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

Today we talk about how adding a podcast to your blog can help you gain a larger audience. We talk with Kate Erickson of Kate's Take Pocast and the Entrepreneur on Fire podcast Because of My Podcast - My Audience Gave Me a Laptop [1:35] Ken Blanchard produces the Black Man with a Gun podcast among other podcasts that you can find at Blanchard Media. Recently he announced that he was having technical issues with his equipment, and that production of new episodes might come to a temporary halt. Instead of letting this happen, an audience member sent him a new Mac Book. I've said before that you can build a relationship with your audience, and that influence can be leveraged in many ways. Best VoiceMail For Podcasters [8:36] MagicJack Plus + Free 6 Months Subscription to Magic Jack Service $37 (a year of service is $35) Google Voice - It's Free. The Sound is OK. Just realize if Google ever decides to charge or cancel this service you will have a back catalog of shows with this number. (deliver mp3 file) Kall8 - This is the service I have used since 2005. An 800 number is $5 a month and approximately 7 cents a minute. My apologies to my friends across the pond. There isn't much international information on their site. I've never had a bill more than $10. The bad news is the sound quality of these calls is not great. Kall8 captures at 8 bit, while Google Voice and Magic Jack capture at 16 bit (which is why Kall8 sounds so much worse). With Google Voice being free, they seem like the obvious choice. I'm not sure I'm willing to trust Google with a voice mail that I give out for episode upon episode and then yank the tool away from me. Magic Jack for me will be the recommended (more affordable) option. The ONE downside is people have to wait 5 seconds to go to voicemail (which is a bit long). Another tool (that's not phone based) to get audio on yoru website is via Speakpipe. Reality in Podcast Advertising In a recent article in Podertainment magazine (a really great issue) Rob Walch VP of Podcasters relations a Libsyn.com  states in an article titled "A Rope in the Garage" that about 8% of all the episodes released that reach the 5,000 download threshold." What's so special about 5,000 downloads? This is the minimum number that many advertisers need to look at your show. Even if you reach that number you're still not talking about quitting your day job. Rob states, "Realistically less than 5% of podcasters even make enough from their podcast to even cover their costs. An less than 1% can call podcasting their main career or in the case above - an alternative better than the rope in the garage. " I bring this up today because we have Kate Erickson of Entrepreneur on Fire on the show. John Lee Dumas has created an empire. An empire I stand and applaud. John has proven (over and over) that you CAN make money using your podcast. Notice I didn't say from your podcast (although John does that as well). Most of John's money comes from additional products he sell. Most podcasters who make money podcating (myself included) use the free podcast to promote other non-free services. Paul Colligan in his recent episode states Podcast Monetization breaks down to: Market + Message + Money + Media = The Only Formula For Podcast Monetization   Behind the Scenes of Kate's Take - a behind the scenes look at Entrepreneur on Fire and the Fire Path. Kate Erickson is one of the guiding forces of the wildly successful Entrepreneur on Fire podcast. This has launched other spin of shows like Quotes on Fire, Webinar on Fire, and today we talk to Kate about why she launched Kate's Take along with "the Fire Path" which are the first 17 episodes of her show and are assembled into an ebook (no email required) at www.eofire.com/tfpbook You will hear how Kate has boosted her confidence by doing more and more episodes. She started by re-recording her first shows (so remember you don't HAVE to publish the episodes you record). She has put great content intermixed with stories and her audience is loving it. She has a discipline to to focus on certain tasks that help propel her podcast and website further toward her goals.  Kate states that they don't make subscribing to their podcast a primary call to action. She advises the call to action be go to the website where they can then subscribe to your podcast and/or your email list.  Kate has taken her blog posts and turned them into a audioblog/podcast. So if you are a blogger you will hear how she is getting more feedback and reaching a large audience as a podcast. Another thing to consider is if you are a blogger that for every one podcast there are roughly 1950 blogs so having a podcast makes it easier to be found. (source Rob Walch) Are Story Telling Podcasts the Next Podcasting Wave? [47:00] With the success of shows like Radio Lab, Startup, and Serial, more people are discovering podcasts. These stories pull us in, and keep us captivated. Well the people behind startup have launched another new show call Reply All. I was stoked as (so far) every "Story" podcast was a giant home run in my book. Reply All has left me in a "meh" state of mind. With this in mind, you still need to prove value to your audience. If your information is not how to, it needs to entertain them, or make them think.  I jokingly made a podcast called "Dinner" where for 5:48 you hear me try to decide what I want for dinner, and then go to Target to buy it.  The fun part is this 5:48 clip took an HOUR to produce (finding music, sound effects, etc, editing the audio). It sounds great when you have a great story (and you should start there), but it takes a lot of time to add that icing on top of the cake.   START YOUR OWN PODCAST

First things first, I'm not a lawyer and do not take this as legal advice. Always speak to a lawyer. A few weeks ago I made a video about the service Audello. At the end of the video I saw something that really upset me. I was already somewhat upset as I can see where people are going to spend $300 for a product that is unnecessary. I took to the video camera, and the blog post with smoke coming out of my ears. My title warned people to stay away from this product and I called it a scam. That is over line. These as Yosemite Sam would say, "Are fighting words" and you know what? He's right. I went looking for what words could get you sued and I found a great post from Deb McCalister. She has some great advice (deb has worked in PR for a long time). Don't Be a Warning Bell Avoid comments like WARNING: Beware of… (or the variations: Stay away from…Don’t do business with…DO not  hire…Do not buy…Do not waste money…) SCAM ALERT: (Company or individual’s name) is a con artist… (or the variations: I got  taken in by…These scammers took my money…Don’t trust…) (Company or individual’s name) lied (or the variations: misrepresented…promised but did  not deliver…ruined my property description by doing shoddy work…did shoddy work…is the  worst company description…) She also stated that you want to keep things personal: Focus on your own experience, and don’t tell other people what to do. Keep your language in the first person. “I hired…” “I found…” “I paid…” “I thought…” “I feel… You should try to avoid telling people what to do. Give them the facts that you found, and let them make a decision. Don't Threaten Tactics to avoid saying I’m going to make it my business to tell everyone I meet what a crook you are. I am going to tell everyone not to do business with you. If you don’t fix the problem you caused, I am going to ruin your reputation online. So what did I say that was so bad? I called it a scam (it's not a scam is where you give people money and get nothing in return - you do get something in return with Audello). I told people not to buy it. Like I said, don't tell people what to do. Give them the facts that you found, and let them decide. Be Ready to Prove Your Claims   What Would My Updated Review Be? I downloaded and installed Audello last week. On my computer I could never get it to launch. I didn't contact their tech support as my goal was to get an overview of the program so I could talk about it. Their web interface was really all I needed. I do my recording in other software (so I didn't need it). Here are some of their features Playlists Future Dating of Shows The Ability to see where people stop listening Split Testing Audio bars Of all the features the one I feel is unique is split testing. This is geared toward having a selling proposition on a page. So if you have a page setup to collect email addresses, you could see what audio message worked best at getting people to sign up for your email list. Playlists can be done with the free plugin powerpress. Future dating of shows can be done in Wordpress. The ability to see how long people are listening is available if you are on the Stitcher platform. All of those features are free. This is where Audello will say that the main advantage of Audello is that all these features are under one platform (and that would be true). It is also true that Audello is around $197 - $294. When I imported my feed, not all the details came across. If you have multiple shows on Libsyn, when you upload a show through Audello it will randomly pick which show to assign the file (that is not acceptable in my opinion). So the software has bugs (most new software does), but for $297 I expected more. Mentioned in this segment: EFF ONline Defamation Law and Deb Mcalisiter Article Here is the message I received Brute Protect Plugin Last Saturday the School of Podcasting and Ask the Podcast Coach had Brute Force attacks that made it hard for my website to stay online. It was a horrible feeling. Working with the tech support at Host gator they determined that I was under a brute force attack. I searched for a plugin to help and found the Brute Force attack plugin. This free plugin was recently purchased by Automatic (the people who make Wordpress). The idea is they are creating a giant database of attackers that it is blocking. It also will email you when your site is down (and when it comes back up). Over the last 19 hours it has blocked 20 attempts to login to my site. If your site is having an issues, this seems to be helping. You can learn more about it at https://bruteprotect.com/ My Podcast Reviews Now Includes Stitcher Reviews I want to thank everyone who has written a review in iTunes or Stitcher. I've been using My Podcast Reviews to track these (and all the reviews I've had over the years). It's definitely worth the money as I don't have to go in and dig through all the international stores to see my reviews (i.e.e the ones from Australia, Canada, etc). It's a great way to keep up to date with what people are saying about you. Appendipity Podcaster Pro Now Compatible with PowerPress You can use this theme and leave Powerpress enabled, but turn of the ability for PowerPress to place a player in your post (or use both and have Appendipity at the top of the post and PowerPress on the bottom).   Ready To Podcast? Become a member today

Today we talk about your favorite podcast, what does it take to feel comfortable talking to yourself, and   Last 5 in 5 With David Hooper David Hooper hosts the RED Podcast (Real Entrepreneur Development) and he phoned in the last five podcasts he listened to: Funding the Dream on Kickstarter Serial The Dr. Drew Podcast Building A Better Dave School Of Laughs Additional Mentions Dr. Drew on Marc Maron show  Kate's Take: The EntrepreneurOnFire Audio Blog The Bitterest Pill(this inspired me to do Building a Better Dave) Win the Diet War  Podcast Rewind: Podcaster's Roundtable Episode 38 on the LAW [18:00] Check out episode 38 where we had two different lawyers on and we talked to them about using music in podcasting as well as the patent lawsuits, etc. It's a great show. Check it out at http://podcastersroundtable.com/pr038-podcasting-and-the-law/ Check out Ya's other show Podcasters Studio and Daniel J. Lewis on the Audacity to podcast Simplecast.fm  Podcast Media Host Review [21:00] I have seven piece of criteria when I look at media hosts. These include: 1. Don't change my file (period). 2. Don't limit my storage 3. Don't limit the bandwidth 4. Give me Stats 5. Give me support 6. Don't control my feed. 7. Charge me for it. Simplecast.fm stats $12 a month for unlimited storage and bandwidth. The weird thing is they don't state ANY limits (that's a business plan that opens themselves up for lots of abuse). Their player is interesting as it allows you to speed things up and rewind. They have an interesting "Managers" feature where you can allow multiple people to manage your hosting. They make it easy to add advertising banners on your website. However, they changed my file name, they changed format (they changed it to mono), they also didn't copy over all my ID3 tags. When I sent them an email, 7 days later I still didn't have an answer. This leads me to saying I can't recommend them as a solution. I recommend Libsyn.com and Blubrry.com (you can get a free month using the coupon sopfree at either service). http://youtu.be/blunoEc_Oag Is Your Podcast Useful and Interesting? [31:30] I was reading an article from the Consent Marketing Institute and it said “Great content meets two criteria: It’s useful and it’s interesting.” This got me to thinking and I believe this to be true. I will listen to things that aren't useful (Like the Serial podcast) because it's really interesting. I will listen to boring stuff (like webinars) because they provide useful information. When you are trying to come up with ideas from your show ask yourself is what I'm about to share useful or interesting (preferably both). When its not interesting or useful, I call is "kah-kah, poo-poo." This is why I don't recommend an "episode 0" which is what people would put into their feed to test their iTunes feed. While this was seful in testing your feed, it was not very useful as a first impression. Now I recommend people come out with their best content in episode 1 (and don't be in such a hurry. Congrats to the Forever Fan Podcast [37:13] Troy contact me about doing a quick start, and in a few days he had his podcast launched. (see foreverfanpodcast.com ) If you don't have a website, send me an email with the phrase (quick start) in the title (if you have a podcast just join the School of Podcasting) I send you a link to order your hosting (I earn a commission), and it runs you around $8 a month. You send me the welcome email, and I install Wordpress for you (and some plugins to get you going - you need the graphics and the content) I also give you a free month at the School of Podcasting Ready To Start Podcasting? I would love to help you launch you podcast.  

Looking for some things to help grow your audience? Today we have a few ideas to make it easier for people to find and consume your content. Join in on the conversation at 888-563-3228 Check Your Volumes Levels I listened to a bunch of podcasts in the car this week, and I was surprised by the very large difference in volumes levels and equalization. In some cases people are getting out of hand with the "adding bass to sound like the radio" tools. I would advised you to listen to a few other podcasts and then listen to yours and see how they stack up. Because of my Podcast - I'm Going Global [5:00] Tony from thestillman.com explains how his podcast is going global now that it is a podcast. He started it as a way for people who were visually impaired to consume the content and now his podcast is being heard all over the place. Tony was also said some very nice words about being reviewed on the Podcast Review Show. In looking at my stats, the School of Podcasting is now heard in 175 countries with the US being first, and CHINA being second (followed by Canada and Australia and many others). Last 5 in 5 [11:45] Gary Leland from Garyleleand.com and Podertainment magazine. Scott Sigler's The Rookie No Agenda Show (media Assassinations) Podcast Talent Coach (podcasting tips) Today in iOs (all things iPhone/iPad) The Podcast Report (podcasting news) The Starter's Club Help Your Audience Consume Your Content [17:30] I wanted to share some promotion that I did to get folks into podcast consumption. We host a haunted house in our garage each Halloween, so I took advantage of a captive audience and gave the parents a card that had the details of my podcast on the front and some "how to listen" info on the back (images attached). Most folks were familiar with podcasts, but not real sure how to find them, so hopefully this will pull in a few more converts. I also created a page on my site with a video showing additional info on how to listen (ran of out time to voice it over, so need to go back and do that): http://whatsuponearth.com/listen Thanks for all the great tutoring on the shows, and best of luck with NMX. Big Fan, Al Holtz What's Up On Earth? whatsuponearth.com/listen Providing Embed Codes to Guests Can Greatly Improve Your Downloads [22:55] Jason Bryant produces On the Mat Podcast Network and interviewed some top guests. He has his Powerpress Plugin set to enable people to grab the embed link and put the player on their website (as they may not want to point their audience to YOUR website. In doing this his downloads went from three digits downloads to FIVE digit downloads. Let your guests and your audience freely promote your show and then make sure to mention your website in every episode. If you are using the PowerPress Wordpress plugin, go to the settings Making My Libsyn.com App Free [26:45] In July I sold 2 apps. I made it free and in September I had 102 download it. Is having 100% more people listen to your show worth the extra $10 a month? To get your app (free to have it created) go to Libsyn.com and get the $20 a month plan (it will be $30 a month once the app is launched). You can use the code sopfree to get a free month of hosting at the Libsyn.com July app sales ($1.99): 2 September App Sales (free): 102 Mentioned on This Episode Trapper Jack (Phillip Keller Now) www.blindfaithlive.com New Media Show  the Audacity to Podcast (Daniel J Lewis)   Ready to Podcast?    

Today we have a fun toy from my audience, we discover new podcasts with Ben Kruger, as talk about more things to worry about when it comes to Audello, and I answer your questions about the School of Podcasting and changing your podcast information in iTunes. Call into the show at 888-563-3228     Because of my podcast - I can listen to podcasts in the Shower A listener from CHINA sent me a bluetooth speaker that allows me to listen to podcasts in the show. Thank you Kevin Deng for the cool gift. I plug it into a usb device (like my computer) to charge it, then there is a suction cop on the back and I can stick it to the shower wall. My iphone can connect to the show via bluetooth. I can pause, skip, and stop the podcasts right on the player. If someone calls the device turns into a speaker phone. That would be weird to take a call in the shower. When the power is getting low, the device tells you to charge it. Thanks so much to Kevin. I am really loving it.   Reverse Engineering Podcast Listeners [4:15] I was curious how people FIND podcasts. We all obsess about iTunes, Stitcher, and other directories. In many cases the podcasts I listen to did not get on my phone by me doing a search. Colin Gray from Podcraft (podcraft.net) who does a show about podcasting says that word of mouth seems to be the main way he has found podcasts. Colin is the 6th person to tell me about the Startup podcast which is a story of a person starting a podcast network to create shows that tell stories. It's very interesting, and the producer used to produce This American Life (one of the top rated podcasts in iTunes). What was your Absolutely Favorite Podcast in 2005? I did this last year. If you could only listen to ONE podcast, what would it be. Please give me: 1. The name of the show 2. The website address 3. A brief description of the show 4. WHY you listen (this is the biggie) 5. Then tell us briefly about your show. Be sure to include your website address. My plan (like last year) is to have these transcribed and turned into a PDF. I'm also going to take last year's submissions and combine them in with this years submissions and turn them into a book for sale on Amazon. So you will get your voice played on my podcast, you will be in the PDF and in the Kindle book. I am taking submissions in November 2014. This way I can assemble it in December with the episode being played at the end of the year (12/28/14). You can call them in 888-563-3228, record an email them to me (128 mp3), or using the speakpipe button below.   Last 5 in 5 with Ben Kruger [10:15] 1. Time Ferris Show 2. Marketing In Your Car 3. Tropical MBA 4. Authority Alchemy 5. Authority Engine (Ben's show as we couldn't count) Dave Jackson on New Media Show [17:15] A podcast host will not bring you more listeners. A new mixer will not bring your more listeners (unless you sound is really bad). I appeared on the New Media Show with Rob Greenlee and Todd Cochrane talking about the New Media Expo (as I'm the Director of Podcasting) but we also started to talk about Soundcloud. Rob shared that their RSS feeds are oftn not compliant and missing itunes specs. You can subscribe to the New Media Show in itunes using this link. Podcast Review Show [22:10] We review the Gospel Light and Truth Hour on the latest episode of the Podcast Review Show. If you are looking to have two experts with a combine experience of 30 years give you unbiased feeback on your show, get your podcast reviewed.   Is Audello False Advertising? [25:10] I spoke last week about Audello and how their claims are exaggerated and that you can do a lot of what they are doing with free software. It was released this week to the tune of $297. That is crazy. I signed up as an Affiliate so I could hopefully get a closer look. Once approved, I saw videos where they have you submitting a feed created by Audello to iTunes. This makes me worried. I asked their support if there was a way to redirect their feed in the event you want to stop using their service. The support response wasn't certain of what I was talking about, and they said if it didn't exist they could always create it. Then a listener sent me a screenshot of John Lee Dumas commenting on Audello as they are using his image on their site. The bad new is John is NOT USING THEIR SYSTEM. When I see a company do this (in the same way that podbean.com puts people on their front page that aren't using their service it's to make them look better than they are. This is false advertising. Audello has a generous affiliate program so be careful as everyone is going to be saying this is the best thing since sliced bread (because they want that affiliate commission). If you go in, go in with your eyes wide open. Changing Your Information in iTunes [25:00] Every Saturday I do a live call in show called Asked the Podcast Coach. This week we took a week off to work on the New Media Expo. So I'm answering some question here. Your show titles are the headline of your episodes. They are very important. Write them with words that entice people to click and listen. If you're going to put numbers in your show title, I highly recommend you put them at the end of the title. If you swap out the image, it won't cause an issue. Make it s 2048X2048 jpg image. I would not use the exact same name as the file you are replacing. You should be subscribed to your show so you can make sure your feed is working. Questions About the School of Podcasting Is this meant for people who are absolutely new to podcasting?  Yes. Absolutely. Also while books and youtube videos are great. If you have any questions you have email support with fast responses to any questions you might have. What is covered? The main courses are planning your podcast, recording your podcast (software, microphones, mixers), building your website, publishing your podcast, promoting your podcast, and monetizing your podcast. There are a lot of tutorials. You have access to all of them the minute your sign up. Do you have any information about using your iPhone as a recording device? If you find any information missing from the School of Podcasting I will create it. In this case I usually will discuss what you need via email to make sure you're getting the right items. What is up with the Pricing? The first month is more because you can come in and consume everything and leave. If you stick around you can enjoy the great things like our private Facebook Group, and participate in our live "office hour" phone calls where we all share with each other and ask and answer questions.   Dave Jackson is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com

Today we have LOTS of podcasting news and new products on the horizons (some good, some seem kind of slimy). I explain what two questions I ask every time I meet a listener, and I think I found the Wordpress theme of my dreams.      Today we have LOTS of podcasting news and new products on the horizons (some good, some seem kind of slimy). I explain what two questions I ask every time I meet a listener, and I think I found the Wordpress theme of my dreams. Got a comment? Call it in 888-563-3228 or visit the contact page for more options to get involved.  New Car Dashboard I now own a Toyota Prius (2012). When You connect to a iPhone it shows this:   Podcast Listening Myths You don't have to stream them them. You can download them when you on wi-fi (only) and then listen to them on your car. The Podcasts app from Apple also deletes the file as soon as you are through the whole episode.  Stitcher is Purchased by Deezer Stitcher is a great podcast consumption app (free) for both Ios and Android. Do I care? At this point Deezer is a music subscription service not available in the USA. They have been around since 2007. It's interesting. Stitcher says they are not going away. I will file this under, "Wait and see." SoundCloud Discussion on New Media Show Per Rob of the New Media Show Soundcloud has gone through most of their funding. Does this mean they are going out of business? No. Does it mean they need to be profitable soon? Yes.    Appendpity Podcaster Pro (and other themes) will soon integrate with PowerPress I've used Appendipty themes in the past, but I wanted a little more flexibility. They just released the Podcast Pro theme, and it is WOW. The one thing it didn't do is integrate with the PowerPress plugin. I introduce Joey from Appendity to Todd Cohcrane from Blubrry who introduced Joey to Angelo (the main developer of PowerPress). The bottom line is the theme and plugin will work together very soon (probably a month or so). This way people who have started their podcast  and have a number of past episodes they won't have to copy and paste the location of the mp3 file into Appendpity part of your post (very cool). The Podcast Pro is $59 and need the Genesis framework $59. The good new is you can use it on more than one site for that $59.  Two Questions You Should Always Ask Your Audience[20:15] When you find yourself in direct contact with your audience be sure to ask them two questions: How did you find my show?  This way you can see what is working, and do more of that.  What would you like to hear on my show? This will bring you ideas for future shows. If they have no ideas, they will tell you what you are doing right. In my example my listener told me he was glad that I don't interview the "same old people." What was the last podcast you listened to? How did you find that show? Call it in 888-563-3228 Snake Oil is on the Way (Audello) 26:15 A very successful Internet Marketer will be releasing a podcast publishing platform at the end of this week. My guess is this is going to be on the expensive side (if it's like previous product releases - I owned Easy Video Suite 2). There are tons of items in their video that just play on people who don't know better. PLUS they have contacted all the other Internet Marketers to promote it with affiliate programs (which is also why these are often over-priced as they have to pay 50% to an affiliate).  I'm not saying this is a bad product. It could be very good, but it did show the system using feedburner (a really bad idea) and other tools that will make it look super easy. Many of these tools like WP Bakery allow you to drag and drop things on your Wordpress Page.  Making Money with your podcast is not bad. People open restaurants every day and many of these don't make it through the first year. Podcasters who are looking to make a living quickly need to know their chances of success are not great. They are not impossible, but it takes a lot of work. a lot of hustle, and some luck. Please go in with your eyes open. If you're not sure, reach out to me and I will help you.

The step of every journey starts with a single step. You've gone to great lengths to make a good episode. Now you're ready to promote your show, and everyone says "find your audience," but how? Today I do a couple quick Google searches and show you what I came up with for a friend who has a podcast that is a book of fiction (super niche). We also talk about dealing with "trolls" who leave negative comments on your blog posts, etc. If you are thinking about speaking at New Media Expo, you need to get your submission in BEFORE 10/24. I give some tips on what I'm looking for at my blog. Interview With an Internet Troll [3:40] There will be people who hate  everything you do. They have nothing nice to say, and in some cases will use very offensive words. But keep in mind: 1. They don't have the courage to do what you do (create content). They only tell you how bad your content is. 2. Many times they do it in an anonymous fashion (again, lack of courage). 3. They DID leave a comment. You MOVED someone to hate you. That's a plus. It doesn't seem like a plus, but it is. Check out Daniel J Lewis's episode on handling complaints. Check out Erik K. Johnson's Podast Talent Coach. Ray Ortega's Podaster's Studio and Podcaster's Rountable (which often has myself and Daniel J Lewis) Last 5 in 5 [10:50] Todd from the conformity hazard podcast (recorded live at Podcast Movement) tells us the last 5 podcasts he listened to. 48 Days to the Work you love (Dan Miller) School of Podcasting Podcast Answer Man Family From the Heart (audio journal of the host) Smart Passive Income (Pat Flynn). Podcast Rewind [12:38] UK Podcasters are now New Media Europe. Thanks to Kevin Cox for the shout out. I appeared on the Profitcast Podcast. This is a cool show that talks about growing your audience and monetizing your show. Brian is an awesome dude. How Do I Grow My Audience When I'm Not Doing an Interview Show? [16:15] I got an email from Caine Door who asked, " "what kind of advice would you give to someone who's podcast was driven by fiction content (a bit like Scott Sigler but with no where near such an outgoing personality) and not interviews, or helping people, or a professional focus?It seems that a lot of advice about podcasting is more geared toward all of those things that I mentioned above that I don't really do.  My latest episode has the most conversation I've done with the audience....ever and its only like seven minutes. "   My first bit of advice was to get his website address into his signature. Don't make it hard to find your show. I am the person who may not read all of your email, but I will click a link to help me determine if I should read all of your email. Then do the four steps of podcast promotion   1. Figure out who the audience is 2. Make content that will impact and move them. 3. GO to where they are and make friends with them. Bring value with every conversation. 4. Tell them about your podcast   So Caine's audience would be people looking for fiction. I typed in phrases like "Fiction Book Fans" and "Fiction Book Clubs" and I went to Google+ communities and Facebook Groups, and between a few(less than 5 searches) I had a list of places to investigate including.   http://themindofafictionbooklover.tumblr.com/me is in the top 5 of Google for this search. Go read his blog, and leave comments. When somethng strikes you send him an email and start a conversation. Later ask him if he'd like to listen to your book. Be sure to have your signature with a link to your website so when you send him an email he will see your website.   http://www.thrall.org/booklovers/ Has all sorts of things about book clubs   http://www.booktalk.org/online-reading-group.html This is a huge forum (be careful not to spam here and read the rules of posting)   Here is another search results for Google Groups https://plus.google.com/s/fiction%20books/communities   Be Careful in the Forums The reason you have to do step three (make friends with your potential audience) is if you just show up and go "LISTEN TO MY PODCAST" people who ask, "Who is this person?' Then they will flag your for spam. I know because in 2006 this happened to me. It takes time. It's hard to do (because you know THIS is MY AUDIENCE) but be patient. Kevin Costner is the Anti-Christ In the movie Field of Dreams Kevin Costner says that "If you build it they will come." This is a GIANT LIE. You need to GO and find your audience. Will having a podcast being people to your site? Yes, but if you want to grow your audience faster you have to go find your audience and lead them to your show. How Do You Define Your Success In my book More Podcast Money, I talk about how Jeremy and Jason from Internet Business Mastery had more influence than people with email lists that were huge. Jason and Jeremy had more influence. Your success may not be measured in numbers. Get Your Podcast Reviewed If you have a podcast and want some unbiased feedback check out getting a podcast review. You can appear live on the show and ask questions as we go over your content and website. We also have an option to have us review your show without you being present. To have your show reviewed, go to www.podcastreviewshow.com/reviewme Become a Member of the School of Podcasting If you're looking to start a podcast, the School of Podcasting has everything you need. I have tutorials that will walk you through every step of the process. I can help shape your content during the planning process. We can make sure you don't spend too much money on equipment you don't need. I can help you build your website with free tools, and get your show listed in iTunes (and all the other popular directories). Best of all, I offer a 30 day guarantee. If you're not happy with the School of Podasting I will refund your payment with no questions asked. You can join Risk Free.

Podcasters Are Taking Home Award - Because of my Podcast Amateur Traveler Podcast wins Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Award Chris Christensen is a winner in the 2014 Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Competition, taking an Honorable Mention in the Travel Broadcast — Audio category for “Amateur Traveler: Travel to Flanders in Belgium” (http://europe.amateurtraveler.com/travel-flanders-belgium-travel- podcast/) on AmateurTraveler.com. The awards are named for Lowell Thomas, acclaimed broadcast journalist, prolific author and world explorer during five decades in journalism. This is the 30th annual competition sponsored by the Society of American Travel Writers Foundation. Winners of the awards, the most prestigious in the field of travel journalism, were announced Sept. 16 at the SATW convention, held in Iceland. The competition drew 1,177 entries and was judged by members of the faculty at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill School of Journalism and Mass Communication. This year, the SATW Foundation presented 90 awards in 25 categories and nearly $20,000 in prize money to journalists. Since the first competition for work in 1984, the SATW Foundation has presented more than 2,100 awards and $420,000-plus in recognition of outstanding travel journalism. In honoring work, the judges said: "The Amateur Traveler podcast by Chris Christensen was well done. The first episode only featured narration by Christensen, which is challenging to produce. His incorporation of natural sound was a great addition to keep the show interesting and engaging. It offered both great historical context as well as important tips for travel to Flanders. The show was well produced and interesting". Among other winners, Jill Schensul, senior writer for The Record of northern New Jersey, earned the title of Lowell Thomas Travel Journalist of the Year for a portfolio of her work in the past year. It is the third top title for Schensul, who over the years has won 29 Lowell Thomas awards for herself, and The Record travel section has taken 39 in total. National Geographic Traveler, Islands, Travel + Leisure and AFAR magazines are top media winners in 2014. The Foundation distributes nearly $20,000 annually in prize money to individual winners. Donations by this year’s Underwriter, the Tourist Office for Flanders-Brussels, and many other supporters helped make the prizes possible. For more information about the awards, including a full list of winners and judges’ comments, and SATW, visit www.satwf.com andwww.satw.org. Money Plan SOS Wins Plutus Award Steve Stewart was nominated in the Best personal finance blog, and best debt reduction blog categories. Joe Saul-Sehy won for best financial blog (Joe was on the show this year talking co-hosts), and Steve won for the best debt reduction blog. The interesting thing is Steve's blog is just his "show notes" for his podcast. Congrats to both! Portable Recording With Zoom iQ5B I was Podcast Movement when I met Shawn Smith who had a bunch of microphones set up and was interviewing him. I went over and introduced myself. Shawn has gone out to help people answer the question, "What is the best way to record on the road." His is actively positioning himself as THE mobile recording person at http://www.themobilepro.net/ This was recorded on my iPhone using Boss Jock Studio and using Shawn's Zoom iQ5B microphone. It is a condenser microphone so it does pick up background noise. It has adjustable settings so you can pick how wide the stereo separation is. You will here Shawn and I go through some of the  settings on the microphone. It sounds good (and would work in a quiet place like any quiet place). The FREE Ebook From Shwn: 28 pages of high-rez photos and links to all the road-tested apps and gear in each of the 5 Mobile Pro Podcast Set-Ups, pros & cons of each, best-use guide, and Mobile Pro tips plus 3 bonus set-ups. TheMobilePro.net Question from Listeners In a previous episode we spoke about Dragon Naturally Speaking and Ryan Parker I just wanted to let you know that the Mac does have a dictation function and you can find that function in the system preferences file. It works pretty much just like Siri does. And yes you have to enunciate your punctuation.(It works really great!) In fact I am voice typing this comment to you directly with no corrections. It actually works really fast. The only thing is you have to get used to using the program just like anything else. Okay I lied I did correct a few things. And you have to correct manually if you speak an incorrect word or it picks up punctuation incorrectly. Here’s a great tutorial from YouTube for you and your audience: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lU7oiTTAxNkIt does not allow you to correct by voice which is one of the advantages of dragon speaking naturally. They have a Mac version called Dragon dictate that seems to work pretty well I have use that in the past. Have a great day keep podcasting because we I’ll love you so much ha ha! - - Q: What kind of advice would you give to someone who's podcast was driven by fiction content (a bit like Scott Sigler but with no where near such an outgoing personality) and not interviews, or helping people, or a professional focus? It seems that a lot of advice about podcasting is more geared toward all of those things that I mentioned above that I don't really do.  My latest episode has the most conversation I've done with the audience....ever and its only like seven minutes. Thank you for your time I love your show. Caine Dorr   A: Caine Who likes Fiction books?. I did a quick search for "fiction book lovers" and came up with a few sites.   http://themindofafictionbooklover.tumblr.com/me is in the top 5 of Google for this search. Go read his blog, and leave comments. When somethng strikes you send him an email and start a conversation. Later ask him if he'd like to listen to your book. Be sure to have your signature with a link to your website so when you send him an email he will see your website.   http://www.thrall.org/booklovers/ Has all sorts of things about book clubs   http://www.booktalk.org/online-reading-group.html This is a huge forum (be careful not to spam here and read the rules of posting)   Figure out who your audience is, go there and make friends. then tell them about or mention your book. Podcast Reviews  by Filopastry88 from Australia on October 8, 2014 Dave gives amazing value every episode . so many great action things to do. Last 5 of 5 is top idea Thanks so much for the reivews! You can add your review at www.schoolofpodcasting.com Leave a review at www.schoolofpodcasting.com/itunes Join the Shcool of Podcasting www.schoolofpodcasting.com/become-a-member

Do you feel that you podcasting may be too hard, or complicated? Do you feel that nobody would listen? Are you nervous? Maybe a little scared? Well today we are going to talk you off the ledge. It's Time To Get Uncomfortable I've been appointed as the Director of Podcasting at the new media expo. This means I will help choose who speaks at the New Media Expo in April of 2015. This is a huge opportunity. It's also kind of scary. This means someone who really wants to speak won't get to, and I'm going to disappoint them. It also means I will get to meet a whole bunch of people, and get additional insights into podcasting, blogging, video, and more. It's a huge opportunity for me, and I'm blessed to be chosen. Today I walk you through stepping out the boat of comfort and why its a good thing to be scared and uncomfortable. We don't like to move when we are comfortable, but life is moving fast, and if we don't move we are actually going backwards in some instances. So I share some things that I was scared and had to work through. As a teenager I was very shy around strangers. My mother died when I was 24 and I had to go tell my Grandma she had outlived her child I had to work my way though college. It took twice as long, but I got my degree. I spent myself into bankruptcy trying to have a child with my first wife. Later we divorced. These are hard things to push through, but you come out better on the other side. Sometimes we need to ask, "What is the worst thing that could happen? When you get a dog, you're not tihnking, "Hey someday in the future we are all going to be sad," but its true. The pros outweigh the cons. Do I dread telling people they didn't get accepted? Sure. You have to take the good with the bad. For me, the benefits of podcasting outweigh the negative. Special thanks to Rob Walch (libsyn.com), Todd Cochrane (Blubrry.com) Rob Greenlee (podcastone.com) for recommending me to Rick Calvert of the New Media Expo.    Last 5 in 5 With Lou Mongello [15:47] Today we get some podcast recommendations from Lou Mongello who produces the WDW Radio podcast (A great podcast about Walt Disney World). I interviewed Lou back on the Power of Podcasting podcast that told his story about how he left his job as a lawyer and now does podcasting full time. Here are the last five podcast Lou listened to.   The Podcast Report From Paul Colligan Starve the Doubts by Jared Easley Podcast Answer Man - Cliff Ravenscraft Smart Passive Income - Pat Flynn Social Media Examiner - Michael Stelzner Saving For Events Going to events is a great way to fast forward your networking and knowledge. It can add up when you start thinking about travel expenses in addition to the price of attendance. One way is to look at your bank and see if they have a savings plan that will automatically move money into an account for you. I Use CaptialOne 360 (which actually lets you earn interest) and once a month it transfers money from my "normal" checking account into the online account. By using an account that you don't look at you are less likely to spend it. Mike Russel Launches Audio Producter Masters [20:34] Mike Russel of Music Radio Creative (the people behind my intro singers), has released a book on Adobe Audition in addition to an online community. The community has great tutorials as well as each month you get cool sound files for music beds, swishes, zaps, etc. Check it out at www.audioproductionmasters.com/sop If you're more of a reader he has also released a new kindle book filled with his massive knowledge of Adobe Audition.   Over Coffee Podcast Appearance [24:00] I was interviewed by Dott on the Over Coffee podcast. Check it out Cleveland Podcasters Meetup [26:32] If you plan on doing your own meetup, be sure to provide food, and have an agenda. The good news is there is no better way to connect then face to face. It was awesome to see everyone. FREE PIZZA (Because of My Podcast Part Two) Steve Stewart was in town so we went out for Pizza, and how weird was it that Philip Keller of the Blind Faith Live podcast. We had our own little meetup, and Phillip left. When we went to pay for our bill Phillip had already taken care of or bill. How cool is that? It was great to have two of my favorite people meet each other. Check out Phillip's show at www.blindfaithlive.com (real people, real miracles) also check out Steve at www.moneyplansos.com

One of the most hated steps of podcasting is writing show notes. They are a necessary evil and they help search engines like Google and Bing find you. So how long should my show notes be? We will take a look at that question today.   Podcasting is up to 13 Million Listeners a Day   5% of Americans (so this number is bigger in reality) listen to podcasts every day. That would be 13 million people. This video explains more.   Dragon Naturally Speaking Review   I tried Dragon Naturally Speaking back when they were on version 6. It was impressive. I received some questions about creating show notes, and more and more people are having them transcribed. That can get a little costly at $1 a minute. So would something like Dragon Naturally speaking solve this issue for those who don't like to type? My answer is maybe. I used a transcribe feature where I put an audio file into the software and it typed out over 10,000 words (13 pages). From my test, this software is around 90% accurate. The more you use it the better it gets as it learns your voice. The bad news is it doesn't do a bit of punctuation. How could it? It doesn't understand what it is transcribing. So the time you save by not having to type is now used by going in and adding punctuation.   Now if you are a "hunt and pack" kind of typist, this might be for you. It took me 10 minutes to go through an interactive tutorial and I was ready to go full force with the software. You can use it not only to type what you are saying, but to open programs, click buttons and more. Can I get up to speed this fast learning the keyboard? I don't think so. I will say, talking your punctuation is not something that comes naturally, but it does force you to finalize your thought before speaking (which I think we all can use).   The software is smart as if you say something and it types if wrong, you can say "Select (whatever the word is) and then go through a number of choices to edit it. Then there are more commands to tell it to go back to where you were. It's pretty slick. If you are in a chat room you could easily just speak your words and have them show up.   What does it cost? The premium version (that allows you to transcribe prerecorded files is $199 at amazon (affiliate link). The basic version is $49 that does the live transcription.   Do I Need Show Notes?   In a quick word yes. At its core, a podcast is media in a blog post. The question then becomes:   How Many Words Do I Need in My Podcast Show Notes?   The Wordpress Plugin Wordpress SEO Recommend at least 300.   Some reports who that you need 2000 words. WOA! What is this based on? A report that show that most of the top ranking pages had over 2000 words. It makes perfect sense. Google indexes every part of your site. The more it finds, the more of a trail you leave behind to be found.   You can also point at Seth Godin who has one of the most popular blogs on the planet is short and to the point. His post None of this makes sense was 125 words.   When I interviewed Pat Flynn, we spoke about his writing style. He often writes posts that can be seen as a definitive source on that subject. His original posts helped people pass an architecture exam. They were that detailed.   Things to Consider When Writing Show Notes   Your audience. It always starts with your audience. Some of your audience may want the full story. Some of them may just want the bullet points. What is the purpose of your show notes? Pat's original posts were his notes on passing the exam. Maybe your notes are just a summary with links to resources. What is the subject? If you hate typing show notes, then one thing you can do to save time is identify your subject and stick to it. Most people skim when they read. Break it up in to bite sized chunks and using different heading tags. These can carry more Google juice. Use images to break up the intimidating screen of non-stop text. How to Speed Things Up   1. Type it once.   Use tools like Google Docs, Evernote, OneNote, etc to capture your ideas. Then later when you put together your show notes you can copy and paste from your resources.   2. If you are pasting, paste as plain text.   Programs like Microsoft Word can put weird characters into your site that can cause issues and headaches.   3. Listen to your show at 2X   If you are a person who creates their show notes after they record, listen to your show at 2X. If you are listening on a Windows machine, Windows media player can speed the audio/video. While you are listening in windows media player, you can right click on the image and choose Enhancements > Play Speed and adjust it up to 2X.   4. Check to See if Your Recorder Can Create Marks   Dragon Naturally SpeakingIf you are recording into a portable recorder, some of them like the Zoom H5 allow you to press a button and "Mark" your audio. This allows you later to go in and jump to a specific section. This can make it easier for you to remember what you spoke about (although you should have things identified before you press record).   5. If You Can't Type - Speak   There are tools such as Dragon Naturally Speaking that have come a long way in their accuracy. If you can type, it is probably easier to type. When you use a voice to text converter you have to speak your punctuation. You would say something like, "This is my sentence period." The screen would should "This is my sentence." (where the word period has been turned into a period).   6. Farm It Out - Transcriptions    The typical rate for having your podcast subscribed is around $1 a minute. This means a 60 minute podcast costs $60. Keep in mind you then have to edit the text as you typically don't write the way you speak. Keep this in mind when you see services like Show Notes Made Easy. I interviewed Lara and she quoted me $60 an episode (her prices may change). While it may be tempting to use someone overseas for transcription you may want someone how has your language (English in my case) as their primary language. You can find transcription services in our resource section   Here are some resources I used   Quick Sprout   Forbes   How Many Words Are In Your Show Notes?   Do you have any tips on writing show notes? How many words do you typically put in your posts? (leave a comment below).   Start Podcasting Today JOIN HERE