, for the money, I would recommend the 286 for most people unless you really, really want total control.  Video Podcasting? How Would I Go About Doing This? I currently don't do any video podcasts, but that doesn't mean I don't think they are worth doing. I just know they take more time. So how would I do it if I did? Video Podcasting Software If you're on a mac, try Screenflow or even iMovie. If you're on a PC check out Sony Vegas or Camtasia. What Format? I would create my video for my podcast (downloads)  you are exporting a "LD" version for phones, so you could go 640X480. You can do this in QuickTime if you want to as there are tons of presets. I would try to stick with mp4 if possible as it seems to have less conflicts. You take this format and put it in your RSS feed, so it goes to subscribers. You might put at the begining of the video that to see ah HD version go to your website (and provide a pretty link so they don't have to search for it) The Format For Your Website Now you create an HD version (1280X720) that you can upload it to YouTube (it's free, let them eat the bandwidth) and put that video on your website. Now your subscribers don't hate you for sending a 5 gig file to their phone, and your visitors get an HD version that also happens to be on the #4 search engine. Podcasting Lessons I've Learned From My Cat I'm a dog person. Always have been. I inherited a cat in my recent divorce, and I love Bernie, but I do hate cleaning the litter box. I actually hurt my back cause I was leaning over so much, and for an extended period of time. I just hate, hate, hate, cleaning the litter box. I did it about once every 5-7 days. I thought to myself, "Dogs are so much easier as I don't have to deal with this." Then it came to me. What a pain it would be if my dog only got to "do his business" once every 5-7 days. In thinking about it, I would take my dog out three to 4 times a day. So I started treating my cat like a dog, and checking his litter box in the morning, when I got home, after dinner, and once before bed. Now it takes me seconds to clean his cat box and it's not a big deal. So what does this have to do with Podcasting? If you wait until the last second to record your show, you're going to have to do all the prep, recording, editing, promotion, at the same time. It's a lot of work, and it can be overwhelming. So instead, start planning it earlier in the week. Start writing show notes during the week and flushing out the best parts of your topic. Then later record it, and edit it. Then publish on another day. By doing a little every day, it's not that big a deal, and it's not so cumbersome of a job. It will avoid burning out and quitting your podcast. Advertising Platforms Advertisecast.com is rolling out this week. Cast.market has been our for a bit. Blubrry.com has been around since 2006. Libsyn.com has been around since 2004 (you need at least 5K downloads per episode with Libsyn) Audible Trial Get the new Gary V Book #AskGaryVee http://schoolofpodcasting.com/audibletrial Earn Money With Audible on Your Podcast www.schoolofpodcasting.com/audible   Schedule One on One Coaching Have a question you need answered? You can purchase coaching in 15 minute increments. For more information go to www.schoolofpodcasting.com/schedule    

Today I look at tools available for podcasters to help them produce a better show. Podcast Interview Wizard and Who is Jim Edwards Jim Edwards is a guy I've known online for years. I loved his "I Gotta Tell you" email list. We are talking back in the day when I was teaching people how to make websites with Microsoft Front page, and making videos with camcorder. I bought one of Jim's products he made with Mike Stewart and I thought they delivered value. I had bought some stuff from other "Internet Marketers" at the time, and thought this was better than some. I've always liked Jim's style as he takes his topic seriously, but always dishes it with a good helping of sarcasm. In a nutshell, Jim has been writing ebooks and making products for over 20+ years.  According to his bio: Jim Edwards, founder of Guaranteed Response Marketing, LLC, is an Internet expert, marketing entrepreneur, newspaper columnist, author, motivational speaker and elite mentor and coach.Having gained personal and financial freedom, he shares his proven strategies with self-motivated, hard-working people to help them attain personal and financial independence. He has written and published dozens of ebooks, several print books and hundreds of articles. Through his company, Jim has produced some 40 informational products on DVD and many more available in the latest electronic formats downloadable from the Internet. Jim produces and hosts webinars on a weekly basis and has been a frequent guest speaker at numerous international Internet marketing seminars. What is the podcast interview wizard? It's a software that works on mac or PC that walks you through planning your interview. It does this by having you figure out what you want to talk about before the interview. It walks you through 16 questions .These questions are then used in  a series of tools used by the software. These include: Email templates to help get the interview Email messages to setup and remind the guest for the interview. Later you can use it to create an email that you can send to the guest post interview as well. Email templates for Referrals Email Templates to say Thank You Quick or Full Show Templates (complete with intro / outro ext and questions) Audience Handouts - A worksheet for people to fill out as they listen to your episode. Show Bullets - Custom Sales Copy for Each Interview There are 12 different types of interview types It will generate show notes for your episode It will generate multiple Titles for your show and let you pick the best one. Build Ads to help promote the show on Facebook, Twitter, etc. Putting it Through It's Paces So I took the interview from last week and added the information about my guest Danny Peña to see if I had used the software last week would the interview had been different. The closest interview style would be the "How the Expert Got Started" style.  Now last week's show was different. I already knew the answers to the questions. I knew Danny's story and I wanted to walk him through the parts that focused on building his audience. Using the PIW I did some interesting questions that I could've asked but didn't: What roadblocks did you face early on and how did you overcome them? Did you have any early mentors or did you have to figure it all out on your own? If you had to start all over again with audience growth in today's world, with today's tools, time constraints and other factors, what would you do:a. Differently?b. More of?c. Less of?d. Faster?e. Not at all? Under the "Myths and Misconceptions" style of interview I saw "Where are the big opportunities in audience growth that many podcasters might be missing?" or "What are the best audience growth tools every podcaster needs to use and know about?" Brainstorming By Yourself Now I realize that the software is meant for you to use ONE style of interview, but if you're looking to come up with good questions, I can see where spitting out multiple versions of the interview might help you spotlight questions that really spur other questions that aren't in the software. Now I realize the "Show notes" and other templates are meant to come from one template not multiple ones. So if you mix and match questions, you are somewhat shooting yourself in the foot, and will have to mix and match to make the additional messages. On the other hand if one style of questions gives you everything you need, you are golden. In watching a webinar for the software they made a great point. In some cases (for the person who hates to write) it's easier to edit than create. Going Down the List Of Tools Podcast show notes - Yes I could see using this in many places (G+, Facebook) Email announce - Yes, this could be cool and it even says to copy and paste your bullet points iTunes Episode Descriptions  - YES this gave me 7 different descriptions and slew of titles Show Title Templates - Yes. Again, a great way to brainstorm with yourself. Ads - Very Similar to Titles and Descriptions - Useful again. Email templates - ALL of the templates are great starting points. I ALWAYS would recommend personalizing these but they are focused and to the point. A good starting point. Beginners Guide Interview Style _ At first this one was "meh" what is the first thing, second thing, but then it had this question, "What is the perfect mindset for a beginner podcaster at this point that would virtually guarantee their success?" and I went, "That's a good question." Book Review Non-Fiction - Kind of a who, what, why, when and where. Nothing earth shattering, but useful for the absolutely newbie. Critical Skills Interview - This is a cool template cause it has built in follow up questions. Yes its what's the first, second, third, but it also has you dig deeper. Thumbs up. Faq - Probably my favorite style. Lots of good questions Getting Started - A good set of questions. It does what it says it would do (there is a focus here) Mistakes Style interview - I do plan on having Gordon Firemark ( a Lawyer) on the show eventually, and this would be a good template for Gordon Myths and Misunderstandings - Here again, at first glance this seems too simple, but it has good follow up questions. New Idea Interview - Here again, it would work for that type of interview, but this one isn't my typical interview so it didn't hit me as hard. New Products - Again kind of the who, what, why, When, and how, but more to it. Great for beginners. Rules of the Road - Probably the worst of all the template it was the same set of questions, but it fits the subject. What is rule 1, rule 2, etc. State of union - I could see using these. I can see this tool helping you to never say "Oh how could I have forgotten to ask.." Ste by Step Roadmap - This is a distant cousin of the Rules of the Road. Not my favorite. Tips and Tricks - Here again pretty basic, and not earth shattering. I do like on some of these that kind of have repeat questions, there are additional questions at the bottom of the list. How Much Does it Cost? Right now as I write this Podcast Interview Wizard is $197 at www.podcastinterviewwizard.com/sop (and yes that is an affiliate link). In addition to the software you get something called the Podcast interview wizard Blueprint which just walks you through using the software. There is some additional training on conducting interviews and I've only watched one of the videos, but was pleasantly surprised at how in depth Jim Edwards gets in this. While anything more than a cup of coffee sound too expensive for software, there are people charging $85 per episode to write your show notes. So the software would pay for iteself with three episodes. Key Tips On How I'm Going to Use This Make sure your podcast is a conversation and an not an interrogation. Just because you have your next question ready, don't forget to listen, listen, listen, because the best question to ask MAY NOT BE ON THE PAGE. Use these questions as a game plan, but be ready to call an audible. I've been interviewed where I'm pretty sure the host isn't paying attention to what I'm saying because they have their 7 questions, and they are just waiting for me to be quiet so they can ask the next questions. DON'T DO THAT! Don't forget to be you. You can use this tool to help you come up with an angle to help you QUICKLY get to the meat of the interview that is going to connect with your audience. There are going to be things that won't fit into a template, and that's where YOU come into play. This software doesn't know your audience. Last week I asked my audience what they wanted to know from Danny and they asked about how he works with his crew. That would not be in any of these templates. Because of My Podcast - I've Met People From All Over the Globe Becuase of their podcast Gary and Margaret of the Kiwi Mana Podcast (all about bees) have met people from all over the globe. Check them out at http://kiwimana.co.nz/ Congrats to all the New  Hall of Fame Inductees Dawn and Drew  Gary Leland   (hear Gary on a previous episode) Mignon Fogharty (Hear Mignon on this show) Rob Walch  (Hear Walch on a previous episode) Podcast Rewind I appeared on round 63 of the Podcasters Round Table where we were talking Podcasting hacks (great episode) I appeared on Business Mistakes Episode 35  talking about mistakes I've made. Eric K Johnson did a great episode on critiquing your own show, and he mentioned last's week's episode. Don't Be Afraid to Try Something New So last week I was in a bit of a pickle. I knew Danny Peña had a great story. I had known it for a long time, but I never made the effort to have Danny on the show. I always known I would get around to it. Well in my laziness he appeared on the New Media Show, and Podcast Junkies. Now this is not a big deal, but I wanted to really bring Danny's story before anyone had really heard his story (that wasn't in the gaming world that is). So now I was going to have Danny on the show. What could I do to make my interview stand out? Danny's story needs no help. It's awesome, but still I wanted to stand out.  So listened to those interviews and tried to figure out what I wanted to have on this show, as well as anything that could make it stand out. There are no "bad" parts of Danny's story. This made it tough. So again, what could I do to be different. I never want to be like everyone else. So I added sound effects. How did I know these would work? Because I had not heard the sound of a 56 K modem in a very long time and when I did it made me smile. When I heard the sound effect of pacman, the MTV theme, or the others sound effects I used they made me smile. I realized anyone under 30 wouldn't get the subtle joke, but those who did, would hopefully have the same reaction I did. They smiled.  School of Podcasting Closes For This Session 3/31  If you are looking to start a podcat, want personalize attention, then the School of Podcasting is for you. Step by step tutorials Email support. Live webinars Private Facebook Group Check it out at www,schoolofpodcasting.com/start    

Danny Peña got his first video game console from his Grandmother and his life was forever changed. Little did Danny know (who goes by the name of Godfree on his show) that he would someday be getting paid to fly around the world and play video games on his podcast Gamertag Radio. Did he think he would end up working for CBS and be featured next to podcasts like 60 minutes on play.it? Probably not. Today you will learn how Danny started building his audience before there was podcasting. Danny continued building his audience before there was iTunes. Through everything he does, Danny cares about one thing: the audience. There are sooooooo many lessons to be learned today. Interview starts at 3:38 Free Doesn't Last: Danny got his first check from mp3.com a site that was "Too big to fail" just like MySpace (and who knows some day Facebook?). The party of the year took a year of planning: You don't get these kind of results by "winging it." Check out this video of the party and you can read how the Miami New Times  called it the Best Super Bowl party in South FL. Know more about your audience than their age and sex: Danny brought in musicians who his audience liked. The musicians brought in their audience who probably liked to play games. Be straight with your audience: Any perks Danny and his crew have received has always been communicated to their audience. TRUST is everything: It takes a long time to earn it. It's very powerful, and can be lost with one bad decision. Let your audience be part of your journey: Anywhere Danny goes he invites his audience to come along. Ten years to get on CBS Radio: Patience ins a virtue, and it took Danny 10 years to get to where he is. He took advantage of every opportunity he saw. Time Management Tips: Set a schedule and stick to it. Danny has a full time job, a girlfriend, and his podcast. Having the right people on your team is essential and keep everything transparent so you are all on the same page.  Danny is real. When Danny says, that's a good question, that's because its a good question. Some people on my show do it just to stroke my ego. Danny's Community Created Events That Drew the Attention of Main Stream Media Check out Danny's Commercial on the Discovery Channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5oKqp-sZA0 Watch his acceptance speech as he is inducted into the Podcaster's Hall of Fame ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K64TXMuYNlY Here, Danny made the news by accidentally spilling the beans on the Microsoft release. In this article, Gamertag radio is mentioned in Forbes magazine.   Save $40 Off Podcast Movement If you plan on attending Podcast Movement, you can save $40 off your ticket when you use the coupon code sop40. This is THE podcast event. I will be holding a Q& A session and I am really looking forward to it. Coming Next Week I have a on of people ask me about Podcast Interview Wizard from Jim Edwards. Well I'm going to buy it and play with and let you know what I think. If you want to check it out, go to schoolofpodcasting.com/piw (affiliate link) I will also be talking about the Cool Cast Player which makes really pretty players for your website Ready To Start Your Podcast? The School of Podcasting is OPEN NOW. Get in before 4/1 (doors close ). Go to www.schoolofpodcasting.com/start Step by Step tutorials (that are not outdated like the one on the Internet) BONUSES Private Facebook group for Networking Email support for all your podcast questions. Live Q & A Webinars - ask whatever you want.  Sign up before we close the doors 4/1 www.schoolofpodcasting.com/start  

I went to Podfest.us a couple of weeks ago and I saw a person do a presentation that offered to help people launch their podcast for $8999. Just for that weekend there was a sale and they would only charge you $3990. This is America and if you can get people to pay for $4,000 for your advice, then GO CAPITALISM. I feel bad for your customers, because without an intimate knowledge of your product, my gut instinct says they over-paid. A couple of episode ago I said the snake-oil sales people are coming, and now I'm here to tell you they are here. So get your boots on cause the poop is getting deep. Podcast Review Swap - Trying to Cut in Line in the Apple Charts is Bad For Podcasting I was in a private Facebook group when the owner of the group (the same guy selling a $9,000 podcast course) places this post: RATE AND REVIEW SWAP - POST YOUR SHOW BELOW (LET'S GET A LONG THREAD GOING)Is it ok to post your show via iTunes link? and ask for rate and review swaps?I HIGHLY ENCOURAGE TO DO THISsomething like hey everyone, wanna do rate and review swap? Here's my show --show link removed by Dave--Let me know when you've done it and I'll go do the same. Extra points for screenshots or copy paste of review smile emoticonWHAT I DON'T ENCOURAGE'Hey guys check out the most bomb, amazing spectacular show on the planet - insert link. and subscribe please...NOPE!example #2Hey guys this week we talk about how we are the real deal, and we discuss it in such an amazing way. ARen't we awesome! - link to youtube. **Please don't F'ing do this! I am considering kicking you out if you do this more than 1x. and I won't tell you, so don't do it at all.BEST PRACTICE FOR ASKING FOR RATE AND REVIEWS"Anyone opne for rate and review swap: here's my show""Just left review for TAG PERSON - great show, here's what I wrote - insert message - THEN say - here's my show can you hit me back too" The people lined up DROVES. The post was growing like a weed. This was like a unicorn. I had heard of them, but had never seen one, and it was depressing. After no less than 20 people I had put in their link I chimed in as asked why we were asking people who had never heard your show to give us a give star review. As always, I'm open to other sides of the story so I asked, "Why are you doing this? If you can't get your audience (who has heard your show) to review it, that is a red flag that your content is not resonating with your audience. Please shed some light on this. He repled: The idea here is that people can listen, rate, and review and not be stranger. As artists we need a place to be ale to get feedback to share on our show, and this is a thread for people to be able to do that.  We are not encouraging people to be strangers here and in a podcasting group it only makes sense to have a place where people can openly asks for reviews and feedback.  There is a place for podcasters to get feedback and share it on your show. It's called your audience. It's called comments on your website, facebook, email, voicemail from people who can help shape your content for the better. They are called YOUR AUDIENCE. The answer is a lie. They are trying to game the system, jump up the charts, and boost their downloads. I get that. Who doesn't want a bigger audience? Do you remember William Hung from American Idol. This poor kid couldn't sing or dance, but he was so bad we shot him on the charts. William produced an album, and that's the last I heard of him. He doesn't have the talent to remain on that stage. More and more professional content creators are getting into podcasting (radio people). They have paid their dues, and they have had lots of practice. They have found their voice, and they know what their audience wants. So now when we shoot your inexperienced probably not great  podcast to the top of the charts, you look like William Hung. Your audience doesn't stay, and your career is over. Don't be a Flash in the Pan Never week Danny Peña will be on the show. He is a hall of fame podcaster who started out on caseete tapes. His main focus is on his audience, and he now works for CBS. He gets paid to play video games because he did the work, listened to his audience, and promoted his show endlessly. He didn't cheat, he didn't cut in line, he didn't spam anyone, and the guy is a rock star in the gaming world.  Back in 2005ish Dr. Joe Vitale start podcasting. His first episode was all about him, and how great he was and why you should listen. It did nothing for the listener. he had a huge email list, and he must've sent out an email for people to vote for him on Podcast Alley (this was pre iTunes). They did. Joe went from 0 to the top of the charts. His episode was awful, and the next week he was completely off the charts. Apple is Not Going to be Happy That Your are Negative Effecting Their Product By "gaming" the iTunes charts the results are not entirely accurate. Apple went to a lot of work to build the system, and I'm pretty sure they are not going to be happy that you are playing it for the fool. More "Bad" Advice Coming Out Daily A recent article focusing on how to get to the to of iTunes New and Noteworthy came out and suggested this: The article (which I'm purposely not linking to) states, "Fact: Once your show is approved by iTunes, they (Apple) give you an 8-week window to rise to the top in the "New and Noteworthy" categories. This is your best opportunity to strike podcast launch gold." To this I BEG you SHARE YOUR NUMBERS. I've asked my audience to share their pre, during and post "New and Noteworthy Numbers" and the only people who have had shown that with over 1000 podcasts being added to iTunes each week (www.newmediashow.com) that the impact of New and Noteworthy is not thousands of downloads like it was in the past. If you can show me differently, I would love, love, love to see it. Set a Date for Your Podcast Launch I have seen so many people make really bad mistakes because they don't know what's involved with a podcast and they will pick a date. Even if it is six weeks out there is so much that go wrong with: ArtworkMusicTechnologyThe InternetRecording GearApple That to pick a date that you will launch is a pretty risky move. It is better to pick a day that you plan on having everything you need to pick the actual launch day. To this people freak out and state the 8 week rule. This is BS. You have 8 weeks to be NEW, you can be NOTEWORTHY any time. Use Template to Contact People The article states to use a personal approach and then states that he uses templates (that you can get if you give him your email list) Be Ready For Your New and Noteworthy Screen Shot It then states to be ready to take your screen shot (after bugging everyone you know, and as we have seen above - people you don't know) so you can climb the charts. If you're going to game the system, do it smart. PHOTOSHOP. Now I'm not saying this is a legit strategy, but it takes a lot less time, and nobody can check the history of New and Noteworthy. So if you're going to cheat, cheat smart. The author states, Back when I launched my show in the summer of 2014, I set my alarm clock for middle-of-the-night and early morning hours. I didn't want to run the risk of missing my moment in the number one spot. The more I work with podcasters, the more I see a trend. The people who spend hours OBSESSING over stats, don't have impressive numbers. Why? Because instead of obsessing over their audience, they are obsessing over download numbers. If you obsess over the audience, the stats will come. The article states ,"The more frequently you release your shows, the more likely you are to stack up downloads, increase your visibility, and maintain your number-one spot in the "New and Noteworthy."  The author forgot one important FACT. The Podcasts app STOPS DOWNLOADING your show if you have not listened to the episodes. Most people will not be able to keep up with you firehouse of information and thus the downloads will stop. How often should you publish? Don't ask me, ask your target audience! The Bottom Line the more we align ourselves with Scammers, Gamers, Liars, the more we - podcasters as a whole - risk losing our integrity. If our stats are rendered meaningless by the twitter bombers and the Review Swappers, nobody will sponsor our shows. Really? Ever heard of an endorsement deal getting pulled when the celebrity behaves poorly? Exactly, so knock it off. Why Dave Believes What He Believes Scott Johnson Computer Tutor Florida - People WILL download your back catalog Henry Jasper Turned into a Fan Boy Because of My Podcast Henry Jasper is now starting to make money by helping companies with their social media using skills he learned from the School of Podcasting Podcast Rewind : Starve the Doubts I appeared on the Starve the Doubts Show with Jared Easley and Dan Franks. Check out Jared's new book. Quit Chasing Influencers What were the last 5 that Clive from the Future Past Podcast listened to? Six figure side gig Profitcast Unmistakable creative the Robcast The Ray Edwards Show Ray Edwards New Book How to Write Copy That Sells Mentioned on This Show Glen The Geek from Horse Radio Network Ready to Join the School of Podcasting? Open enrollment is now through March 31. Get in while the School of Podcasting is open. Get step by step tutorials, live webinars, a Private Facebook Group, and priority email support. Join Today  Subscribe in iTunes www.schoolofpodcasting.com/itunes This episode first appeared at http://schoolofpodcasting.com/review-swaps-hurting-podcasting/