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575- Podcasting boldness and bravery

In this episode of The Podcast Reporter, we discuss  the theme of the mindset of the arrogance  vs the leadership quality of contemplation and possible change or pivoting. This deals with the brash boldness  that leads to a type of cowardice by not wanting to communicate vs. the bravery of the critical thinking that knows how to communicate and LISTEN — and how this can make the difference sometimes between success and failure for our own podcast shows.

We get this theme from the episode of the podcast show called The Accidental Creative by Todd Henry, where the topic is called “Bold vs. Brave Work, and 3 Elements of Brilliance.”


In Todd’s recent episode from The Accidental Creative, we get examples of brash boldness — i.e., the stubborn and tyrannical type of leader that decides which direction to take (and it may be against conventional wisdom or even contrary to any suggestions that formal or informal advisers may give that individual). A clear example of this can be as exaggerated as Adolf Hitler in WWII, when he refused to even listen to his advisers and generals (especially toward the end of the war), mainly because he felt he was history’s greatest military strategist with his past conquests. And in today’s modern environments, it could be the age-old leader that literally flies by the seat of his pants (i.e., his “gut feel” that made him successful, in spite of his own wrong decisions and actions). This type of individual would not listen to anyone — in fact, that individual would be most comfortable in dictating orders and activities, regardless of the possible outcomes or even against advice that was given with data and logic to back it up.

However, today, the element of bravery would command the element of communication and listening to advisers, studying the past and logic in making decisions and steering directions for your business.

As Todd elaborates in his podcast episode:

“This week’s podcast episode is about the distinction between boldness and bravery.

  • Bold leaders speak in declaratives, while brave leaders are willing to wade through the discomfort of seeing nuance.
  • Bold leaders identify scapegoats as the source of their problems, while brave leaders take accountability for their own thoughts and actions.
  • Bold leaders scream against events happening in their circle of concern, while brave leaders focus on what’s in their own circle of influence.
  • Bold leaders listen to what they want to hear, brave leaders listen to what they need to hear and are willing to change their mind when confronted with new information.

In the face of uncertainty and chaos, it’s tempting to act with boldness, but now more than ever our world needs bravery.”


As a podcaster, you may want to continue with the old ways of putting together your podcast episode and moving your show in the same direction that you have been doing so for the past 16 years (for those of us who started podcasting in 2005-2006). Since your processes and your practices have worked well until today, this may seem like the “safe” way to proceed. And you may consider doing the same without thinking about changing or modifying your show, because things have been fine so far. In this case, perhaps you may be acting like a  podcaster with boldness. Others may even use the term “conventional wisdom” when describing you.

However, a brave podcaster may want to learn about new tools, new processes, new procedures and even experiment and test new ideas to see if he can improve his podcast show. He may seek the feedback for some newer ideas on workflow or methods from some pundits or some colleagues that may help to make his podcasting better (which is the mantra delivered by age-old podcaster and disrupter, Evo Terra of podcastpontifications.com).

So, we recommend that you should try to pause before implementing some processes and procedures and determine if you may be acting like a bold or brave podcaster — and then perform the cost-benefit analysis for trying to extrapolate the possible results for your show, to see if they will bring your podcast show success.

Thank you for your attention.

Copyright (c) 2021, Matrix Solutions Corporation and michaelandmike.com . All rights reserved.

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614- BONUS- Preparing for PM Evolutions 2022 conference

In this episode of The Podcast Reporter show, we deliver our plans to check out Podcast Movement Evolutions 2022 conference in Los Angeles, California, in late March, 2022.

Now, I have been an advocate and supporter or the conference since its inception in 2014 by Hall-of-Fame podcaster, Gary Leland. In addition to contributing to the crowdfunding program, I was also a speaker at this Dallas event.

In addition, the last podcast conference in which I did present was in Las Vegas in 2015 at the New Media Expo. My session was about podcasting for service groups and non-profit organizations.


But for this event, I will be taking a page out of the book of Dave Jackson of The School of Podcasting. What he did in 2013 at the New Media Expo was NOT purchase a ticket to be an attendee or presenter; rather, he stood outside the exhibit hall and other areas where you needed a badge to enter. In those days, there were more events that were open to everyone — such as keynotes, speed-interviews, etc., where anyone could attend. So Dave told me in an interview during that show in Las Vegas that he got more out of being a non-presenter or a non-attendee in person. He said that having all this free time enabled him to meet people in the hall and outside the exhibit hall and renew older relationships or generate new relationships, as well as do interviews and get the “buzz” from the attendees that did want to meet him in person.

So I will do the same at this conference, to the extent that it is limited. I do plan to meet with Dave Jackson, as I had scheduled to be with him ahead of time — and we can do an interview in the lobby or the restaurant or coffee shop of the hotel. I hope to schedule the same with pundits such as Paul Colligan, Todd Cochrane, Rob Greenlee, Rob Walch, Gordon Firemark and others. We shall see.

But of all the interviews that I perform, we hope to deliver to you interesting trends and directions of podcasting, as well as new innovations that will be interesting for you, my audience.

Thus, stay tuned for upcoming bonus episodes that will deliver to you the information from the Podcast Movement Evolutions 2022 conference.

Thank you for your attention.

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

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613- Key entrepreneur Thomas Umstaddt — a repurposed interview

In this episode of The Podcast Reporter, we deliver a REPURPOSED episode in which we spoke to Thomas Umstaddt in Austin some years ago. This evergreen content (for getting new devices for podcasting) was the episode that showed the strategy for Thomas in purchasing one of the first iPad devices, as part for his business.

Now, I met Thomas when I stood in line with him for over an hour at the time that the Apple iPad was introduced and waiting to be sold at the Apple Store. I later had him as a guest for our Podcast meetup in the Austin area, in which he demonstrated the business use of the iPad device for our audience.

And recently, I heard his name mentioned by Dave Jackson of The School of Podcasting episode in which Dave described a scheduled webinar in which Thomas would be featured. This webinar will be in the near future on April 5, 2022, and you can get reserve a seat at the following web site: https://www.crowdcast.io/e/Book-Launch-Secrets-Dave-Jackson-2022

or at schoolofpodcasting.com/booklaunch.

And the subjects to be discussed would be creating a book and then marketing your content in the publishing industry. Again, you can find out more about this at schoolofpodcasting.com/818.


Now, I myself have signed up to attend this webinar, and I also encourage you to do the same. As Dave Jackson mentioned in his podcast show episode 818, Thomas is a wealth of knowledge (a “walking wikipedia”), especially about marketing for written content.

Thus, I hope that you will sign up and attend this free webinar, as Thomas and Dave combined can give you some good ideas with a few gems about creating and marketing your own book.

Thank you for your attention.

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

 

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573- Reviews on mastering your Podcasting CRAFT

In this episode of The Podcast Reporter, we discuss the theme of “mastering your craft” of podcasting, as expressed by both podcast episodes and presentations at a podcast conference. Evo Terra of Podcast Pontifications gives us a whole week of episodes that explain his ideas and suggestions of mastering the craft of podcasting.

And Evo also refers to Tom Webster’s keynote presentation at the Podcast Movement 2021 conference that emphasizes the key points.


For this podcaster, I have known Evo Terra of Podcast Pontifications  in the podosphere from 2005, and I had met him in person in 2007 at the third PodCamp in Arizona, when he attended the session that I was delivering on podcasting for success in monetization. And I do respect and many times follow the suggestions from Evo to help make podcasting better for podcasters.

Evo Terra had several episodes in his show that all centered around the theme of how podcasters can MASTER THEIR CRAFT OF PODCASTING.

This theme was also quoted by Evo from the keynote presentation at Podcast Movement 2021 about “mastering your craft.” Yes, the summary of this is contained in the PM newsletter that states the following:

Mastering your craft…
What does it mean to “master your craft” in podcasting? Edison Research SVP Tom Webster recently offered this advice as a starting point: “Get a transcript of your recent episode. Read it and experience the horror.” Before sitting down to edit, consider these four steps from a sound designer at Pacific Content.”

After consuming all four of Evo’s episodes during the week in which they were published, I found myself contemplating how a podcaster like myself can be better at trying to master the craft of podcasting. As Evo summarizes in his podcast episodes, being a masterful podcaster of this craft entails more than just recording, editing, posting and publishing episodes in your podcast shows — of course, there may be some marketing, promotion and other tactics that engage with this.

Mastering the craft entails, for myself, becoming a better interviewer, a better deliverer of VALUE to the targeted audience. And the little helper hints that are given can all add up to a better experience for your targeted audience — and that will add up to VALUE for your listeners.

We wish that you can also contemplate how you can improve your podcast shows by “mastering the craft” of podcasting for your audience and listeners — and thus, your show can reach (and exceed) the success for which you may be striving in podcasting and your business, as well.

Thank you for your attention.

Copyright (c) 2021, Matrix Solutions Corporation and michaelandmike.com and Evo Terra and Tom Webster. All rights reserved.

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podcast

571- Passing on Podcasting opportunities — possible burnout

In this episode of The Podcast Reporter, we discuss the possibility of podcaster burnout, as emphasized by Evo Terra in his podcast show of Podcast Pontifications. In an episode of July 29, 2021, he emphasizes the need for balance in your mental health to avoid mental and physical burnout when you have not been able to say “NO” to podcasting opportunities that present themselves to you in many fashions — from interviews, from starting many podcasts as a labor of love, from all the podcasting events and conferences, and from a myriad of other podcasting opportunities.

In this episode from Evo, the warning that is given is one to which podcasters should be aware: “Busy podcasters know that there’s always more that can be done. Fans of busy podcasters know that too, often trying to be helpful by highlighting new opportunities. Which, while nice, can lead to burnout.”


I found this out to be true in my first 5 years as a podcaster. I was attracted by all the podcamps and podcast conferences and podcast events, and I traveled to attend all of them — even though they were fun and I met a lot of great people, I did not have a good business ROI from them, mainly because I was to busy to follow up properly after each event.I also started and maintained up to 16 podcast shows at the same time — until I literally almost burned out in 2011 from too much “opportunity” and too much work and responsibility. I did not put in the necessary time for each show, and thus the process of podfading show by show began. The result — today, I only have 4 podcast shows (in which the last 3 had grown in the last several years after my wake-up calls and close bouts with death due to medical conditions resulting from the complications of Agent Orange exposure from my earlier days as a combat veteran in the Vietnam War.

I then had to realize that my life required some sort of balance, and that I could not renew the fun and crazy world of being a podcaster that kept jumping on ‘OPPORTUNITIES’ the minute that they crept up or when someone suggested them to me. I mainly ignored a suggestion from a colleague of mine who worked with me during my day-job in corporate America, who said “There has to be a balance.”

As Evo Terra states in his podcast episode titled “The Mental Healthy Way to Podcasting Opportunities” “But you, working podcaster, may not be in a place of balance. Or your balance might be less steady than the one I’ve worked to achieve.”

So looking for that balance during the turmoil and the energetic whirlwind of possible podcasting opportunities may blind you going into that mountain cave’s lair and seeking to conquer the lion in that environment. From my own experience, I would say that it is more important to be in balance before you step into the abyss of opportunity and attempt to “reap the whirlwind.”

The best words that I reflect on are the words of wisdom that Evo Terra has delivered in his episode — after all, he has been a podcaster for over 16 years, and he has seen a lot of pain in growth and in the real world of hardships for podcasters:

Thank you for your attention.

Copyright (c) 2021, Matrix Solutions Corporation and Evo Terra and  michaelandmike.com. All rights reserved.

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podcast

570- Disruption vs Safety in podcasting — even being grumpy

In this episode of The Podcast Reporter, we discuss the theme of being a disrupter or non-conformist or illogical crusader vs. the safe thing to do in podcasting.

The inspiration for this episode came from the podcast micro-episode from Todd Henry in The Daily Creative. The episode based its topic on the theme of: “When you always choose the safest route you take the greatest risk of all: never knowing what you might be truly capable of accomplishing.” (From July 7, 2021). Thus, we speak about the conflict of accepting some risk and taking some chances vs. minimizing risk in making business decisions.

Evo Terra has been known as a “disrupter” in the area of creativity in podcasting and business.  His show of Podcast Pontifications outlines this in the changes he makes to his show and the topics he delivers with new ideas and suggestions for podcasters to make the entire area of podcasting better for everyone.

Evo has always promoted pushing the limit in your expectations and your delivery of solutions, seeking for new areas to improve your business and your podcasting experiences — and thus, to make your podcast more successful. So Evo’s “disruption” promotes more on the risk-taking, but he also cautions to have a back-up plan and exit strategy, as well as not putting all your cash and all your eggs in one basket. And any good entrepreneur and podcaster should always have an exit strategy or several back-up strategies, especially in this day and age of unknown futures for the media and the business environment.


One example of being a non-conformist and a “gentle” type of disrupter is the new show called Grumpy Old Bears that launched in later 2021. This disruption from the safer method of the cookie-cutter approach to podcasting was initiated more for fun (with the emphasis on humor and a cynical approach to the topics — and thus, the grumpiness), but in response to the woke-based lame-stream media and the cancel culture for those who did not agree with the radical left in their idiotic ideas and ideology. In fact, this called for even creating an alter-ego voice for the main character, Mr. Bear, who will lead the way in impatient grumpiness to make way for segues and for topic discussion and introduction.

The Grumpy Old Bear in podcasting

Thus, we hope that you can choose to consume the episodes of The Daily Creative, as most of the topics can be related to success in small business, startups and entrepreneurs. Likewise, we also suggest that you review the podcast shows of Evo Terra and his Podcast Pontifications show — for you will find the challenges that Evo gives us in his life-long mission (which is “to make podcasting better for us.”)

If you do, we sincerely wish that you find VALUE in the daily delivery of these topics (now covered in over 5 books by Todd Henry, as well), so that your business and your podcasts will be successful in meeting — and surpassing — your objectives for success.

We also hope that if you review the Grumpy Old Bears podcast show, you can get some humor out of it — as well as some education and even controversy which can make you think a bit and consider the lighter side of today’s stressful environment.

Thank you for your attention.

Copyright (c) 2021, Matrix Solutions Corporation and michaelandmike.com and Todd Henry and Evo Terra and GrumpyOldBears.com. All rights reserved.

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569- What it really takes to be a PROFESSIONAL podcaster

In this episode of The Podcast Reporter, we examine some details in which a long-term podcaster and author of podcast books named Evo Terra delivers in his recent podcast episode of Podcast Pontifications.

In this episode from Evo Terra, we see that he defines a REAL PROFESSIONAL in terms of education, training, experience, diplomacy, communication, liaison skills, business skills and acumen, as well as organizational and leadership skills — and NOT just the ability to create a podcast show and publish some episodes that may be low quality or not.

As Evo states: “None of those examples will come as a surprise to you. We know that true professionals—doctors, musicians, writers, and yes, podcasters—all invest a significant amount of time and effort in the study of their craft. Because with very few exceptions, professionalism isn’t achieved by the piecemeal accumulation of surface-level tactics, tricks, and hacks.”  (And I understood the “hacks” to be the ability to follow a script or tutorial to learn how to podcast in a very short time, without regard to the back-end and business-end of being a real professionally skilled and experienced podcaster)

In Evo’s audio episode, he mentions in the title of one section that you, as a podcaster, must go “Beyond Podcasting 101.” From his point of view, it is important not just to know the how of your trade, but the WHY, and especially the overall history, audience, business and environment in the podosphere. As he mentions, “Hacks and borrowed skills will only get you so far.”

So you may call yourself a podcast consultant — even a professional — but without the experience, education, training and other skills learned about the TRADE of podcasting, you are still considered by Evo to be just a 90-minute wonder who learned how to create a podcast show and publish one episode from a tutorial (what can be construed to be a “hack.”)

The details the skills are noted in the part of Evo’s episode when he describes how you may know that you are truly a professional podcaster:

In podcasting, copywriting skills are a necessity. Episodes notes need to be written, as does the article that accompanies the episode on a website. Don’t forget the variations on social copy!

Oh, and those social shares will need some customized graphics. And the show itself needs compelling artwork to make it attractive to new listeners. Wait! The webpage for the episode will need graphics as well. Website? Oh, right! That website needs to be built out and maintained. And the show needs to be marketed so it grows. Don’t forget liaising with other podcasters. And someone needs to figure out the business plan so the show succeeds and your idea of being a professional podcaster actually becomes a going concern and how you put food on the table. That’s a sampling of what it takes to really be a professional podcaster. A few are able to master all of it on their own. More realize their own limitations and enlist the services of others. But even then, the podcaster has an understanding of all the pieces and can step in when necessary. Because it all has to be done.

And finally, Evo states that learning from a mentor, a role-model or thought-leader (call him what you will), you can gain the wisdom that will in time give you the edge to call yourself a podcaster. And he does this by citing the old saying:

“If I see further than others, it’s because I stand on the shoulders of giants.”

What I see for a professional podcaster is one who aspires to become one of the GIANTS, upon whose shoulders I could stand, and from whose experience and charisma and knowledge I can soak up (like a sponge) and then deliver to others, as they will also stand upon my shoulders.

So, we hope that you can aspire to become a GIANT in the world of professional podcasters.

Thank you for your attention.

Copyright (c) 2021, Matrix Solutions Corporation and michaelandmike.com and Evo Terra of Podcastpontifications.com. All rights reserved.

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568- Key ways to get your podcast discovered

In this episode of The Podcast Reporter, we dive into the ways that you can get your podcast discovered — especially from the words of wisdom delivered by Dave Jackson of The School of Podcasting.

These ways were published and described with a link in a post on The Podcast Business Journal recently. Dave is the author of the recently published book called Profit from Your Podcast.


Now, I have personally known Dave, and I have interviewed him in the past since 2007, and I have even hired him as a podcast consultant since then. His skill and acumen are well noted, as he is a member of the Podcasting Hall of Fame and has an award-winning podcast show of The School of Podcasting.com.

What Dave discusses for us in this post is the age-old problem of DISCOVERY. Since 2005, he has been giving hints, tips, tools and other recommendations for having your own podcast show do well in the area of discovery. This also relates to Dave’s internal mission in life today, which is to help you avoid making your podcast BORING.

So Dave gives some simple suggestions to help your podcast in the area of DISCOVERY in the podosphere:

  • Tell people to share the show — especially since word-of-mouth is one of the strongest means of promoting your podcast and letting others “discover” that your podcast has valuable content for them — and have a great call-to-action;
  • Be Down with other people’s podcast“Do your homework and find other podcasts where you can deliver value to the audience.”
  • Apply to speak at all events — your presence in front of live audiences (and even virtual or online events) will help to grow your audience and introduce you to those who don’t know about you or your podcast;
  • Always be promoting — you should be a 24-hour marketing and promotion system for your own podcast show and emphasize the VALUE that you bring to your listeners;
  • Paid advertising where podcast listeners reside — a strong method, if you can afford it in your budget and target the right audience with the right ROI (i.e., return on investment) that gets you results.

Now, Dave gives examples and sample situations for each of his five suggestions. I strongly recommend that you run this checklist mentally and compare to see how it relates to your show, and whether or not you can get good results from this. For a few minutes of examining this checklist, a gem of good opportunity may come your way.

We hope that you will be better at DISCOVERY in the area of podcasting, and that your show’s audience can grow so that you can have a successful podcast.

Thank you for your attention.

Copyright (c) 2021, Matrix Solutions Corporation and michaelandmike.com and Dave Jackson of schoolofpodcasting.com.

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611- BONUS episode — Vietnam Veterans Podcast interview 2022

In this episode of The Podcast Reporter, we deliver to you the interview that was published on 8 February 2022 by Mack Payne in his podcast show, VietnamVeteranNews.com.


Here is the audio player for the entire unedited podcast episode which contains the audio interview with Mack Payne posted on 8 February 2022 from VietnamVeteranNews.com: (it follows the web site image)

and here is the 44 minutes of audio in the interview with Mack Payne from his show:


So, in this episode, we deliver the interview which we talked about in episode 566 of this show, Podcast Reporter. We also deliver this audio interview for a bonus episode in the podcast show being created called The Real Academy of Life.

Hope you enjoy this, as it was a very stressful struggle for me to give an account of my experiences in Vietnam with another Vietnam veteran.

Thank you for your attention.

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

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608- Podcasting interviews with Dave Jackson — 15 years earlier

In this episode of The Podcast Reporter Show, we deliver to you some repurposed episodes where we interviewed the headmaster himself of the School of Podcasting show, Dave Jackson. And many of our listeners had heard that I did interview Dave in the early years of the podosphere, and they were interested in listening to him when he was a podcaster 15 years ago. And so, since I do have the license to repurpose this show (from my release form right before the interview), I want to let you listen to the original Dave Jackson in 2007 while attending and speaking at the Podcast and Portable Media Expo in Ontario, California.

The topics were: (1) forming your legal entity for your podcasting business — not legal advice, but just experiences; and (2) podcasting shows and conferences.

And Dave is also an author of blog posts, as well as books. His latest book is Profit from Your Podcasting (where you can currently get an personally autographed book from his site):


  • And so here is the audio episode from 2007 at the Podcast and Portable Media Expo with Dave Jackson — the focus is legal entities for entrepreneurs:

  • And here is another episode where I interviewed Dave Jackson at the Podcast and Portable Media Expo in 2007, where the topic includes podcamps and business shows:

==============


Now, I have been one of Dave’s clients in his schoolofpodcasting program for many years — and he had helped me set up 6 of my past 18 podcast shows and web sites. He also has been a good buddy and my respect for him pronounced a well-deserved recognition for him when he earned a podcast award for his show, as well as being inducted to the Podcasting Hall of Fame.

Currently, Dave works for libsyn.com in the area of support, and he also has several other podcast shows, where some of them are:

So, we hope that you can enjoy these podcast episodes when you hear about Dave Jackson and his past environments in his struggle to become a legal entity and also survive in the world of podcasting. He came to me because I strongly advocated forming a legal entity as a podcaster for business, as well as making yourself known in podcamps and other conferences and shows about podcasting.

Thank you for your attention.

Copyright (c) 2022, Matrix Solutions Corporation and michaelandmike.com and Dave Jackson from schoolofpodcasting.com — interviews repurposed under signed release. All rights reserved.