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

This show originates at www.schoolofpodcasting.com PODCAST CRASHINGIf you are using a live podcast system like talkshoe.com you need to be prepared to keep your show on track. I've listened to a few live podcasts, and someone will come in and "Crash" your podcast and start talking about their podcast which is completely unrelated. YOUR LISTENER  doesn't want to hear about their podcast. I've heard podcasts that get completely derailed. Don't forget to keep yoru listener in mind, and be assertive, and point out that the "Crasher" is off topic. Testimonial from J.R. Stanley of www.llmlive.com Meet the MembersToday we meet one of the members of the School of Podcasting. It's Mark Wade of the www.a1artistspotlight.com Mark is using the Alesis Multimix 8 USB mixer (but he doesn't use the USB feature). He is also using an Audio Techniica 2020 and the free Levelator software. Using Google Analytics to Obtain Wordpress Stats Today we are talking about Google Analytics which you can find at http://www.google.com/analytics/ and a great plugin for Worpdress that makes it very easy to install Google Analytics code into your blog. http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wp-google-analytics/ When you sign up for Google Analytics, you end up with a piece of code that you would normally put on every page of yrou website. With the wordpress plugin, you place it into the plugin and the plugin puts it on every page of your site. I will be producing a video on how to set this up for members of the School of Podcasting www.schoolofpodcasitng.com  

This show originates at www.schoolofpodcasting.com Today I look at my stats from the first episode of 2007 vs the first episode of 2008. To make things fair, the first show published in 2007 has had 517 days to download so I divded the 2007 by 517. The numbers for 2008 were divided by 152 (as this is June 1). School of Podcasting 2007 1400 Downloads (2.7 a day)School of Podcasting 2008 801 Downloads (5.3 a day) Musicians Cooler 2007 1689 Downloads (3.3 a day)Musicians Cooler 2008 1032 Downloads (6.8 a day) Building a Better Dave 2007 1617 Downloads (3.1 a day)Building a Better Dave 2008 915 Downloads (6.0 a day) This averages to an increase of 98% from 2007 to 2008   I also looked at my stats from the now podfaded Podcast Promo Show. It seemed that Libsyn numbers were higher by about 29% than Feedburner numbers. Here are some examplesFeedburner showed 29 downloads to Libsyn's 34Feedburner showed 27 downloads to Libsyn's 37Feedburner showed 30 downloads to Libsyn's 47 So the range of my 57 shows was from 13% - 57% My conclusion? Pick one and go with it. I use Libsyn cause in theory "Everything comes back to the host." I like their stats, and I can get stats without involving another redirect to my mp3 file.   If you are looking for more informatoin about visitors to your blog check out the Google Analytics Plugin for Wordpress .   If you're interested in participating in our weekly roundtables check out www.schoolofpodcasitng.com  

Today I give thanks for all who have paid for my freedom, and we get some emails from folks like  Emails from ://OneMinuteHowTo.comhttp://EclecticMix.comhttp://DRiPInvesting.orghttp://GLSmyth.com - blog: http://GLSmyth.WordPress.com and Jeff Roneyhttp://www.roneyzone.comTwitter: twitter.com/roneyzone Check out our new Video and More Show,Magical Definition TV Episode 2http://mdtv2.roneyzone.com New World Army, a futuristic audio thrillerhttp://nwarmy.roneyzone.com Our Lost TV On-Location Videoshttp://lost.roneyzone.com I also talk about some widgets that are pretty cool for your blog. You can find them at www.addtoany.com Jeff is using https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1730 to post to multiple blogs at the same time.

Are you just getting started? Are you ready to launch a successful podcast? Check out our new Quick Start Package at www.schoolofpodcasting.com/quickstart You get:6 month subscription $1201 year blog hosting at www.coolerwebsites.com  $24Wordpress Blog Set up and cusomitzation - $160Intro/Outro Recording $80 All this for $299 Sign up at www.schoolofpodcasting.com/quickstart Back Catalog - Is Anybody Listening To Old Shows?My first Show "First Podcasts Always Stink" that were recorded back in October of 2005 have been downloaded 106 times in May of 08, 159 in April of 08, 154 in March of 08, 131 in February of 08. (That episode has been dowloaded 2947 total). Meet the MembersBrian from www.dimacast.com suggested we get to know the members of the School of Podcasting, so today we meet J.R. Stanley of www.lordliftedme.com and the podcast www.lmllive.com J.R. is using a Sure KSM27 Microphone and an Edirol UA4FX USB Interface which he likes for the tube emulation. The Interview We Did Today with J.R. was actually "Time Shifted Interview" where I send a question, he records an answer. We repeat to fill in a quick "Meet The Members" section.  

Today’s episode comes from our weekly meetings that we have at the School of Podcasting. The question is what is the difference between a post and a page in Wordpress?  A post will be at the top of your blog until you enter another post. A page is something you enter and it can only be viewed if you link to it. (There is a way to have it show up on the front age by going to settings > reading and choosing to have the page be “static” on the front page.  Why Wordpress? It creates an RSS feed for you, and IT’S FREE. If you need an inexpensive host for Wordpress check out www.coolerwebsites.com  LISTENER FEEDBACK – NO AGE LIMIT TO PODCASTINGFred from http://www.strugglingentrepreneur.com/ aggrees that there is no age limit to podcasting. He is 59, and he encourages all “baby boomers” to get involved with podcasting. Fred uses my www.podcastfastpass.com service to set up his blogs at www.strugglingentrepreneur.com and www.gaincontrolofyourday.com  (and more projects coming).

This show (download show) was originally recorded last week 4/25. In the hussle and bustle, I never published it. You can read about my "Passing out" at BetterDave.com Audience FeedbackVince from  www.bmoviecast.com agrees that you are never too old to podcast (as he is a baby boomer). Audacity Feedback?Steve from www.djideasharing.com does not use Audacity, but ubercaster (for the mac) had him losing an episode. Blog Views and Blues www.blogsviewsandblues.comThis is a new podcast from Rich Palmer (www.richpalmer.com ) and he turned me on to www.springwidgets.com Wordpress 2.5 BugsIn working with the bugs, I can seem to get the image media manager to work. If i'm lucky enough to get an image to upload without error, I can't get to a screen to where I can insert it into the post. I did find I was able to to do this if I stopped using Internet Explorer and switched to Firefox and it worked. So if you are a big IE fan, then you may not want to update just yet. I've been using the Image Manager plugin. More Fun Toolswww.twirl.org is a desktop Twitter tool. It works on both Mac and PC. From www.celticmythpodcast.com an easy to customize wordpress theme at http://wpthemepark.com/themes/paalam/ It makes it very easy to turn on or off the text on yruo header (as well as upload a custom header. It's widget ready, and if know a little html, its easy to tweak the colors. If you need help with the "technical stuff" please see me at www.podcastfastpass.com

Today we talk with Richard Harrington and Mark Weiser authors of the book Producing Video Podcasts: A Guide for Media Professionals. If you are a audio podcaster looking to get into video, it can help those looking to do it on a shoe string budget or the person looking to invest some big time equipment. For more information about the Authors and the book go to www.vidpodcaster.com The book is available at Amazon.com  

Today we talk with Scott Sigler who was the first person to have a Podcast only novel. People became addicted to it as the only way to get it was through his podcast. Later he published this book (Earthcore) and a second book (which went to #2 at Amazon.com) and he continues to write and release books (giving the ENTIRE BOOK away in a podcast with each release). His latest book Infected was given away as a pdf prior to its release? Did it effect sales? Nope. Once again Scott was at the top of his genre. In this interview Scott talks about how he got the word out about his novel/podcast, why it makes sense to give it your book away, and how you can use podcasting to start your own word of mouth campaign. For more information about Scott go to www.scottsigler.com You can buy his latest book inftected at amazon.com You can see how he is utilizing social media like MySpace, Facebook, and YouTube below. To join the school of Podcasting go to www.schoolofpodcasting.com

Today I talk about some of my reflections from speaking at the Erma Bombeck Writers Workshop. I also play a promo for www.blogsviewsandblues.com  TOO OLD TO PODCAST?There is no age limit on Podcasting. I know of an 8 year old who has a podcast, and I know someone who is in their 60s who is doing a podcast. So if you are saying to yourself, "I'm too old to podcast" you are robbing yourself of a great way to share your wisdom. UNDERSTANDING BANDWIDTHTo understand bandwidth think of your kids or grandchildren. They may have a phone plan that covers X amount of text messages. When they go over the limit they are charged for each text message over the limit. When you have a website you are given a set amount of bandwidth measured in either megabytes or gigabytes. If you go over your limit your host will charge your, and in some cases they may shut your site down. This is why I recommend Libsyn.com www.uselibsyn.com or if you need free go to www.podshow.com UNDERSTANDING STORAGEStorage for your media files is also limited. Think of storage like a filing cabinet. You can stuff more and more files in your cabinet, but eventually it will get full. PODCAMP OHIOPodcamp Ohio is 6/28/08 for more information go to www.podcampohio.com WHERE ARE YOUR LISTENERS?I have been talking about podcasting at podcast conventions. This really doesn't make sense if I'm trying to find people who need to learn how to podcast as most of the audience is already podcasting. I need to find people who need publicity. While I can keep up with technology at the New Media Expo, and meet all of my friends, if I want to find people interested in learning how to start  a podcast, then the New Media Expo may not be the most efficient use of my publicity dollars.

Today I explain why you had an episode show up a few days early. I also explain that I'm not going to be speaker at the Expo in Las Vegas (but will be going to Podcamp Ohio www.podcampohio.com ). I also talk about post dating Podcasts and the easy mistake you can make that will have things going out immediately (oops). Dave Sholes got a free month at the School of Podcasting by sigining up for the Podcast Secrets preview call at www.secretswithdave.com I also share some of the tips from out weekley roundtable at the School of Podcasting (www.schoolofpodcasting.com )