Month: October 2022

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podcast

624 – Tips to avoid Podcast planning mistakes

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In this episode of The Podcast Reporter show, we discuss some tips concerning some of the top podcast planning mistakes, as given to us in a post by Ben Krueger of Cashflowpodcasting.com.

Ben Krueger

In the podcast episode and post titled “The Top 3 Podcast Planning Mistakes,” Ben delivers a summary of what he considers are the top mistakes in planning your podcast shows:

  • Thinking that it is all about YOU;
  • “Build it and they will come”;
  • Not providing a clear call to action.

While certainly, these 3 are key mistakes when planning your show, I venture to say that there are others — and the gravity is a matter of opinion. In fact, Dave Jackson of The School of Podcasting show has covered in many episodes of the past other key mistakes that he feels are catalysts when a podcaster determines that he has failed and that it is time to podfade a show.

I, myself, feel that other key mistakes were NOT to understand what your objectives are in starting your podcast, as well as not knowing who your audience is and what kind of VALUE is that you need to deliver to them.

And there are others that can be classified as either smaller mistakes of less offensiveness or those that focus on the business and the personal areas.

But, in looking and listening to the podcast episode by Ben Krueger, let us not forget that Ben also delivers his own personal call-to-action for the reader or listener to be aware of his free and fee resources — both his book and his roadmap. I have seen these and they do, indeed, provide good suggestions for the new or aspiring podcaster. And this is true in the area of PLANNING your show.

Also, Adam Curry (i.e., the podfather) also gives us one mistake that beginner podcasters make is that they do not create a podcast show that is really considered “an outsanding product.” Yes, the quality of the show is reflected by the followers or subscribers, the downloads and the responses to calls-to-action of the show itself. His case in point is his show called No Agenda, where he implemented the “value-for-value” model of contributions (either “time, talent or treasure”). I mention this because many think that their show may deserve the merit of being great — when in reality, no feedback or proof (other than social proof from only reviews) can back up that thought.

When I met with Adam the last time we had lunch together and with him during his meetups in Austin over the years, the idea that came through loud and clear was the proof that many hours of preparation and thought and planning went into each episode of his show. It was not the scenario of a couple of “dudes” sitting around a microphone and ad-libbing any sort of babble with expletives, just because they were having fun.

In my situation, I also started a podcast show several years ago whose main objective was just to have fun and really just play around with the audio infrastructure of podcasting with a co-host. This was the show called Grumpy Old Bears — but we really had no plan for success nor any means of feedback of proof. It was just a fun “hobby” for us, whereas the other podcasts I do have in operation now (such as this one) provide feedback to me on the content, the downloads, the acceptance and social proof, etc., to prove and demonstrate the VALUE they provide to their intended audiences.

So, again, I would advise the aspiring and new podcasters to give a quick listen to the 8-minute episode from Ben to learn about how one can disillusion one’s self when it comes to podcasting, and how this type of mindset can lead to creating and implementing some of what Ben Krueger considers the top 3 mistakes in podcasting. And hopefully, you can correct those and put yourself on the correct road to success in your podcasting.

Thank you for your attention.

Copyright (c) 2022, Matrix Solutions Corporation and Ben Krueger of cashflowpodcasting and michaelandmike.com. All rights reserved.

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podcast

623- Step by step guide to editing and producing Podcasts

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In this episode of The Podcast Reporter show, we disclose information about a post by Ben Krueger that describes “a step by step guide to podcast editing and production.”

As you may know, Ben is the podcaster with his site called Cashflowpodcasting.com. He has delivered many resources (many of them free as pdfs) to those who are mainly new or aspiring podcasters. I have valued his deliveries of advice and resources since I met him personally in 2014 where I shared a booth with him in the expo hall during the very first Podcast Movement conference.

Ben Krueger

Ben first goes into the do-it-yourself approach to creating a podcast show and recording and editing its episodes. He refers to free software, such as audacity and others like auphonic to help podcasters in the editing of audio for podcasting. In fact, I, myself, have used various versions of the free software, Audacity, since my beginning in the podosphere. And with the help of good microphones, other devices and good software, I still continue using it today to record and edit my podcast episodes.

He then explores the idea of hiring a team to do your podcast editing, thus freeing you up to pursue content creation and marketing and sales and other talents. As we said in our last episode, you could hire a studio or an agency or get a podcast consultant to which you can “farm this out.”

But he ends this summary of the article with the suggestions for the do-it-yourself podcast editing — and he emphasizes why you should not be afraid of learning the tools and getting a good workflow down for editing the audio files yourself.

When I started my trip into the podosphere in 2005, there were no tools or training for being a podcaster and creating a workflow to do editing. It was not until I had read the book by Evo Terra and Tee Morris called Podcasting for Dummies that I learned the elements of a podcast and its creation. And it was not until 2006 that I was able to view and follow the audio and video training by Jason Van Orden to learn how to podcast. And in a little over one day, I had my first podcast episode created, edited and published on a public platform. And after that, I started discovering the podcasters who were podcast  consultants that offered to help you create and publish your podcast shows and episodes — and I chose Dave Jackson from The School of Podcasting as my podcast consultant. With his advice and his tutoring, I quickly learned a good workflow about podcasting, and I started creating more shows and publishing more episodes in the podosphere.

And I have never looked back after some 16 years.

Now, although today, you have a myriad of choices from agencies to consultants from which to choose,  you can select the best source and alternatives for you (in terms of quality, offerings, cost and results) to begin your career (be it part-time or full-time) into podcasting. And then you can also progress to the next step of setting up your podcasting as a tactic for your business — or you may even set up your own entrepreneurship as a podcasting business, as the tools and education and training for this are also available in many places and from many sources. As stated by Adam Schaeuble of the podcast show called the Podcasting Business School, you can treat your podcasting endeavor like a business, but enjoy it like a hobby.

And take it from someone like myself that has been a podcast consultant for over 10 years, there is a lot of room in the podosphere for those who want to use their creativity to improve the way podcast editing is done and the workflow for podcast production today.

One final note — Ben also has a call-to-action at the end of the post for you to download his free book, as well as know about his roadmap. I would suggest that you scan the article in the post by Ben to see if your world of podcasting can improve with the help of others — either as consultants, agencies or professionals — or with books or tutorials that can help you learn new materials, new ways, new tools and become more successful in publishing your podcast episodes.

Thank you for your attention.

Copyright (c) 2022, Matrix Solutions Corporation and michaelandmike.com and Ben Krueger of cashflowpodcasting.com and audacity and auphonic and Dave Jackson of schoolofpodcasting.com, and Tee Morris and Evo Terra. All rights reserved.

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podcast

RAL 03- Podcasting memoirs — Military experiences in the war

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This is episode 03 of RealAcademyOfLife.com – My Military life in the war — as part of my memoirs.

In this episode, I wish to publish my experiences in my real academy of life described by podcast episodes — they can do a better job of providing the content for memoirs that really is part of the podcast of REAL ACADEMY OF LIFE, as well as syndicating it to PODCAST REPORTER.

If I take a look at my life (currently without a bucket list), I would approach this from the perspective of my funeral services. You see, Ordinarily, I would have requested 5 photos to be put on display during my upcoming funeral services:

– Photo of myself with my wife and children (myself as a family man);

– Photo of myself in business attire (showing myself as a business man);

– Photo of myself in my charro attire (showing myself as a folklorico dancer and instructor);

– Photo of myself in my uniform in 1972 (showing myself as a military man and veteran of the war in Vietnam); and

– Photo of my wedding, with all the wedding party (showing myself surrounded by the friends and family who shared the happiest day of my life).

However, in this episode of THE REAL ACADEMY OF LIFE, we will focus on one of these eras in my life — just a part of my experiences in the military when I was a combat infantryman and paratrooper during the Vietnam War.

For the initial discussion points in my life, I would want to include a repurposed podcast episode that focused on combat and camaraderie — which is the title of the episode content that Mack Payne (podcaster with his show of VietnamVeteranNews.com) published in his show with my own thoughts of those two situations.

Then we would want to discuss how I dealt with the return from combat and assimilated myself back into THE WORLD after my tour in Vietnam.

To do this, we will first admit that I had a bad case of PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) when I came back from the war). And then I had a 45-minute discussion in an interview with Mack Payne in the same podcast show (i.e., VietnamVeteranNews.com) in which we discussed my multiple ways of dealing with the PTSD situations after the war. The four main ways of my dealing with my post-war problems and complications were:

  1. Writing — both nonfiction stories and later podcast and blog content;
  2. College and graduate education (in a rather obsessive manner);
  3. Joining and participating in Veterans Service Organizations; and
  4. Podcasting and blogging.

However, I do wish to mention that there were another few minor experiences that I had while in the Army, especially when I was an instructor in the 82nd Airborne RECONDO school, as well as being a recruiter-canvasser for the 82nd Airborne Division in the West and Southeast of the USA, just before my participation in the deployment of the 82nd Airborne for entering the Yom Kippur war in October of 1973.

In addition, I will also discuss and describe my experiences with my treatment by the VA — the Veterans Affairs (earlier referred to as the Veterans’ Administration) — and the struggles to deal with my physical complications from the war as a disabled veteran.

However, we can deal with those in a later episode of this podcast series called THE REAL ACADEMY OF LIFE).

So, for this long episode, we will first include the 24-minute discussion of combat and camaraderie…and then follow it up with a 45-minute interview with Mack Payne about dealing with PTSD for VietnamVeternanNews.com.

I salute those veterans who fought in the infantry in the Vietnam war, and who experienced the combat and camaraderie.

Thank you for your attention.

Copyright (c) 2022, Matrix Solutions Corporation and michaelandmike.com and vietnamveterannews.com and Mack Payne. All rights reserved.

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podcast

622- Podcast Services may be a smart option

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In this episode of The Podcast Reporter, we discuss the post made by podcaster Ben Krueger of cashflowpodcasting.com in which he describes his ideas for the BEST podcasting services.

Ben Krueger

The link to this post that describes the BEST PODCAST SERVICES for 2022 is in this content.

In this post, Ben starts with describing some of the criteria for services that gives them strong quality — such as saving time for the podcaster. Then he promotes his idea of the three OPTIONS for podcast services:

In a nutshell, there are three options out there to help you get your podcast up and running and keep your episodes on track:

  1. “Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Solutions. With budget-friendly do-it-yourself options, you’ll get SOME help from outside sources, but you’re essentially making your podcast happen on your own. These include things like software, courses, and coaches that allow you to handle the heavy lifting but offer guidance to make sure you’re on the right track.
  2. Done-For-You (DFY) Services. As the name implies, these services have developed done-for-you systems to handle podcast setup, audio editing, show notes writing, publishing services, etc. Of course, how many tasks they take on will vary with pricing and the organization.
  3. Podcast Managers. A podcast manager is in charge of planning, running, managing, and implementing your show. Essentially, this is someone (or multiple people) you hire as the point person for making your podcast happen and ensuring everything runs smoothly for your releases.”

Then Ben goes into the category of DYI SOLUTIONS, including the software, as well as training courses and coaching scenarios.

Then Ben goes into DFY SOLUTIONS, which could be “done for you” by a professional podcast consultant or other resource such as a podcast production service. And here, Ben examines the financial decision elements in selecting the best solution for you — including the cost-effective, mid-range and high-end options to suit your budget.

All of these take into account the relationship with the PODCAST AGENCY. And after that, he spends more time in describing the PODCAST MANAGER. And here, he spends a bit of time recommending the important elements of both contractors and team members — and he gives you this tip:  “Pro Tip: Whatever solution you decide is right for you, we strongly recommend that you make sure there’s a quality review process of some kind to review your completed show and episodes before they publish. “

And finally, in reviewing other value-added services, he adds some comments on BOOKING SERVICES (to have you as a GUEST on another podcast or securing GUEST INTERVIEWEES for your podcast). He mentions Interview Valet as a service with Tom Schwab (whom we have interviewed on this podcast since 2015) with these final suggestions:  “This can go two different ways. Either you want to get booked as an expert on a series of other podcasts, or you want a systematic way of having interview guests booked for your own show. “

And, of course, Ben finishes his post by promoting his own services for podcasting (see cashflowpodcasting.com) and how he can help podcasters improve their show for success.

Note: I have known Ben since 2014, when we shared a booth at the first Podcast Movement conference in Dallas. I have followed him and do recommend him for his detailed resources — and you may want to investigate him and his offerings to help you and your podcast show. Also, I, myself have been a podcast consultant during the last 16 years and have offered, promoted and delivered podcast services for others who did not want to learn the details of podcasting, but preferred to subcontract this out to others — and I always had my proof-of-concept that always succeeded in gaining the trust and commitment of clients. What I usually did was offer to get an interview they conducted (if they wanted to have an interview show, for example) and then do the editing and audio improvement on the file, as well as adding the title, the music and the INTRO and OUTRO for a suggested final mp3. And then I would send it back to the client under a contract that specified the minimum number of episodes and each one at a single price for the final deliverables.

So, at this time, I would strongly suggest that you review your options for improving your podcast shows by examining whether or not you should consider the use of podcast services. In many areas, you may find that your time is your most valuable resource that can be put to use more effectively than spending time and effort in completing the tasks for workflow in creating the podcast final audio episode.

Thank you for your attention.

Copyright (c) 2022, Matrix Solutions Corporation and michaelandmike.com and Ben Krueger of cashflowpodcasting.com. All rights reserved.

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podcast

621- Tips on conducting a Podcast interview

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In this episode of The Podcast Reporter show, we discuss a post from podcaster Ben Krueger on conducting a podcast interview. This content came from a July, 2022, post from his blog and site called cashflowpodcasting.com.

Now, I have known Ben since 2014, when he and I shared a booth at the very first Podcast Movement conference in Dallas, Texas. Since then, I have listened to his episodes and advice, as well as having ordered some of his offerings and downloaded and reviewed some of his helpful FREE PDFs for podcasters.

Ben Krueger

In his July, 2022, post, Ben titles the content with “How to conduct a great interview.” He then elaborates on the requirements for a good podcast interview, but also gives his value in how to conduct the interview to deliver the best VALUE to your listeners. He tries to boil it down to the simple status in his statement:  “Fundamentally, there are two things that really matter when you’re interviewing people:

1. You are having a natural, connecting conversation with another human being.

2. You are responsible for finding the answers to the questions that your audience has.”

In fact, the main topics of his post are the following:

  • Focus on stories and emotions;
  • Suggestions and examples on “How to interview someone for a podcast;”
  • He refers to details in a post about O. Winfrey titled “How to Interview Someone For A Podcast.” And that is, as he states, “because she goes into the emotion and the stories.”

Ben, of course, offers both his FREE BOOK and his membership site of cashflowpodcasting.com where you can get his roadmap. He is always good about reminding his viewers, listeners and readers about his services and offers and offerings to help them improve — and many of them free.

Thus, if you are interested in reviewing your strategies and procedures and workflow in the area of interviewing others for podcast episodes, then I would highly encourage you to see what Ben has to offer in the way of friendly advice — especially when he has been labeled as a good resource for podcast interviews. Since Ben is specialized in the area of business podcasting, this may be a feather in your cap to help you succeed more in the area of interviewing key guests to help your podcast shows grow and become more successful.

Thank you for your attention.

Copyright (c) 2022, Matrix Solutions Corporation and michaelandmike.com and Ben Krueger of cashflowpodcasting. All rights reserved.

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podcast

620 – Podcasting studio replaces fm-radio student station 91.7

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In this episode of The Podcast Reporter Show, we discuss an activity that has taken place this year — the replacement of a radio station by a podcast studio. This story took place earlier in 2022, and it was highlighted in an article in the Podcast Business Journal. The student radio station was called “KEOL La Grande 91.7 fm.”

The publication was on 25 May 2022 in the  Podcast Business Journal

The title of the article was “Former Radio Station to become Podcast Studio.”

Here is the summary from the article:

“The former student-run radio station at Eastern Oregon University is being converted to a podcast studio for students. KEOL was voted away in 2021 by the student fee committee due to the high cost of operating the station and reduced interest from students, according to The Observer in Oregon. The podcast studio will not requite student fees.

Students will soon be able to launch their own podcasts in the studio space.

Vice President of Student Affairs Lacy Karpilo told The Observer, “We wanted to make sure we still had something exciting in that space for the students. It still allows for the spirit of what the radio station was, but utilizes the technology and expertise we have without the same funding issues as with the radio station.”

This was quite startling for myself, as my own alma mater has had for the past 60 years a local fm radio station (and it still has today). Not only is it a good training ground for those who want to enter the broadcasting arena in the major of Communication Arts, but it gives them plenty of experience. Well, the funding of a real fm radio station requires some commitments on the part of the school.

In this case, the funding easily lost out to the desire of the students to get into the area of podcasting.

Now, do I myself see this trend growing? I think so. It only makes sense, since many of the students themselves interested in the podcasting arena probably have quit listening to radio. And with the low cost of podcasting, it is easy to see how the popular medium can replace the expense of a real fm local radio station

Do I feel that this will continue and that we will see more of this type of conversion going on in the future.

I do.

A local podcast studio for the students — especially if there are dormitories or housing on the campus — will provide a great benefit for them. What I would be more interested in would be if the school had courses in podcasting taught at the site, so that the benefit of a real podcasting studio could be maximized by the students themselves.

At this point, we can begin to see a trend where the cost of a local radio station may give in to a podcasting studio for the student body in a university or college. And I will keep checking to see if my old alma mater will continue to support and fund its old radio station or go in the direction of KEOL La Grande 91.7fm.

Thank you for your attention.

Copyright (c) 2022, Matrix Solutions Corporation and michaelandmike.com and PodcastBusinessJournal.com. All rights reserved.

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podcast

619A- International Podcast Day came and went

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In this very brief episode of PodcastReporter.com, we deliver some thoughts from the perspective of one of the first podcasters since 2005 about the event of International Podcast Day, celebrated on 30September2022.

However, for myself, this was NOT as exciting to this podcaster as in years past. Since 2014, I had always participated in the event, either as a speaker or contributor or attendee. In this case, the menu of items was so slim that I could not get interested in the topics — except for those two sessions led by David Lee and son, as well as the faithful Todd Cochrane of geeknewscentral and NewMediaShow.com.

Before, I anticipated the arrival of great podcast stories from a lot of the well-known podcasters based in the USA and UK and other nations that participated in podcasting. However, the 30-hour marathon that used to be the day of celebration has now turned into just a shortened event filled with newbie podcasters from all the nations other than the US, etc.

Thus, I was not impressed nor excited about the menu subject matter, and the celebration left a lot to be desired. Now although I wish those on the agenda well with their contribution, I will NOT be tuning in to consume subject matter against which I have much more interesting topics from other podcasts and live shows.

I hope that in the future there will be other contributions from podcasters who have given their audiences both great content and also fame for their dedication to podcasters — especially from the US and the British Commonwealth countries. Sorry, but this is just one reporter’s opinion who feels that he has seen the value of the Day diminish at the expense of popular liberal forces.

Thus, I shall await until the next year to see if, indeed, the US and other podcasters such as Adam Curry, etc., will be allowed to be on the agenda, in spite of the politically correct rules.

Thank you for your attention.

Copyright (c) 2022, Matrix Solutions Corporation and michaelandmike.com and International Podcast Day. All rights reserved.