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

Today we have a few tools to peak at. One allows you to record your podcast or go live, the other allows you to add your Blab.im sessions to your Wordpress website, Ray Edwards will teach you how to write better pages, and the last one allows you to book guests. Spreaker Studio For Windows and Mac Spreaker has been around a while, and if you are looking to do live streaming this is a great platform. They also are great if you don't want to go live. Their new Spreaker Studio software enables them to move away from the Web Based version they had before that relied on flash technology (which was not compatible with iPads, iPhones, etc). They have had Spreaker Studio apps for a while (also impressive) and now there are desktop versions to go along. Connect More Than One USB Microphone With EASE. This has been a problem that wasn't easy to solve in the past. Now if you have multiple hosts with two USB microphones you can easily connect up to three USB microphones into ONE computer. It's pretty amazing and easy to setup. It also integrates with Skype. This takes adding some additional software, but it takes just a few minutes and it worked like a charm. The best part is there is plenty of documentation so you don't have to guess what to do. You can create playlists (great for people doing podcasts of music), you can fade from one song to the next, there are buttons that you can assign sound effects to (again with plenty of documentation and tutorials). If you are person who does their show live, you also have a chat system right in the software. The only thing you need is a Spreaker account to get it to fly.You can get a free month of spreaker media hosting using the coupon code sopfree. Simple Live Press Blab Automation Tool Right now Blab.im is HOT. This is a FREE platform that makes it super easy to create a live show and have guests pop in and out. It's new and in beta, but it has promise. Hani from Simple Podcast Press (a great plugin for podcasters looking to build their e-mail list) has come up with an easy way to have your videos from Blab.im import into your Wordpress site. You can set it so you have to approve them before they are put on your website or have them automatically posted. You can add buttons again to grow your email list, your followers on blab, and more. The best thing is Hani. He is open to suggestions as the plugin has been out less than a week. My request would be to allow me to replace the blab.im video with a YouTube version later (to build my views on YouTube).For more information go to www.simplelivepress.com Here is a quick video I created showing off how easy it is. Bookly Appointlet Plugin There are tons of services like Appointlet, and Schedule Once for managing bookings. Most of these have a monthly fee (around $10). I discovered the Bookly plugin and it is super powerful. It ties in with you Google Calendar, and you can control every. This includes the color, your services, your staff, you payment options, your hours of availability, holidays and more. Here is a quick video Ray Edward Copyrighting Course I'm a HUGE Ray Edwards fan, and he is giving away a ton of free content on how to write better text on your blog. This could be to grow your business, or to grow your audience. He is a MASTER, and I always walk away feeling smarter after listening to him. To check out Ray's free tutorials go to www.schoolofpodcasting.com/rayedwards Launching With Multiple Episodes Does Not Automatically Equal Downloads There are people on the Internet who are saying "If you launch with 8 episodes (or 3, or 5) you get 8 downloads when someone subscribes. This is absolutely false. Once a person is subscribed, they need to go into the Podcasts App (or iTunes or Overcast.fm) and manually download you back catalog. As podcasting gets hotter and hotter, there will be more people jumping into the space that may not giving great advice. Interview With Hanah From PodClear/Blab.im Speaking of Blab, they recently purchased Podclear.com and today we get some behind the scenes insight into Blab from Hanah. For more information go to www.blab.im    

Why I Switched from the Podcasts App to Overcast The last update from Apple broke their own software, and it left it there for at least a week. Never give your customers a chance to find an (alternative because they will). The creator of Overcast recently made it availabel for free (you can donate to help cover the cost $1 a month). Here are the features I love about it. If I share something I can not only share the episode, but send people to the location I am currently at. I can listen at surprisingly fast speeds and still understand the content A 60 second skip button that when I click on it repeatedly takes giant jumps to skip through bad content. It syncs via the internet so you can listen on your iPhone, switch over to your iPad and pick right up where you left off. You can even listen on their website (overcast.fm). I can see how much storage each podcast is taking up. In the end I love it, and according to the app I've saved 2 hours using the Smart Speed feature. VoiceStak is SpeakPipe on Steroids Let's You Capture Video Testimonials and Feedback 8:20 I love Speakpipe and I've been using it for years. This is a great tool to allow you to capture audio from your audience. You can then use it to build your email list, and you get notified via email when a new message arrives. there is a free plan for Speakpipe, and then plans start at $7/month. VoiceStak is a similar product that does everything Speakpipe does AND it allows people to send VIDEO messages (up to 5 minutes). You can integrate it to send videos straight to YouTube. It also has no limits on the number of messages you can receive a month, or how many you can store. The pricing starts at $17/month, but there is a very interesting option to purchase a lifetime option for $197 (so after 11 months you are basically using it for free). This might be handy if you have a business and you're looking to create a testimonials page. You could easily send people over to your site and using their computer, phone or tablet, they can leave a video message. You can use this on any number of sites, and you can place the widget anywhere you want. For more information check out www.schooolofpodcasting.com/voicestak Jason Bryant Turns His Passion and Expertise Into a Career with Podcasting Jason Bryant has had a goal of working as a sport commentator his whole life. Starting as a teenager in his high school he has slowly been given opportunities and taken advantage of each one. His hard work, dedication, and passion created impactful results. What results? He was asked to participate in other events. As the old saying goes, "Lather, rinse, repeat." After getting caught in the crossfire of media politics again, Jason decided he would strike out on his own. He was listening to Satelite radio and heard one coaches show, and another, and another. He thought to himself, "I could do a show like this for wrestling." Jason contacted me, and hearing of Jason's experience and history, I asked, "What's the worst that could happen?" So Jason went to his school and got his first client. Fast forward and you see Jason doing 12 shows and running at Wrestling network at www.mattalkonline.com Here are some things we learned today. Jason knows his audience, so he had an idea of what to charge. However, it took him a year of tweaking to get it to where he is today. He didn't wait until everything was perfect. By getting his first client (going to those people you have a relationship with) it became easier to get his second and third. Jason who states, "I'm not a salesmen," has been helping potential clients see how they could run sponsors on their show and that money would pay for their podcast (and go right into his pocket). So the "non-salesmen" is helping his clients sell their podcast. So when you say, "I'm not ___" you may have those skills but no know it. Jason realized that its better to provide good content less frequently then a daily show that sucks. For more information about Jason check him out at www.mattalkonline.com Are You Thinking of Starting A Podcast? There is so much information out there about podcasting, some of it is great. Some of the information about podcasting is painfully outdated. Don't be one of those people with a drawer full of microphones they never use. Start your podcast in the right direction, with the right tools, and much less stress. Check out www.theschoolofpodcasting.com today.

Got Feedback? Call 888-563-3228 and get your voice on the show. The top two things I heard from clients consists of: How do I increase interaction How do I grow my audience Increasing Interaction With Your Podcast Audience Show up. Do you best to create a consistent schedule. If you show up, then they will make you part of their routine. This isn't mandatory (Dan Carlin is awesome and put out an episode every few months), but I would consider it best practice. Have someone who has never been to your website try and contact you. I AM AMAZED and people who do not have a page with a CONTACT link. Don't get cute and make it "buy me a cup of coffee" or "Interact" make the button/menu item say CONTACT. Why? Because it is what people are looking for. Let them choose the method of interaction. You can see if you go to my contact page that you can email me, call me (using podcastvoicemail.com ), or use the speakpipe button. You're choice. I've eliminated any reasons that you might have to contact me. One way to increase interaction is to ask for some. That's right, ask. If you want to know what they think, make it the last line of your show notes and ask them to leave a comment on your website or you can do what Michael Hyatt does and point them to his Facebook page. He who doesn't ask, doesn't get. How Do I Grow My Podcast Audience? I've spoken about this in numerous episodes: see here, here, here , and here . You need to Make contact that impacts your audience, GO to where they are, make friends, tell them about your podcast). Today I want to throw in something I am again not seeing on websites. A play button. If you want people to listen to your show give them a play button. This is one of the reasons I like Appendipity themes. If you want it, you can have a GIANT play button at the top of your page (see www.logicalloss.com for an example). People are not going to get hooked on your content if they can't find it. When you create content that impacts your audience, they are going to want to tell their friends. Make sure you have buttons that make it easy to do it RIGHT NOW. There are tons of plugins that can add share buttons (they are built in to the Appendipity themes). One of the best plugins is Social Warfare. This plugin is super functional and SMART. You can specify exactly how things get shared on the Internet. Another feature rich sharing plugin is Monarch from Elegant Themes if you are looking for a free tool, check out sharaholic in the Wordpress directory. International Podcast Day Recap Today we talk with Steve Lee of Modern Life Media and the co-founder of International Podcast day (Dave Lee, Steve's son is the other co-founder). Today we hear from Steve how: We had a much more global audience with people from around the world joining in on a live 30 hour live streaming podcast. Apple was involved and was tweeting out items this year Many communities were "doing their own thing" to promote International Podcast Day. Thanks to Steve and Dave for giving us a central spot to "start the conversation" Podcast Rewind I recently appeared on the PodupPod Podcast I appeared on the Moneycast talking about my different revenue streams and my book More Podcast Money Podcast News According to a new report released by comScore, almost one-third (29%) of adults with smartphones listen to a podcast at least once a month. In the 18-34 year-old range, the figure rises to 41%. The data indicates that 18-34-year-olds are more likely than the average smartphone-owning adult to listen to podcasts on their device at least once a week, 26% vs. 18%. Ready to Start a Podcast? Check out www.theschoolofpodcasting.com

Are you trying to start a podcast but you can't seem to come up with something that is entirely new? Today we talk about how there are very few items that are entirely new. The iPod was just an upgrade of the Discman. The Discman was just an upgrade of the Walkman. The Walkman was just an upgrade of the 8-track tape. Typical something original is really  a few items that are old that have been combined with something of yourself to make it appear original.  Because of My Podcast I Was Asked to Appear on TV: Wayne Henderson Wayne Henderson deos a podcast about the Green Bay Packers, and he and his co-host were recently asked to appear on a TV show to talk some smack with some fans of the Seattle Seahawks. International Podcast Day September 30th: Get Planning Your Podcast For Free I have a fwe things going on to celebrate International Podcast Day: My "Planning Your Podcast" course at Udemy is free from now until 10/31/15. Use the coupon code ipd15 I will be hosting an hour of live podcasting sharing "because of my podcast" stories and taking your questions Castermind Group Podcast Coaching Now Accepting Applications If you are looking for an accountability partner/mastermind, my "Castermind" is now accepting more podcasters. Here is who this is for and what to expect This is for the person who already has a podcast launched (if you need to launch your podcast, Join the School of Podcasting) This is a group coaching, so some of it will be answering questions, but it will also have a short lesson to help you build your audience. Each Castermind will consist of three people and myself. If you are interested in applying, go to Castermind.com The Courage to Be Creative Keynote Session from Podcast Midatlantic I also appeared on the Podcaster's Rountable where we asked the question, "Why haven't you started podcasting?" This is similar to the talk I gave at Podcast Movement with a bit more emphasis on being creative. There are so many options when it comes to making a podcast. I look at them as ingredients. These are things you can mix together to come up with a unique show. Live/Recorded Short Term / Evergreen Solo / Co-host Mobile / Studio Short / Long Schedule Scripted / Imrov Interviews or monologue Your Delivery Stereo / Mono Fact / Fiction Gender Comedy / Serious Expert / Journey Local / Global With all these ingredients I find it frustrating when people decide to name their show Librarian's On Fire? It seems an easy way out. What's next, the On Fire Answerman? Look, that's just my onion but I think we can do better. "It is better to fail in originality, than to succeed in imitation. He who has never failed somewhere, that man can not be great. Failure is the true test of greatness. - Herman Melville Originality does not mean thinking something that was never thought before; it means putting old ideas together in new ways. The Only Way to Know How to Do a Podcast - Is To Do a Podcast! There are some truths: It's harder than you think You will hate your own voice You will get more positive feedback than negative You will attract like minded people You will inspire, educate, and entertain people But you can't do it without pressing record. Here is a tip I learned as amusician to take the pressure off. Record your first episode, but realize that you will NEVER release it. This takes the pressure off, and you may find that without the pressure you are aren't half bad... Start Podcasting Today www.theschoolofpodcasting.com

I was lucky enough to get to hang out with Jeff Bradburry of the Teachercast network at Podcast MidAtlantic. Jeff is helping teachers utilize technology (like Podcasting) in the classroom. I first met Jeff on a Podcaster's Roundtable and was amazed as he is doing everything LIVE. The one thing that impresses me with Jeff is he truly understands his audience. These (in some cases) are people who have struggled with technology, and are now looking to embrace it and improve the lives of students. Jeff understands that a teacher may call "audio on a podcast (no RSS feed" a "podcast" (when by definition it's not) but instead of splitting hairs, he stays focused on the goal (inspiring learning in the classroom with technology).  Go Have a Baby or Three Jeff was at an event when his wife went into labor. She was three months early, and Jeff had his hold booth setup. As you can see to the right. Jeff's booth is first class (GO BIG OR GO HOME). So you might be just a little nervous about running out the door and leaving all your equipment behind. His audience knew Jeff's situation (pregnant with triplets) and told him over and over "Go, we've got you covered" (and they did). His audience trusts Jeff, and in this case he trusted his equipment to his audience.  Go Inspire a Conference: Your Show Started THIS... Jeff had gone to a conference and spoke about it, and it turns out his audience was listening. They were so inspired by the idea they started an edcamp in their city. So there was no event, Jeff starts a podcast and BOOM now there is an event where there was none. Not only was their an event but a group of people enjoying it, and improving their lives. Why? Because Jeff started a podcast.  Being Seen as an Expert Jeff has worked with some major brands (Microsoft, Pearson) and Jeff always bring his "A game" and takes advantage of every opportunity that comes his way and that has lead to him getting a new job and allowing him to move to a better location for his new (larger) family.  I love it when the good guys win.  Go check out Jeff at www.teachercast.net Voxer App Turn Your Phone Into a Walkie Talkie Jeff did a quick demo for me at Podcast Midatlantic and I was surprised how addicting Voxer is a free app that allows you to create a group "chat" where you can share audio, video, and text. It's pretty cool and I could see people making private chats for their listeners. For more information go to www.voxer.com Here is a quick video overview:       International Podcast Day Gratitude Award You have until the end of the week to nominate yourself. This is not based on voting or audience size, but how much your audience is thankful, by how much their life has been changed by YOUR show. Nominate yourself at http://internationalpodcastday.com/gratitude/ Clammr Are Super Easy to Create with Simple Podcast Press Clammr is a free app that makes it super easy to share short clips of audio (with links to your full episode). Now users of the Simple Podcast Press plugin (which already add subscribe buttons, email subscriptions and more has a clammr button which makes it SUPER easy to create a clammr from your website. This makes it super easy for your audience to share your content on the clammr. For more information check out Simple Podcast Press.  Mentioned in this Show Appendipity Themes for Podcasters   Ready to Start Podcasting?  See www.theschoolofpodcasting.com

Quick Takeaways from Podcast MidAtlantic Patience is a gentle version of courage - Kathy Kelly Special Mouse Podcast Podcasting Changes Live - Jeff Bradburry and Scott Swanson Watch other Media Types - Jeff Bradburry and Anythony Minaya Tell great stories - everyone Being Creative is fun. Podcasting Changes Lives I'm definitely having Jeff on my show in the future. The great thing that happened this weekend is person after person would share a "because of my podcast" story and I need to have them on the show. Jeff does the teachercast, and he helps educators (as a teacher himself) utilize technology in the classroom. He was great to hang out with, and he mentioned that if you help a student that's great (1 person), if you help a teacher that might impact 20 students, if you help a superintendent, that could impact thousands. Scott from Muppetcast shared a story (I need to have him on the show) where a Jr High boy was getting beat up at school because he loved the Muppets. Scott's show showed him that he's not a freak, and it's OK to like the Muppets. What Podcaster's Can Learn from Johnny Manzel I live in Cleveland, Ohio. Out sports teams are not good. We have tremendously talented people like LeBron James and Johnny Manzel, but still we can't win. Last year out football team the Cleveland Browns draft Johnny Manzel with their first round pick. Johnny rubbed his fingers together in a way to say, "I'm going to get paid." It became his signature. It appeared in Johnny's mind that he had achieved his goal. He had maid it to the NFL. The bad news is that is not THE goal of a football player. THE GOAL is to win the Super Bowl. Johnny had a reputation as being a person who was more interested in parties than play books. He always seemed a bit unprepared. This was his first year, but Johnny was now a professional football player. In this league you either carry your weight, or you are traded. As more and more stories of Johnny (more or less) goofing off came to the surface (welcome to being famous), it really appeared that this kid had his priorities out of whack. Paul Colligan has an episode where he said, "Starting A Podcast To Hit iTunes “New And Notable” Is Like Launching A Business To Get Into The Phone Book." This is a classic, and it ties into this analogy. The goal of a podcaster is not to be in New Noteworthy, the goal is to impact your audience. Your goal is to bring value. For some, the goal is to create revenue streams that help supplement their income. When I wrote my book "More Podcast Money" getting it into Amazon was not the goal, the goal was to help people set realistic financial goals with their podcast. Amazon is a tool to help me do that. The 8 Week Myth About iTunes New and Noteworthy In the book Podcast Launch (by John Lee Dumas) a very unfortunate paragraph states that you "Have a mere 8 weeks to be featured within the best podcast advertising real estate on the planet." This needs tweaked. It should read, "You can only be considered NEW for 8 weeks, you can be considered Noteworthy any time." Because of this unfortunate paragraph people are spending all their and effort focusing on getting into New and Noteworthy. This is very much like Johnny Manzel focusing on getting into the NFL. It's not the goal, it's a milestone. In the same way that being drafted into the NFL equals success (as many people get cut, and many first round draft picks never measure up to their potential). You can get into iTunes (I outline the 27 steps here), and to get into New and Noteworthy you pretty much need a pulse. Legal Podcast Music I was told about a new service from Mike Stewart that features a large group of music cleared to be used on your podcast. I play some clips on my show today, and you can find out more at their website. The package contains 150 – 60 second royalty free music themes with license to prove to YouTube or anyone you have my permission to use my music for your videos and podcasts. All the music tracks organized by tempo, feeling and emotion to make underscoring a breeze and easy to fit the them to your video. The music is the product of Mike Stewart (the Internet Audio Guy). he is also a musician with a Gold Record to prove it. I purchased this package as I am familiar with Mike who had a service for a while where you would get 5 themes a month. I've used Mike's music in my podcast for years. There are lots of different genres from Country, Easy Listening, Rock, Holiday, etc. Most of the tracks I enjoyed. The rock themes (not all, but some), are a bit dated sounding to me (like they could be on the Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack). When you purchase a package, you know they aren't all going to be winners. Doing the math on this, by just breezing through the different genres I would say I would use 70% of these. There are 150 tracks so that means I would use 105 tracks. The music is $37 for all 150 tracks so that would be ($27/105) 35 cents a track which is much less expensive than the .99 you will pay at Amazon.com (aff link). If you used all 150 track the price would drop to 25 cents a track. Mentioned in this Show Chris Rock and Martin Luther King Jr Blvd. Appendippity Themes Ready to Start Podcasting? Check out www.theschoolofpodcasting.com

What Podcaster's Can Learn from Johnny Manzel I live in Cleveland, Ohio. Out sports teams are not good. We have tremendously talented people like LeBron James and Johnny Manzel, but still we can't win. Last year out football team the Cleveland Browns draft Johnny Manzel with their first round pick. Johnny rubbed his fingers together in a way to say, "I'm going to get paid." It became his signature. It appeared in Johnny's mind that he had achieved his goal. He had maid it to the NFL. The bad news is that is not THE goal of a football player. THE GOAL is to win the Super Bowl. Johnny had a reputation as being a person who was more interested in parties than play books. He always seemed a bit unprepared. This was his first year, but Johnny was now a professional football player. In this league you either carry your weight, or you are traded. As more and more stories of Johnny (more or less) goofing off came to the surface (welcome to being famous), it really appeared that this kid had his priorities out of whack. Paul Colligan has an episode where he said, "Starting A Podcast To Hit iTunes “New And Notable” Is Like Launching A Business To Get Into The Phone Book." This is a classic, and it ties into this analogy. The goal of a podcaster is not to be in New Noteworthy, the goal is to impact your audience. Your goal is to bring value. For some, the goal is to create revenue streams that help supplement their income. When I wrote my book "More Podcast Money" getting it into Amazon was not the goal, the goal was to help people set realistic financial goals with their podcast. Amazon is a tool to help me do that. The 8 Week Myth About iTunes New and Noteworthy In the book Podcast Launch (by John Lee Dumas) a very unfortunate paragraph states that you "Have a mere 8 weeks to be featured within the best podcast advertising real estate on the planet." This needs tweaked. It should read, "You can only be considered NEW for 8 weeks, you can be considered Noteworthy any time." Because of this unfortunate paragraph people are spending all their and effort focusing on getting into New and Noteworthy. This is very much like Johnny Manzel focusing on getting into the NFL. It's not the goal, it's a milestone. In the same way that being drafted into the NFL equals success (as many people get cut, and many first round draft picks never measure up to their potential). You can get into iTunes (I outline the 27 steps here), and to get into New and Noteworthy you pretty much need a pulse. Podcasting and Stalkers When I was growing up my sister gave too much information to a guy she met on the bus. The next thing I know, is she is getting really creepy phone calls. We eventually had to work with the phone company and the local police (and his mother) to get him to stop calling. It was creepy Talking in Generalizations Today Let's not get to tied up in being 100% accurate today? What I mean by this is most stalking situations are men stalking women. In some cases it's men who are creepy. In many cases it's the women who are being too polite. Men are from Marz and Women are from Venus is not entirely accurate. There are always exceptions to the rule. Today, let's generalize and be OK with it. Dr. Steve Albrecht Dr. Steve Albrecht has worked with the San Diego police for years where he spent six years in the Domestic Violence Unit, and he handled over 1,500 cases. He is internationally recognized for his expertise in high-risk HR issues. he has authored many books on the subject of work place violence. Check out  Dr. Steve Albrecht's Books and Amazon.com The bad news about the Internet is when you put information out there, it's out there (pretty much forever). If you don't want naked pictures of yourself (celebrities) on the Internet, then don't post them. For me, I have a Facebook profile for my podcast, and one for my family and fiends. I share different items with different profiles. Some questions we answer: When is sharing personal information too much information? What should I do if someone is crossing the line? When do you get the police involved? All I said was I liked her Steaks... It was the first day of a new job. My boss introduced my to Angie Salsbury. I said, "I like your steaks" (making a silly joke). The next day I was told I would have to apologize. At first I thought my boss was joking, but he wasn't. So I walked over and stated I didn't mean to disrespect her and moved on. She actually was a great person, but I had no idea where she drew her line and I crossed it. The bottom line is (Gentlemen if I can have your attention please), we don't know where the ladies draw the line. I've worked with women who said things that were so over the top sexually explicit that it would make a prostitute blush. We all have our limits. The bottom line is we have to respect each other's boundaries. Don't Be Polite Ladies, I love that you are so loving an caring. This is not one of those times when you need to worry about hurting someone's feelings. You don't have to be mean and call names, but you need to say in clear and precise words that you do not want any further interaction with this person. Do not leave any room for doubts. Don't Let This Episode Stop You From Starting A Podcast There are weird and creepy people who need help every day. You stand next to them at the grocery checkout. You sit next to them at the movies. This is not a huge problem in podcasting, but as more women get into podcasting I wanted to make sure we were all on the same page. I wanted to let you know what to do, and how to act, and who to call if you think you might be having an issue. Mentioned on this Episode New Media Europe Podcast Midatlantic International Podcast Day Ready to Start a Podcast? Check out www.theschoolofpodcasting.com

Periscope and Podcasting Periscope is a live streaming service from Twitter. It's pretty cool. My step-son is at Perdue and last week we got to see his first performance with the band via periscope. I had 36 people watching my cat in a baby's sleeping shirt. During the week I would open it up and just talk about whatever hit me. It's an interesting way to connect with your audience. In general, the video is recorded and can be viewed for 24 hours. You can download the file and upload it to YouTube or whatever service you would like to use. How Do I Get My Mixer Into Periscope? I used an iRig device originally meant for guitar players to plug their guitar into their iOs device but it works for me. You will need a 1/4" to 1/4" patch cable to go from the mixer to the iRig, and then the iRig into the phone. There is an iRig2, but it is overkill. Also when it comes to patch cables, as you will be doing this near your mixer, this is probably a case where a shorter cable is better. Like most podcast equipment questions, there are about a billion different tools you can use to do this. The bottom line is, have something to say. If you don't bring value, you won't have people coming back to hear what you have to say.  It's one thing to just hop on and test it out, be sure to mention that. For me, I like firing it up and having one topic, saying it, and get out. In the immortal word of James Brown, "hit it and quit it." Blab.im - The Crack Cocaine of Social Media Blab.im is completely addicting. It also is a streaming service like Periscope except you can (if you choose) to let up to four people join you. There is a chat room where people can chime in and ask questions. They can also request to be part of the stream. I tried this last Saturday on Ask the Podcast Coach. Typically this is a call in show where my co-host and I talk and occasionally take a phone call. It's awesome as you are never sure what you are going to get .  I think in the year that I've done that show we've had one caller, and one waiting twice. Last Saturday I had four people in the cue wanting to come on.  You still have control over who is and is not on the stream. You can mute people, or band them from the blab. You can start a blab on your computer (so it's easy to connect your mixer or microphone)or on your mobile device. It's best to use Chrome when you are on the computer. You can choose to record it (or not). If you record it, when your blab is over, you get a link to the audio file  (mp3 file - 320 kbps stereo) or the video. When I compared the audio from Blab the to the WAV file I recorded on my portable recorder, the WAV file didn't win by much.  Blab.im vs Blog Talk Radio It's also not fair to judge at this time because Blab.im is free. They have tons of video and audio on their servers, and trust me, they will eventually have to charge to keep this engine rolling.  Blog Talk Radio has really step up their game. Their audio is now 128 KBPS stereo. You (and your gusts) can connect directly to their system. It creates AWESOME sounding audio. You can have your audience call in via the phone. They have a chat system, and you can direct people to your show on Blog Talk Radio, you can also implement their system on your site. It is super easy for people to connect with you. With that said, the buzz on Blab.im completely smokes Blog Talk Radio. The interaction, the exposure of people tweeting, for me - in my experience - with my audience, it was like the difference between college football and the pros. Both are great, but blab.im was just a much faster pace.  Blog Talk Radio has the ability to have a call screener, and that you do not have at blab.im so be ready to eject the first person who comes in screams Bobba Booee!  For me, I do love being able to see the person's name, and have links to their profile on Twitter (so I may end up following you).  They plan on adding the feature to allow you to embed the blab on your site.  Currently blab is lacking in the stats category. You can see how many people attended your blab, but you can go back later and see how many people watched the relay.  Blog talk radio will win if your audience is not technical. If they are looking for businesses in the yellow pages. If you have a computer with a microphone, a smartphone, it's just too easy to join a blab. As the platform gets more popular it will be harder to find a blab, but for those people relying on the phone Blog Talk Radio is still the answer.  SoundCloud is Being Sued I spent some time investigating Soundcloud a few weeks ago. I would strongly urge you NOT to put any eggs in the basket. Their "Super cool player" no longer works on Facebook. They lost 29 million dollars last year, DJ's are puling their music, Sony music is pulling their music, and now they are being sued.  In my opinion, it's dead site walking.  Because of My Podcast: I Met Burt Reynold and Made Him Cry Bobby from Live Nude Puppets loves Dom DeLuise, and because of his podcast he has an agent that is looking to help launch a live nude puppets animated show. This lead to Bobby being in the same room as Burt Reynolds. Bobby is a HUGE Dom fan, and went and spoke to Burt about it, and both got choked up thinking about Mr. DeLuise. Thanks for sharing Bobby, and congrats on topping the charts on the Clammrcast Top 20 Coundtown. Podcast Rewind Gary Vaynerchuck on Chase Jarvis Show Podcasters Roundtable on Tough Decsions Red Podcast Podcasting and Your Business How to Do it Right Podcasts Are Like Dogs Saturday my wife called to let me know our German Sheppard Koda needed to be put to sleep. His health had been going downhill quickly, and now he could barely walk. He was 110 lbs. He was my gentle giant. It was a very sad day. I was thinking this morning as I walked into the kitchen where Koda used to sleep. The kitchen looks so much bigger with him gone. Dogs are a lot like podcasts.  You Never Know What You're Going to Get  You can read up on breeds, but until you bring the puppy home you never know what you actually have. My step-daughter has two rescue dogs. The one would eat the house. By that I mean she would leave to go to work, and come home and part of the door frames were torn to shreds.  There is More to Getting It Off The Ground Than Expected When you get a dog, you think you need food. Oh yeah, and bowl. Wait, I better pick up a leash. Oops, almost forgot the brush. Oh, the little guy should have some sort of bed or blanket. I should also pick up a chew toy or 20.  I've mentioned how there are 27 steps to list your podcast up and into iTunes. The good news is once it's in iTunes the other episodes only require about 8 steps.  You Learn Lessons The Hard Way When I had a shi-tzu I learned that if you don't shave their butt their hair grows over their there is nowhere for the poo to go. Likewise that time you had the best interview ever only to see that you forgot to press record on your recorder is a lesson most of us learn the hard way.  Once You've Got The Routine Down - The Relationship Begins Once the dog is trained, and you have them on somewhat of a routine you start to get to know their personality. You start to build that relationship. With podcasts, the launch can be a bit overwhelming but once its up and you can focus on content you get into a rhythm. You start to get that trickle of feedback, and you start to build that relationship. In the same way that you trust that your dog isn't going to eat your house, you audience trusts you to bring good content.  You Will More Than Likely Try More Gear Sure the dog loves his nylon bone, but when you put him in the backyard and through a frisbee and he caught it a new passion was unveiled. With podcasting you may want to take a stab at blab.im, or adding a co-host, or recording mobile, you will try different things. Somethings are awesome. Sometimes the dog looks at you after you through the frisbee with a face that reads, "Do you expect me to go get that?"  Your Health Will Start To Fail Am I saying a year in podcasting is like seven years? Maybe. Maybe that's why most podcasters don't make it past 7 because it's really episode 49. The passion you had for your subject starts to fade. Maybe you've said all there is to say on that subject. Maybe your are not in the same place you were when you started. The only thing that says the same is change.  You Will Know When It's Time Last week we spoke with Donovan Adkisson who said, "It just wasn't fun." That is why he is taking a hiatus from Podcasting. His life changed. His priorities changed. He is not in the same place. When It's Gone You Look at the Bright Side and the Memories  I use to live next to a golf course. I would get up and watch people tee-off while eating my cereal. Koda was always trying to escape and because of his size people would scream and run at the sight of him. He looked like a wolf. One day he gout out the sliding door and took off down the golf course. I believe I was in my pajamas running down the fairway trying to catch this dog dazes in disbelief that the dog was faster than I was, and depressed at how out of shape I was. Luckily, Koda stopped to water a bush. If he hadn't I still would probably be chasing that dog. Looking back, I should've called up Glen the Geek (America's Horse husband) and got some information on getting a saddle for the dog.  I've pretty much laid down the microphone for some of my shows. I got to interview some of my music idols on that show, and I had bands email me how my tips help them sell their music. I'm just not into that scene like I was 10 years ago.  I've had Partial, Butch, Gonzo, Sarah, Dudley, Teddy, Max, and Koda in my life depending on where I was staying. I never knew what I was going to get, and I am so glad I had the courage to invite a dog into my life, and I urge you to find the courage to start a podcast and build relationships with like minded people. You never know where the road may lead you. Mentioned On This Episode  International Podcast Day New Media Europe Podcast Mid Atlantic Ready to Start Podcasting? Check out www.theschoolofpodcasting.com

As a podcast consultant I should be telling everyone to start a podcast. I do. I believe there is a lot to be learned from starting a podcast. You learn to: Organize your thoughts Prioritize your goals Speak with confidence Work with people from different cultures As much as podcasting is about talking, I think the top podcasters are at the top because they learned how to listen. We Predicated Disgruntled Podcasters in December 2013 There was a time when it seemed every podcast had the term "on fire" tacked on at the end. In December of 2012 myself, Daniel J Lewis, Ray Ortega, Steve Stewart, and John Lee Dumas had a roundtable to discuss what Steve coined "The John Lee Dumas effect." People were starting a podcast, following a formula, and expecting the same six figure result as John. Part of that roundtbale was to point out the hard work, dedication, and insane work ethics that John has (and they being John Lee Dumas comes very naturally to him).  John has always been super transparent about his life, his business, and his workflow, and how long his runway was when he jump into the unknown waters of podcasting (that's why I like the guy). John is an original. Here is the income from the eofire.com website   Here Comes the Next Wave of "Podcasting is Dead." Comedian Brock Wilbur made a post and said, "“Podcasts are pointless. Anyone who tells you otherwise is the literal devil. No one is going to get rich or famous or gain any level of following from this medium ever again, because it is hilariously dead. Your idea to share caustic observations about an ongoing TV show? Pointless. Your idea to interview interesting people? Laughably misguided. Your idea to discuss each individual episode of a decade-old CW show? Well… shockingly successful.” I went and listened to his podcast. Brock has around 125 downloads per episode (13,767 downloads divided by 110 episodes). If you were a teacher, that would be 5 classrooms of 20. I’m three minutes into it, and I am now finally getting into the content. You played a song with no teaser. You are hoping that people sit through some song hoping that they make it to the content. As a first time listener, I have no idea who you are, or your guests. Your audio is right on the edge of distracting. I get it. One microphone with four people, you’re going to get room noise. It's YOUR show. You can record it any way you want. At 5 minutes you finally introduce your guests. Nobody waits for 5 minutes for someone to get to the point. You then had one of your guests introduce themselves. The average attention span is around 8 seconds now (or something ridiculous like that). In my opinion 97% of the time improv blows. Brock typed a whopping 32 words that is not a huge target for Google to find. The Yoast SEO plugin recommends 300 words per post. It's YOUR show, do what you want. Nothing screams “great content” like four people talking over each other. Who am I to judge, it works for THE VIEW. In the article you say, “two years ago we started setting aside Thursday nights to have fun people get drunk around microphones in my living room.” It sounds like you’ve achieved your goal. The one thing that really confused me, is Brock has a great looking website, but instead of adding the podcast to YOUR WEBSITE, you send people to a bad Podbean site that looks like a throw back to bad MySpace page. A Farewell To Podcasting Donovan Adkisson was on my show a while ago after completing his first year. He had written a book about it, and was excited about podcasting. Three years later he had created Adkisson Digital, four podcasts and a fair amount of frustration. If you listen to his episode titled "My Farewell to Podcasting" he states the following: I'm not saying I'm ceasing my podcasting endeavors because I don't get any feedback, but its part of it. I've realized that it's not interesting. I don't really bring anything of value to the listener. All I do is rant about the things that are happening in the world. I have nothing of value to provide because that is already being done by more higher profile and more successful people than myself. Podcast consultants make money on selling courses on how to do what they are doing. It's almost like a weird pyramid scheme (but it's not). It's absolutely not fun. I Needed to Speak to Him in Person Donovan was SUPER HONEST and admits that he never really defined his target audience, he had an idea - but it was super precise. He also knows maybe he didn't promote his podcast as much as he should have. In listening to Donovan you can tell he tried everything he did to make his show fly. While its obvious that Donovan loves podcasting. He especially loves creating lives shows, but to get HUGE sponsors you need huge numbers and Donovan (and about 90% of most podcasters) didn't have that. (To hear about making money outside of the CPM model of podcasting, check out my interview with Glen the Geek) No Apology Needed Donovan also explained how he has some legal battles going on in his life, and he has some expensive health issues. In other words, his life's priorities have shifted. If You Like it - Do it At one point Donovan admits he loves podcasting. My advice is then do it. If it makes you happy, then do it. Do it for the art and creativity. Do it for the people who listen (Donovan said he got more feedback on his "Farewell" episode than he did on any other episode), but don't do it for the approval of others. Do your best to make a show that impacts your audience (makes them laugh, cry, think, groan, educates, inspires). Your Life Changes - And So May Your Podcast My first podcast was started 10 years ago when I was playing in bands. I loved music marketing. I loved playing music live. I'm not in the place anymore in my life, and consequently, I rarely do that podcast. It's a hobby in that case, and I do it because I can. I still have a smaller group that patiently waits for the next episode. It Takes a Lot of Work, and a lot of Time I've have mentioned in the past how the TV Seinfeld didn't take off the first season and was almost cancelled. There are plenty of shows that get popular because of this thing called timing. There was a TV show in 1999 called Action on Fox. It got rave reviews. It stared Actor/Comedian (now podcaster) Jay Mohr. You probably never heard of the show. I bet you have heard of Chicago Hope, Charmed, or Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. Those are the shows Action was up against. It lasted one season. Tips to Revive Your Dead Podcast Always start with your audience. Get their opinion. (see creating surveys episode) Look at the amount of time you have to create a podcast, and create a realistic schedule that you can keep Announce when you are taking a leave of absence Search for your topic. There may be new resources that could help you with show topics Potentially add a co-host if you are flying solo. Don't be afraid to mess with the format if the only alternative is closing it down. Lastly, if you are just sick and tired of the podcast, announce your final show, and let go. Seinfeld, M*A*S*H, Cheers, etc all came to an end. Mentioned in This Episode On Faith's Edge Podcast John Lee Dumas Steve Stewart Daniel J Lewis Ray Ortega Donovan Adkisson Podcaster's Roundtable John Lee Dumas Effect Ryan K Parker's Food Craftsmen Ready to Start Podcasting in the Right Direction? Check out www.theschoolofpodcasting.com

Today I share a story about getting outside of your comfort zone, and we talk with the Real Brian about how his podcast has lead to him getting paid to host two more. Donnie Pushed Publish On His Podcast. I got this email in my inbox: Hello Sir, I am writing this to simply introduce myself and say a big Thank You! Not long ago I was inspired to begin a daunting task of creating a podcast. I have listened to numerous ones over a varied topic span ever since the beginnings of the podcast. So I decided to bite the bullet and give this a go. With thoughts of what fun this could be and eager to learn some new skills I ventured forth into the "glamorous" world of podcasting. Your show has been a go-to for every topic I can imagine. I glean over past episodes for the struggles I am currently facing and words of encouragement along the way. Simply put, it has been indispensable in this process. With that said, I do need to mention that I already belong to JLD's Podcaster's Paradise and the information there has been helpful also, albeit a little pie in the sky- esque. I am a loyal listener now of your show along with the Podcasters Studio and Roundtable. This week I listened to the Glen the Geek almost everyday on the long drives between day job customers. All I can say is WOW. That episode really hit home. The show I have created focuses on the Craft Beer community. I am based out of Knoxville, TN so my main goal was to break into the local scene. I am around 5 episodes deep in the editing process and have just released my first show to my website and submitted to ITunes this week. I have broken the procrastination mold of not releasing due to trying to 'make it perfect'. I realize we all have to start somewhere and I have finally made that big step. Now to grow and promote, along with get much better every time I am behind the mic. -Donnie InebriatedWisdom.com My Reply Donnie, Awesome. You have done what so many people have failed to do, you hit publish. No matter what people say from this point forward, you put it out there, for better or for worse, you hit publish. I'm so glad I inspired you because this email may have just inspired me for my next episode. Do you mind if I read you e-mail on the show? Some steps you can take are to go find your beer peeps. See if there are local brewers (guessing here, not my niche), etc. Be sure to make friends before you start pimping your show (or they won't care). Congrats, and do everyone a favor and put a link to your in your signature. Dave Keeping My Integrity at Podcamp Pittsburgh. So I attended a session on basic audio editing. I could see that the audience at this event were brand new to Podcasting. At the end of day one, I asked if there were any open slots (as they just filled one) and they stated they didn't At dinner that night with Krystal, Nick, and Kim, they said I should do a session. It turns out at Podcamps, anyone can speak anywhere. I resisted. As the former director of podcasting for the new media expo, I know what goes into planning and running a show. I just pictured some guy coming up and saying I'm speaking tomorrow at 11 and my brain exploding. Chris Brogan (one the creators of PodCamps) and I asked him if adding sessions was allowed, and sure enough it was. In fact, it was encouraged. But still I resisted. There I was standing on the edge of my comfort zone. I mean that seems like such an ego move. "Hey, I'm here and I'm going to speak!." This is the wrong attitude. It's valid, based on my experience, but I needed to be open for new information. I had just seen with my own eyes how this group desperately needed a podcasting 101 type of talk. Nick continued to nudge, and I thought of my email to Donnie. This meant believing in myself (I've been doing this 10 years, and as a computer instructor I have to be light on my feet and go with the flow on a regular basis), and of course... Nobody was going to punch me in the face.  (thank you Ryan K Parker of foodcraftsmen.com ) So I did it I had a group of 7ish, and Krstal from Libsyn parascoped it to another 50ish. I had 9 words on a piece of paper and just used my knowledge. Was I nervous? Sure. I did zero rehearsal. At the end of day two I was thanked by the founders for doing that session. The Real Brian - Podcasting Has Put Me Where I Am Brian is the host of Profitcast and he was doing some research Upcoming Events Saturday Septemeber 12 Podcast Mid Atlantic  ( I will be doing a Keynote at this event) Saturday Septemeber 12th, New Media Europe Ready to Start Podcasting? Join the School of Podcasting (30 day money back guarentee)