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

Show #119 originating from www.schoolofpodcasting.com Today I talk about how having a clean website at www.logicalloss.com lead to me getting a new advertiser. I've relaunched Podcastclicks.com and from now through the end of February you can use the Podcast Clicks Promotional System for $10 a year (Price goes to $20 a year on 3/1/07). We also talk about moving a site from blogger.com to using a hosted Wordpress site to run your podcast. Sites Mentioned: A1 Artist Spotlight www.a1artistspotlight.com Jewish Teen Podcast www.jewishteen.net Audio Gumshoe www.audiogumshoe.com

Episode #118 Today I talk about some of the lovely podcasts I've run across that I feel are awful. It seems people are falling into certain areas: The person who thinks they are going to make thousands of dollars next week. The person who gets into podcast becuase they hear its cool, but have nothing to say. Ask them what their podcast is going to be about and they will say, "I don't know." I've heard no less than four podcasts stating "how to make money in podcasting" and it turns out to be nothing but 40 minutes of talkshoe.com spewing. (nothing against talkshoe.com, but I've heard that podcast enough). If you have a recording from a buinses meeting back in 1992 and think it would be a great podcast (that is if you can hear the speaker over the air conditioning) - you don't need to podcast that. You CAN, but the question is should you. If you got into podcasting because you heard you can do it for free - you don't need to podcast. There are singers who sing for free. You can hear them at karaokee bars offending ears every Thursday. Spend a few bucks and take your podcast to the next level. Thinking of starting a podcast in 2008? Remember that not only do you need the time to record the podcast, but you need the time to promote the podcast. Currently I have seven podcasts (www.podcastcoach.com ) and I don't spend enough time promoting my podcasts as I did when I had 2. Consequently, my numbers are growing slower than when I had a few podcasts. If you are looking to start a Podcast, if you are looking to learn how to podcast, then please let me be your personal podcast coach by joining me at www.schoolofpodcasting.com    

Today I talk about some of the items I see that confuse new podcasters. 1. The Podcast and Episode Delemna. There is a "Podcast" name (Think "Friends"), and there is an "Episode" name (think "Monica and Chandler's Wedding). So while you may put in all sorts of iTunes information into your Wordpress settings (either via Podpress, or Feedburner) those apply to the "Show/Podcast." So if you have a show come into your aggregator (like iTunes) and there is no album art its because each EPISODE has "tags" for each mp3 file (or video file). In the example I was working with, the mp3 didn't have any album art. (Even though the SHOW did, so again the EPISODE didn't have album art). 2. RSS Feeds. Most podcasters use Wordpress.com to maintain a blog (typically on their server like www.coolerwebsites.com ) that has a "side effect" of outputting an RSS feed. So when you update your blog, you update your RSS feed. So how do I update my RSS? I update my blog. Its that easy. However! You may be using Feedburner (www.feedburner.com) which will look at Wordpress (to watch the RSS feed). This is what people call "Your Feedburner Feed." Then to list your podcast in iTunes you ay submit your "Feedburner feed." So now when iTunes starts it checks for new episodes. It woudl sound like this: iTunes: Hey are there any new episodes? (Its asks Feedburner)Feedburner: Hey Wordpress any new episodes?Wordpress: Yeah, there have been two episodes put out since the last time you checked. The mp3 files are right over there...Feedburner: Thanks. Hey iTunes the mp3 files are right over there..iTunes: Got it. I'm downloading them now. So when you update your Wordpress, you (through some handshaking) update iTunes. Don't forget that you can get 25% off your membership fee at the School of Podcasting using th coupon code " santa " when you subscribe now through December 25, 2007. Sites Mentioned: www.wordpress.orgwww.feedburner.comwww.itunes.comwww.schoolofpodcasting.com www.coolerwebsites.com

Podcast #116 of the School of Podcasting Morning Announcements originating from www.schoolofpodcasting.net Today I talk about a tool that will take the power of Wordpress and turn it into a Giant GOOGLE MAGNET. You can find it at www.wordpresstool.com  It is a boosted version of wordpress (it installs OVER your current wordpress install that you could purchase from www.coolerwebsites.com ) it has all sorts of meta, tags, site maps and more to drive traffic to your wordpress install. It is $297 but you can use it on ALL of your blogs/podcasts. I've used it in the past, and wasn't sold on it. However, with the new version they have added LOTS of documentation, and the ability to drag and drop almost EVERY aspect of your blog layout (very, very cool). The down side? You need to know a bit of CSS to get the colors and look of your site the way you want it. While Denis (the owner) is a great guy and very supportive, if he gets hit by a bus....... The great news? You can change the layout with the drag and drop interface and the colors and style of your website stay the same (very cool). If Wordpress updates - your website will look the same. All the plugins have been tested to work together. For more information about semiologic, go to www.wordpresstool.com Question for the group? Do you feel that producers who have been around for a while can drop to a "not so regular" schedule without losing listeners? CHRISTMAS SALEGet 25% off your membership fee by using the coupon code " santa " when you check out at www.schoolofpodcasting.com Try it risk free for 30 days. If you don't like the great information, cancel your subscription for a complete refund. (Now through December 25th, 2007). SHOWS / SITES MENTIONEDwww.newmediamettersshow.com www.thebitterestpill.comwww.digitalflotsam.orgwww.internetbusinessmastery.com www.coolerwebsites.com

Get 25% off your membership fee using the coupon code santa now through December 25, 2007. Today I show how you can find out who is linking to your competitors using google. Then you can see if these same people might want to link to you. When a whole bunch of sites link to you Google may give you a higher ranking (and thus place you higher on a search). To see who is linking to you simply type link:http://www.yourcompetitors.com  So to see who is linking to the schoolofpodcasting.com it would be link:http://www.schoolofpodcasting.com Your listeners may want to link to your website. So you go into whatever program you're using (wordpress, front page, dream weaver) and you make a link to your website (either graphic aor text). You view the source code and when you past that into your website, it may  not display. Instead it will simply show the graphic/link and NOT the text that you want people to copy and paste. (Now here I was able to simple coy and paste the code, this won't work with all systems, it WILL work for most people using Wordpress). so to fix this, you need to replace the "" so substitute the following: < = < (lt for less than) " = " (quot for quotes) > = > (gt for greater than)  so <a href="http://www.schoolofpodcasting">School of Podcasting </a>  will show up like this School of Podcasting If you're not sure how to make a link, I have a detailed answer in the Frequently Asked Question section of the school of podcasting

Thanks to Becky of Podcastdesigns.com for putting together another great piece of Album Art for my latest Podcast "Logical Weight Loss Podcast." www.logicalloss.com (as a member of the School of Podcasting you get 50% the price at Podcast Designs ). Show number #114 Today I answer some questions from the School of Podcasting's Frequently Asked Podcasting Questions Area at www.schoolofpodcasting.com/help How do I contact someone for an interview? Most of my episodes are NOT showing up in iTunes? How do I make an RSS feed for Each Category? (Full Answer Here - New Window). Thanks to Danika from http://www.tribshow.net/ and Mark from www.a1artistspotlight.com for the questions. Are you looking to start your own podcast? Come check out our step by step tutorials RISK FREE at www.schoolofpodcasting.com

In this episode I have input from a listener on how to stop robots ("bots" ) from spamming your phpbb forum for your listeners. We also have an open in invite from George of the oneminutehowto.com for anyone looing for exposure for your podcast. I also talk about dealing with negative comments (and how not to lose your mind). Simon has a forum at http://homedad.org.uk/forum/ where he was getting hit by a spambot about every 20 minutes 24/7 Yikes. Heard about this site "Projeckt Spambot" at http://www.beehave.de/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1400 which is a site that will spam you and then tell you how to set up your forum so that it can't. Simon inplemented an "Anti Bot Question" which you can find out at http://phpbb.mwegner.de/english/phpbb2/mods/anti-bot-question-mod/index.html This is where you iplementa question that a human would find easy, but a bot would have no clue. He hasn't had any spam since. Check out Simon Windisch of Shed Music at http://www.shedmusicuk.com/songs.htm George from www.oneminutehowto.com is always looking for a co-host. 1,600 listeners a day! When dealing with negative comments, remember that the worst, and the best, reviews are typically not accurate. Look for the comments in the middle. If you would like to start your own podcast head over to www.schoolofpodcasting.com or if you'd like me to "get you up and going fast" check out www.podcastfastpas.com PROMO: Logical Weight Loss Podcast at www.logicalloss.com - A no-nonsense appraoch to weight loss.  

Today in show #112 I provide some insights into getting sponsors that I have found on my own. 1. Find an advertiser that fits your niche. In my case I found two products that I like and I use. There is no "stretch." These advertisers fit like a glove. 2. I did not lead with the word "podcast." I called it an Internet Radio Show. 3. I provided a sample report from podtrac.com for one of my podcasts. 4. There are many things you can use in negotiation. These include adding a banner on your site, having them generate coupons (to track sales), track the number of clicks to their site (to help calculate ROI); they could set up their product under a different paypal option to track sales. (I use a program called "Cloak and Tracker") The bad news is when I did a google search for "Podcast CPM" I saw number from $30 - $50 (that’s per 1,000 downloads). Let's go "best case scenario" if you had 20,000 downloads per show. If you charged $50 CPM, that is $4,000 per month (if you produced 4 shows per month).  Another Way to Make Money with Your Podcast 1. You could have a premium (no advertising version) using a tool such as www.121podcasting.com 2. You can have a membership area with additional shows, behind the scenes, forum boards and more. Some membership software scripts include: Interlogy Profile Manager (new window) is an interesting program. Very easy to install. You can use it for free, but if you want to charge for memberships, its $200. (One time fee). Easy Member Pro (New Window) Is a very easy to use membership program. It has flexible programs (pricing for 3 months, 6 months, a year, etc). Download Guard (new window) Is a program that is initially designed to protect digital products that you sell, but also can be used for membership sites. AmemberAmember is the tool I use to manage the School of Podcasting. While I've seen prettier interfaces, this works.      Sign up for the School of Podcasting today at www.schoolofpodcasting.com

OK, today I'm a little loopy. I spent the night in the emergency room (with ym girlfriend -she's fine), and in today's interview with Lessa Barnes I'm loopy as it was the end of Day 3 of the New Media Expo (and we were sleep deprived). We giggle our way through the interview (with some edits due to background noise). The bottom line is this seems like a really good book. The more I read the more I like. Buy the book at Amazon.com or for more information and to read Leesa's blog about Podcasting (and free samples of the book) check out lessabarnes.com (new window). Her site features free chatpers, as well as links to all her blogs and more.  

BIG NEWS School of Podcasting Subscribers will now get a month in the USATDOAY.com's Blogger and Podcaster guide (a $49 savings) for FREE. If you want to stay in the online version (or the printed version that will be published once a week) you can get 20% (online) and 25% off (printed) version of the guide. Yes you can save $50 by spending $20. Keep in mind that you can sign up and cancel your subscription anytime. ON TODAY'S SHOWBob Packet from "History According to Bob" (www.hostoryaccordingtobob.com ) who has taken his passion for history, and his now profitting from his podcast by selling his old back catalogue as single episodes, as CDs, as CD sets. He is using a shopping cart www.mals-e.com For more information go to www.historyaccordingtobob.com