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podcast

BONUS — Podcasting community is now free at PMU

In this episode of The Podcast Reporter, we deliver a BONUS episode with news that the community that was announced a while back — Podcast Movement University — is now free. This came from the Podcast Business Journal. The podcastmovement.com team saw that they were not getting much of a response with their unfair pricing, and so they have decided to make it no charge (i.e., free) to join and participate.

And so I have joined and participated in some of the discussions. I also plan to participate in some of the webinars and discussions on line and live audio and video.

You can also sign up for free for this community (I highly recommend this as a free resource — but advise you to cancel if they start to charge for their site):

Podcast Movement Team: We Were Wrong!

Thus, as I do suggest for new and aspiring podcasters, this seems to be a good idea to join a community of podcasters that can be of benefit to you and your plans for improving your show and becoming a better podcaster.

Thank you for your attention.

 

 

 

 

 

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

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podcast

491- Podcast conferences and virtual tickets — a decision for podcasters

In this episode of the Podcast Reporter, we REPURPOSE a prior podcast episode about the differences for the podcaster  of:

  • Live inbound in-person conferences in a venue with others;
  • Live virtual podcast conferences;
  • Live telesummit podcast conferences;
  • Live “unconferences” that implement the barcamp-style meeting; and
  • Virtual tickets for podcast events.

As you will hear in this 20-minute audio episode, each one of these types of podcast conferences/events is discussed, along with some examples of each from my own past experience.

Please note: since this is a REPURPOSED episode from an earlier podcast show, we deal with some of the events that may have shut down or may have been put on “hold” due to the travel restrictions of the 2020 virus crisis.

We hope that for new and aspiring podcasters, this episode may be helpful — so that the podcaster can decide which event will be worth the effort and time and money in which to participate, so that the event can help the podcaster’s show become a success.

Thank you for your attention.

Copyright (c) 2019-2020, Matrix Solutions Corporation. All rights reserved.

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podcast

490- A request to end the myths of podcasting

In this episode of The Podcast Reporter, we discuss and list for you some of the most common myths about podcasting. This was an article that was written recently, and it should help the new and aspiring podcasters understand what is magic-vs-myth-vs-reality.

In this article by M.R. Brown at medium.com, we see that the author reminds us of the Villanova study that presents the theory that if you consume by audio or video a meme or theme multiple times, then you may start to believe it to be real.

“Repetition of podcast myths is not helpful. And it sure won’t make you a better podcaster. You’ll fumble along, finding out what’s true and what’s not throughout your years. Well, let me save you some time.”

And the author then will go on to list the most common myths from his point of view. But he also warns that there is a cause-and-effect environment:  “All these myths affect you. Of course. But they also have a direct line to your listeners, too. You don’t want to turn them off to your show. Because without an audience, there’s not much of a reason for your podcast.”


And so the list of myths to be “busted” are:

  • Buy a Blue Yeti or a Snowball microphone (instead, the author suggests “What to do instead? Buy a Shure SM58 microphone, an xlr cable, and a simple recorder. If you’re looking to splurge a bit more, tac on a Focusrite Scarlett Solo and record directly into your software. Cut out the recorder middleman.”
  • Podcasts are expensive — and so, a budget should be made;
  • Podcasts have a low barrier to entry;
  • “If you make it, they will come…”
  • We can be like “the Daily” or “How I built this…”
  • One producer is enough;
  • Minimal editing on interview recording;
  • Blog posts can be podcast episodes;

Now, for this podcaster, a large part of these “myths” do reside in the hopeful mind of the aspiring or new podcaster. Perhaps you should read the article in detail, as the author does at least try to provide you with an alternative of what you should do instead of acting on the myth.

Hopefully, this content may be a good “lessons learned” from the personal experience of the author and help you to avoid what others have tried to reach for in the world of possible podcast myths.

Thank you for your attention.

Copyright (c) 2020, Matrix Solutions Corporation and M.R. Brown of medium.com. All rights reserved.

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podcast

522- Podcasting Resource Guide — many categories to help podcasters

In this episode of The Podcast Reporter, we discuss an earlier blog post that is a no charge site which allows a podcaster to access many categories and listings of podcast resources — from hardware to services, etc.  The site is delivered and promoted by Chris Krimitsos at podcastingresourcesguide.com.

Now, being offered for free, this site seems to be a good idea for the new and aspiring podcasters. So what used to be an arduous task of searching for — and rarely finding — an ideal resource for any part of podcasting now can be more organized and can be presented in a more logical manner to the podcaster. The sub-title of this site is “Find the tools + guidance you need” and as of the date of this post, it is available free (at no charge) for anyone to come and peruse and search the site for any podcast resource, software, hardware, service — i.e., anything related to podcasting.

Adverstisements in newsletters and blogposts call this site “The FREE SUMMARIZED Resource Guide EVERY Podcaster/Vidcaster Needs.”


For the past 16 years, I have seen so many sites try to advertise themselves as the “one-stop-shop” or “one-all-and-be-all” of podcasting resources (very much like the wealth of podcast newsletters that have sprung up in the last 5 years, stating that they are the most comprehensive and necessary newsletter for the podcaster).

But, however, this site caught my eyes by the various categories that were delivered. Over 23 categories allow the podcaster to choose from the landing page what tools or resources would be of interest. And if you land on there without planning for your search, there is even a GUIDE ME button that can help a new podcaster, or an experienced podcaster, or perhaps take a question from you.

In my quick search and test of the site for hardware and software tools and devices and programs, I found a number of resources in the double-digits. But this can be a good start for creating a rich library of resources that can be used very efficiently by the podcaster.

However, like so many sites before them, the efficiency and durability of a site like this is the contribution of the podcasting audience who attends this site for searching, as well as the number of resources that can grow with the help of other podcasters in the podosphere — but without having to pay for it.

So while the resource listing is free, I heartily recommend that you go to this site and check out the podcasting resources that are available to you — perhaps not as many as you would like now, but maybe you can help out by recommending a resource or two to be included. Then the site can really help all the podcasters out there.

Thank you for your attention.

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

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podcast

488- Getting other podcasters to collaborate with you

In this episode of The Podcast Reporter, we reflect on a recent brief episode from buzzsprout.com in the form of a six-minute video. The subject was how to collaborate with other podcasters — and what was covered was how to get on other podcasters’ shows and how to get other podcasters to come to your show(s).

You can watch this six-minute video at this link:

This video suggests the following ways for podcaster collaborations (that is, by bringing influential guests on your podcast show and being a guest on others’ podcast shows):

  • Make your dream list of those podcasters or guests with somewhat similar relation that would be a good fit for your audience;
  • Pitch each person on your dream list to collaborate with you (including suggestions for initially getting in contact with them);
  • Decide which of 3 main ways to collaborate:
    • Guest star appearance;
    • Podcast “takeover” — i.e., dropping one of your episodes into the guest’s podcast feed to share the episode;
    • Record a podcast segment for the other podcaster’s show.

 


Now, for this podcaster, I have had experience in podcaster collaboration in both getting interviewees for my podcast shows (especially both The Struggling Entrepreneur / The Struggling Biz, as well as Podcast Reporter). And I also used what I learned from these collaborations for my other podcast interviews, such as the ones for veterans’ service organizations and podcast meetups. And I have, indeed, used all these strategies from this video at one time or another — and in one way or another — in my collaborations.

And I had developed a type of structured approach and workflow for doing this — from the idea stage, the planning stage, the preparation stage, the communication stage with the other podcaster, as well as the timing and synchronizing stage, the recording stage, the post-production and editing stage, the other podcaster’s reviews-and-approval stage, the posting of the episode stage, the publication stage and the promotion stage (with follow-up).

While the video goes into just 6-minutes of an overview, there is a lot more work to doing the collaboration correctly. In fact, I would compare the 6-minute video to the tip of an iceberg — that is, what was suggested is merely 5 per cent of the work involved to do it right.

I sincerely hope that you have all the right pieces in your project plan and project workflow to do podcaster collaboration correctly, so that you can have a successful interview, collaboration and episode — and thus, make your podcast successful.

Thank you for your attention.

Copyright (c) 2020, Matrix Solutions Corporation and buzzsprout.com. All rights reserved.

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podcast

BONUS — How to be a podcast guest — a guide

In this BONUS episode of The Podcast Reporter, we deliver the news of a free pdf document called “Podcast Guest Guide.”

This came as a promotion in an email note from podcastguests.com. And the summary of this very short pdf document (just seven pages) is as described:

“In this completely free guide from PodcastGuests.com, you’ll learn:

1. The value of being a guest expert on podcasts
2. How to put your best foot forward to get booked as a guest
3. How to find and pitch podcasters
4. What you need to do to prepare as a guest
5. How to leverage your podcast guest appearances for maximum impact

No email address is required to download this guide — just click here to view the guide in PDF format! (Or right click and select “save as” to download it.)”


Now, after downloading and reviewing this guide, I feel that this could be of value to new or aspiring podcasters. As you step through this pdf document, the words of wisdom for preparation and to present the best of yourself are key.

For example, the ONE SHEET concept is a great one — it almost resembles the one-page resume that was so popular in the early 2000s for those who wanted to seek new employment. Yes, the podcastguests.com site offers a resource to create a one-sheet document. And they suggest that you can send a prospective podcaster your own one-sheet resource for that individual to consider you and your qualifications to be a guest on a specific show.

In fact, the podcastguests.com site also has not only a newsletter that has a listing of podcasts seeking guest for which you can enroll, but they also have a directory (where you can list yourself as a potential guest) in which you can have the podcasters seeking guests come to you.

Then the document gives some suggestions for preparation — both technically and for substantive subject matter content for an interview as a guest. By the way, for the right preparation for recording or joining a recording as a guest, you can refer to the checklist that is provided for free from The Audacity to Podcast from Daniel J Lewis. You can get a free copy of this “Pre-flight checklist” for recording in podcasting. The  better prepared you are, then the better your chances of having a great interview as a guest.

And, of course, one of the most important steps in being a guest or “being interviewed” is the follow-up — something that is covered and emphasized toward the end of the pdf document.


And speaking of follow-up, this is a good lead-in to bring to your attention what is said as a key step in a past podcast episode that discusses how to get the most out of “being interviewed.” In fact, you should be aware of some advice given in an evergreen podcast by Max Flight that deals with another side of a podcast guest — that of “Being Interviewed.” It describes the other aspects of being an interviewee that you should also consider:


In addition to these two resources, I also recommend an episode from the back-catalogue and archives of Daniel J Lewis from his show, The Audacity to Podcast, where he discusses being an interviewee, as well. These go farther and deeper into the action steps needed to be both a good interviewer and an excellent interviewee.

With these resources that we present, we hope that your skills as a podcaster can improve and that they will help you to succeed as a professional podcaster and a great guest for other shows in which you can be interviewed.

Thank you for your attention.

Copyright (c) 2021, Matrix Solutions Corporation and podcastguests.com and Max Flight and Daniel J Lewis and michaelandmike.com. All rights reserved.

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podcast

487- Some suggestions about surveys in Podcasting

In this episode of the Podcast Reporter, we discuss aspects of listener surveys for those who listen to podcasts, as well as others. We refer you to a post and article to discuss this for podcasters in order to get the value you need to grow your audience and deliver value to your listeners. The article is at https://tomwebster.substack.com/p/what-do-listeners-wantpart-one


Many feel that surveys may not be useful or that they are a waste of time and resources from your podcast and business. However, as stated in the article, there is a disagreement to this meme: “ I’ll say this—I don’t think there is such a thing as a useless survey. All surveys have value. Where they fall flat is often in how they are characterized or reported.”


 

What the author of the article mentions is the purpose of decision support and the possibility of bias in the way that surveys are created. The article then discusses THE THREE BIASES, followed by some suggestions to fix the problem that is mentioned in detail:

” Who wouldn’t take that survey?

– Question: those who would and those who would not take this survey?”

“In the case of a podcast, it is less about who couldn’t take a survey, and more about who can take it easily. If you put a link to an online survey in your show notes, you will get a differentially larger response from people who read your show notes.”


The author then talks about what he calls “The Virtuous Circle.”

“For a podcast, that might be access to some content of value, but you do have to be careful here—if it’s just an exclusive episode of your show, you will get a response from the people for whom more of you is desirable—in other words, you biggest fans. … And regardless of the size of your audience, if you are going to make an audio solicitation in the show itself for listeners to fill out a survey—make it host-read and engaging. It makes a HUGE difference.

So many marketers have this received wisdom about online surveys being a great alternative because they are fast and cheap. But there is an enormous benefit to doing online surveys the right way, making an investment in all segments of your customer base, and creating a virtuous circle between the desire to share information with your brand, and the desire to spread information about your brand with others.”


So if you are an aspiring or new podcaster that has been contemplating creating and executing surveys for your listeners for your podcast, we recommend that you peruse this post. Also, you may get some feedback from one of the podcast veterans about surveys — i.e., Daniel J Lewis of The Audacity to Podcast show (you can search the backlog archives to listen to he episode about surveys).

Thank you for your attention.

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

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podcast

486- Podcasting ideas to be tapped or renewed

In this episode of the Podcast Reporter, we discuss a recent post in the buzzsprout.com blog titled “15 Untapped Podcast Ideas.” In this article, there is a presentation of different themes and possible topics to cover not only for episodes, but also for podcast shows.

This post seems to be a good resource so that you, as a podcaster, can use this to spawn different ideas for shows and episodes and topics. Obviously, this can be a good resource for planning and preparing the future (especially at the end of the year or your period of publishing) to ensure that your topics can be resilient, fresh, new and interesting — so that you can provide VALUE to your listeners.

So, in this post, the following is discussed, with some detail for each heading:

  • How to choose a good podcast topic — and here, there is a chart that is presented with 16 different podcast genres, so that you can decide if your podcast should fall into one of those categories;
    • #1 Pick a subject you want to talk about

      #2 Play to your strength 

      • Appeal to a specific demographic or target audience 
      • Speak to a subset of people with unique opinions or experiences
      • Focus on specific topics within your primary genre (ex: The podcast Help Me Be Me is “self-help for people who hate self-help.”)
    • #3 Make it niche;
      And the article then presents a few ways to make a podcast topic niche, with several tables expressing different podcast FORMATS.
  • And then the article talks about 15 different untapped podcast ideas, among which are some of them:
    •  The outdoors
    • Sailing
    • Welding, metalworking, woodworking;
    • Animals;
    • Crafting and do-it-yourself;
    • Musical instruments;
    • House flipping;
    • Podcasting;
    • Wedding and event planning;  and here, the article asks you questions about your WHY, your purpose, your targeted audience, your skillset — so you can see what sets you apart;
    • 3D printing;
    • Storm chasing;
    • Caving, rock climbing, rappelling;
    • Tiny Homes
    • Urban farming;
    • Book summaries and reviews.

Now, for this podcaster, I have listed many different podcast topics that can serve as genres for ideas and for the creation of new and different podcast shows. I would highly recommend that you hold a planning session with YOURSELF, so that you can record your ideas separately. And then, at a later time, you can determine the viability and the possibility of creating a new podcast. In this way, you can generate more and new enthusiasm and passion in creating a newer podcast show — even though you do not have to delete or remove your current or past podcast shows.

From my own experience, I have had at one time in 2011 (five years after I started podcasting) over 16 podcast shows. And one by one, I had to podfade them. Why? Because I feel that all podcast shows need to be retired once the amount of passion diminishes and the amount of content is reduced to a point where it makes sense to terminate  a show.


So, we hope that you, as a podcaster, can plan for your own planning session to examine not only these mentioned 15 topics for podcasting, but for YOUR OWN themes that need to be contemplated. Who knows? You may resurrect the passion for podcasting with great ideas that will spawn new shows and great content to provide VALUE for your audience in the near future. We hope that this passion continues for you and that your podcast shows grow and become successful.

Thank you for your attention.

Copyright (c) 2020, Matrix Solutions Corporation . All rights reserved.

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podcast

483- BONUS – Podcast workflow and planning vs spontaneity recording

In this episode of The Podcast Reporter, we discuss a couple of styles of podcasting for those who have already launched their shows — and sometimes, these may appear to be extreme opposites. This type of debate has been active since 2004 when the podosphere took shape.

One style is that of a planned workflow, with planned topics or interviews. The key elements for the podcaster here are:

  • selecting a topic that will provide VALUE to the listener;
  • planning the sub-topics or elements of the discussion;
  • planning for quality show notes for each episode;
  • planning for good SEO aspects of the episode for the show;
  • ensuring that the recording will result with the best audio possible;
  • if interviewing, ensuring that a release is provided and agreed to;
  • if with a co-host, ensuring that they are both on board with the topic, style, format, flow and questions to impact the episode;
  • planning for good transitions (either in spoken audio or music);
  • after recording, doing the best editing possible for quality episodes;
  • planning for workflow steps to ensure quality mp3 is finished;
  • uploading the episode to your media host provider;
  • planning for quality announcement to your media channels or social media platforms that you have published an episode;
  • preparing follow-up tasks or surveys or feedback conversations for your audience;
  • receiving, responding and following up on your own replies to any feedback from your audience;
  • planning how this episode will impact your brand and your show and your business;
  • preparing for the next episode with VALUE to listeners in mind.

Another style is the age-old “spontaneous” type, where the podcaster usually will:

  • have very little or no planning (not even with a co-host or interviewee);
  • just hitting the “record” button and begin talking;
  • being able to change topics or go to a spontaneous discussion other than what was started;
  • having no planning for music or audio intros or outros;
  • having no plan for timing or length of the episode;
  • finally, stopping the recording when completed;
  • doing very little or NO EDITING, because the podcaster wants to deliver “reality” content that has not been altered in any way;
  • uploading to the media host and
  • publishing the episode with a title that is conceived just prior to publishing, usually not planned;
  • having no plan for follow up or feedback from any possible audience.
  • going on to the next episode in the “stream-of-consciousness” method for more “reality” podcasting.

So, if you are a hobby podcaster and are just starting, you may be deciding which type of podcaster you can be.

With all the courses and videos that instruct you how to prepare for a podcast episode, and then how to launch your podcast show, you may be confused about which is the best way to start and proceed.

For this podcaster, I have had a background in events and communications marketing. Thus, I have seen the value in planning and preparation — the essence of strategy and discipline to launch a show with an objective of audience growth and monetization.

So, in this relaxed atmosphere of communications due to the mandates of the phony virus crisis, we would like to ask you to reflect for yourself which type of podcasting you will like to do in the near future.

Thank you for your attention.

Copyright (c) 2020, Matrix Solutions Corporation . All rights reserved.

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podcast

482- What it means to RETIRE from Professional Podcasting

In this episode of The Podcast Reporter, we discuss the situation of retiring from professional podcasting, but yet not leaving the podosphere either as a podcaster that creates and publishes content, and still enjoying the arena of creating and distributing your messages.

I was listening to an earlier podcast from Adam Schaeuble’s show called Podcasting Business School, and in one episode, I realized the idea of being a successful podcaster and reaching your objectives both in audience growth and monetization — but now what? How does this fare for me for the future? And what’s next for me, both as entrepreneur and podcaster or screencaster?


For this podcaster, I had a maximum of 18 podcast shows — and 16 of them at the same time in 2011. However, as the themes and topics for content dwindled because of the nature of the shows, I had to podfade them until I only had one left before I added two more.

Now, did ask myself if I had accomplished what I set out to do. I also noticed that there were more than a million podcast shows published in the podosphere (1.3 million to date, I think). So did I figure that I would continue on the road to audience growth and monetization?

Not really. And why?

Because of my health problems that hit me 3 years ago with a vengeance, and because I no longer wanted to compete with others for monetization, I realized that I had learned a lot with my experience to help others, as well as relax any stress of working harder and podcasting more — but enjoying it less.

So I thought that I could still publish my content and distribute my messages to deliver VALUE to my audience, while really feeling as if I had RETIRED from being a professional podcaster that had to make a certain amount of money from podcasting or generate more listeners. This feeling of being RETIRED came from a presentation in 1978 from Lem Jones, an instructor in the IBM Systems Science Center, in which he stated that “if you enjoy what you are doing, you are basically RETIRED for your own good, or retired from your job which you can define.”


This feeling of being FREE from the stresses of publishing content to compete with others and to compete with the environment of the podosphere led me to create even two more podcast shows (after podfading 15 of them previously due to my taking care of my own health and that of my poor mother who was suffering from dementia and Alzheimer’s). And they are still going strong, without any marketing or advertising on them. In fact, one of the shows was republished on the No Agenda Stream and the speaker referred to this show as a “quality podcast.” And I did nothing to promote or market my podcast show.

So, as the very old TV sales commercial in the 1950s and 1960s said in their advertising hook “Are you smoking more but enjoying it less?”  And this tag line struck a chord with me to know that I was competing in podcasting more, but enjoying it less.

Therefore, I retired from the stress and tension of the business of podcasting — but I did not retire from the enjoyment of podcasting.

Even though I am screencasting and creating training videos for other clients, I still keep podcasting almost daily, because for me, “PODCASTING is a labor of love” in which I can get my message into content that will bring value to other podcasters and to my audiences.

So even though I still do research and create and publish content that can be of VALUE to my audience (especially lessons learned from my past and present experiences in business and podcasting), I do so on MY TERMS that result from my passion.

So, I hope that you perhaps will be thinking of your future in podcasting. What is your strategy for “retiring”? And does it contain the ability to retire, yet still continue podcasting because of your Passion for it? Remember — in the beginning of the podosphere, most of the podcasters in 2005 were passionate enough that they wanted to enter this arena and share with others their message only because they enjoyed it and many did not have any desire to monetize it.

So I will keep my passion of podcasting alive and well with this show, as well as my other two shows, even though I am basically “retired” from the podosphere as a professional podcaster.

I hope your future also includes “retiring” from the stress that may be caused by podcasting, yet enjoying the freedom to podcast in your “retirement.”

Thank you for your attention.

Copyright (c) 2020, Matrix Solutions Corporation . All rights reserved.