Tag: Podcastreporter.com

Categories
podcast

476- BONUS- Noise removal suggestions in Podcasting

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

In this episode of the Podcast Reporter, we discuss a post from the recent buzzsrpout.com blog that delivers suggestions, tips and also screen capture images on how to reduce noise using the Audacity application. This is mainly done using the Noise Removal feature in the program — and this article probably has value for new and aspiring podcasters (as the older veterans of podcasting have already used this feature and have either standardized on it or have chosen other means to include in their workflow).

Now, for this podcaster, I was first alerted to this feature of Audacity in 2005-2006 by Paul Colligan in his earlier podcast show, Podcast Tools (now podfaded). And I have used this feature for reducing the noise level in my episodes — as it seems good enough for me. And even with the help of tutorials from Steve Stewart about Audacity, the removal or diminishing of noise can be done even better, the neophyte podcaster can find value in reducing the amount of noise in the raw capture of a wav file before exporting it to mp3 format for the final episode. In fact, I myself found great value in the tutorial by Steve to sharpen the skills delivered to me over the internet from someone who is a professional audio editor.

 

Now, this recent blog post in buzzsprout.com/blog gives a summary of the tips for removing background noise in your recording, along with a 4 minute-20-second video:

  • First, the items covered are the standard “preventions” in creating unnecessary background noise;
    • optimize your recording space;
    • turn down the gain on your mic;
    • use a dynamic mic;
    • minimize computer fan noise.
  • Then once the “preventative” measures are taken, then the three steps are promoted to remove the noise in the Audacity feature called “Noise Removal”:
    • Get a noise sample
    • Apply noise reduction; and
    • Tweak the settings by adjusting certain levels; then
    • Use the PREVIEW button to test the noise quality resulting from the tweaks.
  • You are also given some further thoughts and resources to give you more information and suggestions about noise quality and improvement of your audio.

We hope that these suggestions can be of value to the new and aspiring podcaster, so that the quality of the audio can be greatly improved — thus allowing your listeners to enjoy a good level of sound as they listen to your message and hear the VALUE of your episode and message of your podcast show.

Thank you for your attention.

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

Categories
podcast

454- Quantifying money to be made by podcasting

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

In this episode of The Podcast Reporter, we discuss the topic of how much money you can make by podcasting.

As you will hear in this audio episode, the theme was taken from a recent episode and post from buzzsprout.com/blog.

Ideas for adding additional streams for generating revenue are delivered. In addition, this specific podcast series, PodcastReporter.com, has also described (in earlier episodes) different methods of creating revenue streams from your podcasting within your business.

One aspect that demands attention in this audio episode is that downloads are not the only indication of success for generating revenue. In fact, there are many ways to make money — and they are given in the recently published book from Dave Jackson of The School of Podcasting called “Profit from your Podcast.”

We hope that you can be successful in monetizing podcasts and go toward delivering value to your listeners, so that you can also join the club of 6-figure professional podcasters.

Thank you for your attention.

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

Categories
podcast

453- Growing podcast show by narrowing podcast niche

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

In this episode of The Podcast Reporter, we discuss the ideas that are presented in a recent episode of Ben Krueger’s podcast show called CashFlowPodcasting.com. The title of the episode and post is called “Narrow your niche to grow your audience.”

The guest which is interviewed by Ben is Dan Faggella. And some of the key points made in this interview for the podcaster seem to be the following:

  • Starting your podcast show with the focus you originally had is the right way to go;
  • However, at a later time, you may need to NARROW YOUR NICHE of the focus and subject matter of your show;
  • You can hone in on a more specific and TARGETED AUDIENCE by steering your show toward the focus of a more NARROW NICHE;
  • Surveys can be used to connect with your new audience members in a narrower niche, and that communication should be frequent;
  • Redoing the name of the show and the artwork may be required to make the transition and focus of the newly targeted show;
  • This rebranding may result in positive benefits for the podcaster.

And then Dan Faggella reiterates the results of narrowing the niche. As he states: “Getting more specific after building an audience has grown Dan’s reach rather than restricted it. By honing his attention on there topics that his most consistent listeners were interested in, he’s grown a dedicated and interactive group of listeners. Dan’s strategy might be just what you need to boost the value you’re providing to your audience!”

Ben Krueger

For this podcaster, the issue of rebranding is a very serious topic and theme that can tie up many resources of your business — including capital, time, effort, money and your current audience (especially if your audience consists of loyal fans). I, myself, have thought about sacrificing in the past my flagship podcast (at the time, it was The Struggling Entrepreneur, which is now podfaded), but I gave up this concept of making such a change to steering the focus of the podcast. Instead, I myself started another podcast show to take care of what would be a narrower niche for my listeners. A key example of this was my starting a podcast show within the last 10 years called Boomers for Startups (which, as you can imagine, has also podfaded before it reached its 70th episode).

Now, for myself, this was the best move. Why? Because the narrower niche audience of targeting baby-boomers as potential entrepreneurs did not last long. It would have been a negative impact and disastrous result for my flagship podcast called The Struggling Entrepreneur (which did have another 150 episodes for the next several years, with great audience growth until the subject matter had been exhausted).

So, if you are tempted to rebrand your current podcast show that is growing successfully at a slower pace than you would like, I would suggest that one other strategy you should look at and plan for is that of STARTING ANOTHER PODCAST SHOW with the focus on the targeted new audience in a much narrower niche. This can be a litmus test for you to see what results you would have — and the work for either would be almost the same (that is, the creation and publication and monitoring of a new podcast show versus the rebranding to a narrower focus of your flagship podcast show).

Now, at the end of this podcast episode by Ben Krueger, he offers a free 27-step checklist for planning, creating and launching a “highly effective podcast.”

Whichever method you may desire to implement if you want to focus on a narrower niche, I wish for you the best results in growing your show with the impact being positive for you and your business and your podcast show.

Thank you for your attention.

Copyright (c) 2020, Matrix Solutions Corporation and Ben Krueger of cashflowpodcasting.com. All rights reserved.

Categories
podcast

451A- BONUS – First look at the bonus resource from Dave Jackson

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

In this episode of the Podcast Reporter, we take a first look into the bonus deliverable that was sent to those who purchased a book from Dave Jackson called Profit from Your Podcast.

 As you may well know, I did purchase the book from Dave Jackson, and I recently received an email from him which thanked me for my purchase of his book, along with a link and instructions for reaching the bonus content which he specified in his book.

I decided to sign up for the bonus content and I went to the link and became a member of his bonus area. After logging on, I did a quick recon of the site and what Dave had deliveed.

It seemed to me that he was using a template for a mastermind group. It was also called “More podcast money” in some spots later in the site. Now, this More Podcast Money was the name of his previous book (which this one obviously updated), and he had a free podcast with the same name that originally dealt with monetizing your podcast.

So I went through and gave my own opinion of the site and what it could propose to podcasters (and I did this in a very informal “stream of consciousness” method — right, nothing sophisticated or professionally planned).

So, in this audio episode, after my walk-through, I do give a final perspective from only my viewpoint of the book and the value it could provide to new podcasters, aspiring podcasters, or veteran podcasters.

My own final perspective was that this book could be a good resource for both aspiring podcasters and new podcasters. But myself, as a veteran podcaster, would be reluctant to see the value of the site until more participation and sharing occurs. As was stated in the audio episode, Paul Colligan (at  paulcolligan.com ) once tried to start Podcaster Space (on the heels of the 2006 MySpace.com craze), but it also required group participation — and so, I found myself to be the only one for a while in the site. And because of the lack of participation from others, the site failed.

And so, I, a veteran podcaster, will come back and see if the participation does exist, and then I can see if there is value in the content or not.

In the meantime, I thank Dave for going the extra mile to create this site (like a mastermind group site) and encourage those podcasters who want to become profitable in monetization to use it and participate.

With my gratitude to Dave Jackson, my old consultant from 2006, I thank him.

And so, for this podcaster, I would like to thank you for your attention.

Copyright (c), Matrix Solutions Corporation and Dave Jackson and Profit from your Podcast. All rights reserved.

Categories
podcast

451- Podcast Media Kit — what it should have

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

In this episode of The Podcast Reporter, we review a recent post from thepodcasthost.com titled “How to make a Podcast Media Kit:  Make a media kit to engage listeners, reviewers and sponsors, using some basic journalism concepts!”

Now, for this podcaster, I have been involved with the creation of my own podcast media kit since 2006. I created a very simple one and brought it to the Podcast and Portable Media Expo in Ontario, California, for the conference where media kits were very new to the Podosphere and very few podcasters had them. In fact, the only podcaster who recognized my package as a media kit was Jason Van Orden of Impact podcast (in those days, his podcast was The Podcasting Underground).

I also created various press kits (as they were also called) and media kits in 2007, 2008, 2013, 2014 and 2015. The last one had a CD and fact sheets and press releases and album art and also some written pages for the New Media Expo (when I was announcing a product and another podcast show).

As you will hear in this audio episode, I step you through the sections of the media kit, as explained in the article:

  • the WHO
  • the What,
  • the Where,
  • the Why,
  • the When, and
  • the How

of your podcast.

I also give my own experience in having PRESS RELEASES created and included in the media kit — this critical so that the news outlets also know when you are launching your show or when it was available and some words of positive review. Included would be both hardcopy and softcopy of any positive podcast reviews of your episodes — as this would be a favorable mention that would catch your individual’s eyes.

So, we strongly encourage you to consume the article and check to see if your strategy incudes a media kit. I would strongly suggest both a hardcopy folder with all the hardcopy contents and CD and USB thumb drive with the softcopy elements. And remember, if the individual does not wish to accept the hardcopy folder, then the USB drive with the contents is a great alternative.

And most importantly, you should plan and schedule to follow up with the key individual so that you can get feedback on the content of your media kit — this should then deliver to you an honest review of your kit and the effect that it could have on the intended audience. We hope that this is great and positive, and that it can be one tactic that can help to make your podcast a success.

Thank you for your attention.

Copyright (c) 2020, Matrix Solutions Corporation and thepodcasthost.com and Lindsay Harris Friel. All rights reserved.

Categories
podcast

450- Podcasting criteria for conferences — still valid for 2021

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

In this episode of The Podcast Reporter, we repost and repurpose an episode (which was #104 of this series) that deals with the criteria that a podcaster would contemplate for attending or participating in a mega-conference for podcasters (e.g., Podcast Movement in 2021 in Nashville, etc.). And for this, I have some background information on other mega conferences in the past — namely, CES (Consumer Electronics Show), NMX (New Media Expo) and NAB (National Association of Broadcasters) from the years of 2015 to 2020.

I feel that this can be a good review and re-energization stimulus for those podcasters who have grown weary of the “cabin fever” syndrome of the plan-demic of 2020 with the mandatory stay-at-home orders from the governors of states and cities, etc. In other words, the podcasters may be ready to travel to a mega conference so that they can:

  • Socialize with other podcasters absent in the year 2020 in person;
  • Education and training from different tracks in the mega conferences;
  • Receive value from “how-to” sessions and speakers and panelists from the mega conferences for the subjects that can provide value to the podcaster;
  • See any type of podcast awards ceremonies (e.g., Podcast Peoples’ Awards ceremony, or the Hall of Fame awards, etc.);
  • Meeting and mingling with key podcast celebrities (e.g., possibly meeting Adam Curry, Dave Jackson, Daniel J Lewis, Ray Ortega, Gary Leland, Rob Walch, Rob Greenlee, Todd Cochrane, etc.); and
  • Select which presentations, panels, pitches, speakers, etc., would provide value to your objectives for attending the conference;
  • Prepare either a presentation or panel or demonstration at the exhibit hall; or
  • Prepare a live podcast episode recording at the “Podcast Pavilion” that would be available at the mega conference with a key podcaster with whom you have agreement to create recorded content; and
  • Demonstrate at the exhibit hall or the Podcast Pavilion your subject matter expertise, or your offer, offering, product or consulting services or other services;
  • Promote and sell your services, offers, offerings, products, etc., at the show to prospects that are attendees; and
  • Attend live sessions that will be recorded for the virtual ticket — but attend and be able to ASK QUESTIONS of the speakers, developers, presenters and panelists;
  • Note the sessions which you could not attend in person, but be ready to consume that same session in the following virtual ticket after the mega-conference. and finally
  • Many other activities which you can perform in person at such a mega-conference.

So, although this episode may be dated for some older podcasters, it still has plenty of evergreen content for the newer or aspiring podcasters that will resume the podcasting mega-conference possible attendance. For here, you have several key ROI criteria, as well as the value you can receive from these examples in this episode.

So, we hope that in 2021, the resumption of in-person mega conferences (like Podcast Movement in Nashville in 2021) will provide the opportunity for podcasters to once again get value from an inbound business shows and conferences — especially since most of the podosphere has been “zoomed out” and “virtual-meetinged-out” with poor quality live streaming or recordings that they can consume from home during lockdowns.

So, we hope you enjoy this repurposed episode that still can provide a lot of evergreen content and examples for you, the podcaster, once the economy recovers from lockdown during this plan-demic of 2020. And if you do decide to attend one of these conferences, we wish you the best in preparing your objectives, attending the presentations or speaking as a presenter, attending the exhibit hall and seeing the latest products, offerings and offers from the demonstrators — and getting the VALUE and ROI from the live event.

Thank you for your attention.

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

Categories
podcast

449- Advice on testing out a Podcast idea for success

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

In this episode of The Podcast Reporter, we again discuss a post from Ben Krueger of cashflowpodcasting.com titled “HOW TO TEST YOUR PODCAST IDEA (BEFORE YOU INVEST IN IT).”

In this post, Ben delivers some ideas to consider if you wish to start a podcast that will have business success for you BEFORE you invest all the time, effort, trouble, money and “blood, sweat and tears” to create and publish it, and finally monitor it. And you can get the content of the post from Ben’s web site.

Now, in reading this post, you may see that there is a lot of planning, evaluating and testing that has to be done before you finalize your decision to begin the processes of starting and publishing a podcast show with an idea that you may have.

First, Ben discusses his perspective on which types of businesses will have a better chance of success with podcasts than others — and he gives you the reasons why and why not. He terms this with “best results” themes for success. He lists the different types of businesses that will have a better fit; and he even lists the types of businesses where podcasting may not be the best tool for success.

Next, Ben then gives strategies for testing out your idea before you podcast. For example, the overview of the steps are:

  • Record a sample episode;
  • Be a guest on someone else’s podcast;
  • Four detailed steps in pursuing this test; and
  • Moving forward with your podcast once you see that you passed the “test.”

And Ben even delivers sample scripts and templates that you, as a podcaster, can use to test out your idea with these steps. And these details do provide some good value for you.

Of course, Ben also promotes his book “How to create the perfect business podcast” at the end of the post. In this way, he delivers the overview of the test, and his  book from his web site is the offer that can assist you from his membership funnel.

As a podcaster that can see the value for new or aspiring podcasters to have such details and templates to help in the testing out of ideas, I would suggest that these deliverables will be very helpful in the process of PLANNING your podcast show. I would recommend viewing the content and using some of the template-based ideas in preparing the validation for your idea of the podcast show.

So, for whichever method you may choose to test out your idea in planning your podcast with the idea that you have, I sincerely hope that short-cuts like this suggested test may assist you in creating a show that will pass the litmus test and have the best results for making your show a success.

Thank you for your attention.

Copyright (c) 2020, Matrix Solutions Corporation and Ben Krueger of cashflowpodcasting.com. All rights reserved.

Categories
podcast

448- Why anyone would listen to your Podcast

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

In this episode of the Podcast Reporter, we discuss an article in medium.com by Denis Murphy called “Why would anyone listen to your podcast?”

Obviously, the main focus of the article is the value that your podcast episode can deliver to your listeners. For myself, the word “value” has such diverse meanings:

  • it can mean any emotional VALUE to the listener — e.g., happiness, joy, elation or sadness, tragedy, concern;
  • it can deliver entertainment VALUE to the listener — such as fictional or crime stories that are now popular;
  • it can deliver educational VALUE to the listener in the area of “how to” information or training (e.g., I myself delivered a six-month course of personal productivity in a premium audio podcast back in 2007-2008 that delivered skills in being able to do more in less time with better results while reducing stress);
  • it can deliver relaxation VALUE to the listener by just publishing either music or non-stressful content that can help one relax;
  • and many other types of VALUE.

Now, this article by Denis Murphy has the subtitle that states that it took him 115 episodes to realize why an audience member would listen to his show.

He starts off by stating the obvious — that the beginning of your show will be the toughest and the slowest for growing an audience of loyal listeners. As a matter of fact, he uses the term “slog” which can signify inertia in the development of your show to a set of growing fans. As he says: “You want an audience of dedicated listeners. You want to see messages of appreciation from some of them. You want to feel like you’re helping them come unstuck in the same way you came unstuck in your life.”

But then Denis reassures you that the “slog” won’t be forever, and that consistency in the production and publication of episodes that provide value to your audience will be the key to eventual decrease of the “slog” and the uptick of popularity, acceptance and finally subscription from fans to become loyal listeners.

In summary, he has these sections that highlight his thoughts:

  • Accept that you will suck;
  • Your job is to make listeners think;
  • Why do you, yourself, listen to your favorite podcasts?
  • As he states, your job is to make your audience FEEL and think:  “Focus on making your audience think and feel.
    • Share your most helpful, raw and honest thoughts and opinions.
    • Genuinely take an interest in having a conversation with your guest.
    • Allow your personality to evolve with the podcast organically.

Do these things, and you will get to one hundred episodes and beyond. Do these things, and your podcast will become a vehicle for your personal growth.”

For this podcaster, consistency is one of the greatest skills and characteristics that your podcast can show. It gives you the symbol of being a prolific podcaster that is in it for the long term (i.e., not just a fly-by-night hobbyist that can get disappointed if you are not making six figures in monetization with thousands of downloads each episode within a few months).

But this also means that you have to create good content and deliver exceptional VALUE to your targeted audience (i.e., NOT everyone, but your niche audience that is waiting for your content that is directed to them and not the masses in general). It is this value that Adam Curry from the No Agenda show calls “an outstanding product” (in this case, PRODUCT is the content of your show) — and Adam has had success in both growing a loyal fan base, delighting producers (for he does not have “listeners” — everyone is a producer) and successfully monetizing his show for over a decade, and still growing.

And for myself, this means giving thoughtful attention to the VALUE of your content to your listeners. You can monitor this by surveys, opinions, reviews and feedback. You can also put together some strategies for monetization to see what VALUE will be in the minds of your listeners. And you can now refer to the updated book by Dave Jackson called Profit from your Podcast to see which strategy may work best for you to create revenue streams. One such strategy that has been successful for Adam Curry is the “value for value” model (which is also being used by the Grumpy Old Bens show). You may wish to listen to the episodes of No Agenda to find out more in detail about this.

So, whichever method you use to review your content and assure that REAL VALUE is there for your targeted audience, we hope that you can then plan your strategies for longevity and become the prolific podcaster that Denis Murphy describes. And we hope that you can grow your audience — and that perhaps it will not take over 115 episodes to finally understand this.

We wish you all the success to have the audience you desire in the shortest time with the value you provide from your great podcast show.

Thank you for your attention.

Copyright (c) 2020, Matrix Solutions Corporation and medium.com and Denis Murphy. All rights reserved.

Categories
podcast

447- Strategies to help you when podcasting is no longer fun

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

In this episode of The Podcast Reporter, we revisit the topic of helping the podcaster get over any negative feelings that may creep up for podcasting when the passion and thrill is gone for you.

In this repurposed episode, we hope to give you tips and ideas to create strategies and help you to avoid the negative feelings that can result from the following:

  • Boredom,
  • burnout,
  • overwork,
  • lack of socialization with other podcasters,
  • lack of content (because you may have exhausted your content and cannot spawn new episodes from newer ideas), etc.
  • competition that has overtaken your show;
  • too much repetition in your workflow;
  • inability to participate in podcast meetups or podcamps or podcast conferences;
  • you feel attracted more to social media instead of podcasting;
  • you may feel that you have “grown out” of podcasting;
  • health problems that make you lose energy or ability to engage in podcasting in the way you did when you first started;
  • and other reasons that are mentioned in this episode.

I, myself, have felt down in certain times. And I give you a number of strategies that can help you get out of your slump of negativity. These did work for me.

In fact, there are GROWTH strategies that may work for you — for example, starting a podcast membership site (such as the one Daniel J Lewis of The Audacity to Podcast show created called Podcasters Society), or even starting or participating in a podcast network.

And, of course, there is always the direction of monetizing your podcast. You can refer to Dave Jackson of the School of Podcasting show in his free and earlier book, More Podcast Money (or the updated book called Profit from your Podcast).

I hope that some of these strategies that have worked for me as a podcaster can also help you during the times when you may begin to feel that “the thrill is gone” from podcasting.

Thank you for your attention.

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

Categories
podcast

446- Case study review — how Evo Terra creates his podcast

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

In this episode of The Podcast Reporter, we discuss the recent article in the podnews.net newsletter that reviews how Evo Terra creates and produces his podcast show of PodcastPontifications.com.

For any podcaster that has known Evo, this would seem like a very interesting story. As I have known Evo since 2007 when I met him in person at a Podcamp conference in Arizona, I considered this of great value. For he has been a master podcaster, as well as an author who wrote several of the first books on podcasting in 2005 and 2007 (i.e., Podcasting for Dummies and Expert podcasting practices for Dummies).

Why this article in the podnews.net newsletter? Well, I guess that Evo got tired of people asking him why he spends 3.5 hours per episode and 4 episodes per week for almost 350 episodes to do his show — and that begs the question of the description of his workflow. So I guess he decided to publish the answer and point people to the article as a reply.

Very much like the situation with Dave Jackson of the School of Podcasting show, Dave constantly had to explain and answer the question of how someone can make money from podcasting. And so what did Dave do? He wrote a book, More Podcast Money (which is being updated with a new book, Profit from Your Podcast). And now, Dave can point to the book as a detailed reply once and for all.

Now, for aspiring or new podcasters who may ask Evo the same question (possibly in a webinar or a conference or a presentation), this article from Evo presents itself as a CASE STUDY.

In it, Evo describes the following details of his planning, his equipment, his recording, his production, his publishing — and then he goes into the details of WHY he takes so long (21 times the length of each episode) for final production:

  • Sound Conditioning:  these details describe how his environment for recording is prepared for recording;
  • Microphone: Shure SM7B mounted on a VIVO swingarm-mount. 
  • Audio Interface: Zoom H6, a portable recorder that has a lot of features and functions for recording either in a studio setting or the outdoors;
  • Computer: Mac Mini, which is my dedicated studio computer. 
  • Digital Audio Workstation or DAW:
  • Camera:  None, as his show of Podcast Pontifications is not a video podcast. But yes, there is a video version. 
  • Media Hosting Company: Captivate.fm, of which I sit on the Advisory Board. (Disclosure – so does Podnews’s Editor).
  • Website: PodcastPontifications.com is managed via and hosted by Webfow, 
  • Other Software: as described.
  • Pre-production:  And he delivers a bulleted list in this case study of what a typical schedule is like for him in the preparation and production tasks.
  • Creating a title and finalizing imagery;
  • Creating the “script” for the show
  • Production and live streaming: recording and creating the mp3 file;
  • Exporting the mp3 file to Descript for a full transcription.
  • The Writing and written editing: post-production
  • Publishing & Distribution: this can include scheduling and publishing the video and posting it to appropriate sites and web pages, as well as finalizing the ID3 tags.
  • Final syndication.

Now, all the details are not given here in the show notes or podcast episode — they are in the podnews.net article. I strongly recommend that ALL podcasters consume this article, so that they can see how a real  pro podcaster (i.e., one who wrote the book on podcasting) actually describes his workflow and tasks in the planning, production and publishing of his episodes.

I feel that we can ALL learn something from the old masters (of which I consider Evo one). And some of us may want to compare our own workflow and tasks to see if we need to improve our show with either additional plug-ins, software, or other tasks.

In any case, I feel that any podcaster worth his salt will get enjoyment out of Evo’s article — especially since his sense of humor and his element of “disruption” come out loud and clear in his writing. Please enjoy.

Thank you for your attention.

Copyright (c) 2020, Matrix Solutions Corporation and Evo Terra of PodcastPontifications.com and podnews.com. All rights reserved.