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

Today we interview Chris Christensen  of the  Amateur Traveler podcast. He has been doing since 2005, and has won awards for his podcast(s) and been featured in national magazine's and newspapers. You can see all the places he's visited by viewing his episode map on his website. He is also the developer of Blogger Bridge which helps bloggers and podcasters get guests (more on that next week). In Today's Interview You Learn: Chris uses Linkedin to find guests and places to promote his show Chris started in one direction and changed later. So don't feel bad if you change your format. Your podcast can often be a work in progress. Chris networks with other people in his niche (traveler podcasts) and they often appear on each other's shows He has a clearly defined audience profile that he uses to determine what will (and will not ) make it on his podcast. His podcast is used to help people learn English Chris takes action to find sponsors. In the beginning they didn't come to him Dave's Tour of Duty [42:45] Scott Johnson from the Computer Tutor Show sent in a comment after listening to the Podcast Review Show on the One Word Go Show. You can hear this example of a podcast Dave does not connect with at podcastreviewshow.com/29 In general great content does not happen by accident. Keith and the Girl explain how they have always taken their podcast serious. They take four hours to produce a one hour show. In my interview with Keith and the Girl, Keith said that even though they were podcasting in a spare bedroom, they planned out their show, and didn't treat it like "just a podcast." The Serious Hobbiest I did some research and if I joined a bowling league in Rocky River Ohio, my local alley would charge me $4 a game. If we bowled 4 games a week that would be $64 a month. It would cost $184 to by a ball, shoes, bag, cleaning rag, etc. It costs me $20 for media hosting, $9 for website hosting, and $1 a month for my podcast. That means it cost me $30 a month. This is HALF of what it would cost to be on a bowling league. I can spend $50 on an ATR 2100 microphone and be good to go using free podcasting software like Audacity and Garage band.   If You Must Podcast For Free (Please, Please, Please Don't) Scott Boyd wants to know how to podcast on the super cheap. Here is his website. He uses Absolute RSS Editor ($30) to edit his RSS.  He uses Filezilla to upload your files. You can build your website using a site like Tumblr, or Blogger. You can use Archive.org as a media host. You can use blubrry.com for stats. Then you would have to use Feedburner (a really bad idea in my book) to add your iTunes information. We hope that Archive.org doesn't slow down your downloads TOO MUCH when you get busy. We hope that feedburner is still around if you have to move your feed (when you finally decide to "do it for real). So why don't I promote podcasting for free? Because I don't believe in it. I think anything worth doing is worth doing well. If you are so strapped for cash that $30 a month is too much money, then go to Moneyplansos.com and listen to Steve Stewart tell you how to manage your finances. I'm pretty sure just cutting out soft drinks, coffee, or your TV cable would give you enough money to pay for your podcast. When I was younger I moved from a small apartment to a bigger one. Then later I moved to a house. If I had to do it all again, I would've stayed in the smaller apartment and saved my money and moved to a house sooner (and without the hassle of moving three times instead of twice). I have come up with the least expensive way to do a serious podcast. I don't recommend places that want to charge you $70 for a domain. I recommend Name Cheap and Godaddy for your domains (around $10 a year). I don't recommend web hosting that's $30 a month. I choose Host Gator for $9 a month. You can get 25% off using coupon " podcastcoach " .  I show you how you can podcast in mono and save 50% on your media hosting bill. All these tools allow you to grow. They are a solid basement to build your house on. Free websites, hosting, and other tools are not. They are good for that person who isn't sure if they want to podcast. They want to record one episode and see how hard it is. Keep in mind, you spend more than $30 if you take your wife to the movies and you get popcorn - and that's for one night. Podcasting is $30 for a MONTH of activity.  See my previous episode on Podcasting for Free. Start Podcasting in Six Weeks Start 3-29 If you are looking for some personalized training we meet every Saturday from Noon to 2 EST for six weeks.

In today's show I talk about "back in the day" when people use to create promos (a short 30, or 60 second spot) that helped spread the word about their show. You often would "swap" promos with other similar podcasts. I'm not sure why (fear maybe that people would leave your show) this kind of went by the wayside. As word of mouth is the BEST form of promotion, I still like the idea of a podcast promo. This was inspired by a recent episode of the Podcaster's Roundtable where we talked about the Podcast Promotion Police. Check out www.schoolofpodcasting.com/396 for more information

Today we interview podcast pioneers Keith and the Girl. They started out in a spare bedroom, but have always taken their podcast serious. They get to know their fans. They interact with their fans. They LISTEN to their fans (because their fans listen to them). In the end this has lead to top selling books […] Be the first to comment... Related Posts:Why Did You Unsubscribe From That Podcast?Libsyn Pro ExplainedIf Content is King, What is Queen?Should I Read My Podcast?Common Podcast Mistakes RSS Feed Powered by MaxBlogPress Bring My Blog Visitors Back

Today we focus on tools and insights into creating a digital product to sell to those you connect with on your podcast. I never advise someone to get into podcasting for the money. You make money from the relationship you form with your audience, and that takes time. If you do have an audience, today […] 4 Comments - Read what others are saying about this post... Related Posts:Internal Business Podcasts – Finding Topics For EpisodesKeith and the Girl Share Ultimate Podcasting TipsCommon Podcast MistakesCommon Validation ErrorsCutting Your Editing Time by 70% RSS Feed Powered by MaxBlogPress Bring My Blog Visitors Back

Today we hear how podcasting is bringing clients to business es that don’t even exist, we hear how podcasting is set to potentially doubling Trent Dyrsmid’s business. You will hear how you can open doors to networking via podcasting. Today’s show is recorded using Sound Byte on my iPad for playing music and sound effects […] 5 Comments - Read what others are saying about this post... Related Posts:The $30 Microphone ExperimentConvention Tips – Personal Podcast Promotion – Podcast Equipment QuestionsPodcasting Can Boost Your Business – I’ve Got ProofPodcast Listener LoyaltyApril Income Statement $1778 RSS Feed Powered by MaxBlogPress Bring My Blog Visitors Back

Today we interview George Hrab as he looks back of seven years of podcasting as he started out wanting to make his friends laugh, and ended up touring the world.  Because of my Podcast [1:26] James Neuman of the Human Perfofmance Tools (www.humanperformancetools.com )podcast was asked to do a presentation about using podcasting at a conference […] 1 Comment - Read what others are saying about this post... Related Posts:Producing Your Podcast From Segments with George HrabTroubleshooting Your iTunes Podcast ListingPodcast Listener LoyaltyNever Podcast on 4 Hours SleepTaking Your Podcast Portable RSS Feed Powered by MaxBlogPress Bring My Blog Visitors Back

Today we talk about some updates to the spreaker platform where you can now see how many people are listening on iHeart radio. We also hear from Mignon Fogarty who has appeared on Oprah and the Today to talk about grammar. Because of My Podcast… [1:20] Rem from the Sci-Fi Movie Podcast has this to […] 9 Comments - Read what others are saying about this post... Related Posts:Evergreen Content Help Build You AudienceGrowing Your Audience From 100s to 1000sGeorge Hrab Takes Advantage of Every Opportunity Podcasting ProvidesJason Hartman Attributes 10 Million in Sales to His PodcastThe Perfect Podcast Launch? – Podcast Chat – Say Thank You! RSS Feed Powered by MaxBlogPress Bring My Blog Visitors Back

I’m back from New Media Expo. It was a blast and I’m sure I will be talking more about it in the future. I liked the opening key note, but for me it was the next session that really hit home with me. It was by one of my favorite people Michael Hyatt. He has […] 4 Comments - Read what others are saying about this post... Related Posts:Bloggers Would You Spend $50 to Grow Your Audience by 20%?Looking Forward to Checking Podcast Statistic Projections Against RealityDonationsConvention Tips – Personal Podcast Promotion – Podcast Equipment QuestionsMaking Your Podcast Better RSS Feed Powered by MaxBlogPress Bring My Blog Visitors Back

Today I asked my audience to share what was their FAVORITE podcast. They could only pick ONE. Thanks to everyone who contributed. Here is a PDF of the show notes for you to download and share. Speaking of sharing. If you would like to send a tweet about this episode you can do so below […] 10 Comments - Read what others are saying about this post... RSS Feed Powered by MaxBlogPress Bring My Blog Visitors Back

Today we have we some great tips about getting your guest ready to appear on your show, we have a quick podcast promotion tip, we hear what stitcher.com is doing good, and what Spreaker.com is doing very, very, bad (reminds of the days of Podshow), and I talk about getting ready for 2014. Spreaker.com Hijacking […] 2 Comments - Read what others are saying about this post... Related Posts:Getting Your Podcast Media Right – Removing Noise From Your PodcastPreparing to Use SkypeTaking Action Against The Trolls – Podcasting Resources – Podcasting Saved Their MarriageBattling Computer Fan NoiseTime Shift the Gold RSS Feed Powered by MaxBlogPress Bring My Blog Visitors Back