Tag: theaudacitytopodcast.com

Categories
podcast

418- Podcaster Courtesy — discussion with Daniel J Lewis

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

In this episode of The Podcast Reporter, we have an edited episode from an earlier podcast that has been repurposed as evergreen content for this show, as the topic is still very relevant and important today in the podosphere.

The topic is PODCASTER COURTESY in terms of bumpers, interviews and other aspects of communication and sharing in the podosphere. And the interview was conducted earlier over the Skype network with podcaster, Daniel J Lewis, of The Audacity to Podcast.

As you will hear in this audio episode, we also focus on the aspect of the theme of “benevolent selfishness.” This has been a topic from some key internet marketers and podcasters (e.g., Paul Colligan with his podcast show of ThePodcastReport.com and his product offers, offerings and training courses, etc.). And we see how this can be a mutual benefit — although many podcasters (such as myself and Daniel J Lewis) actually give interviews and deliver bumpers without expecting anything in return.

We also discuss what a “bumper” is for a podcaster, and how this can be a tool that will help to advance your podcast, improve content, as well as grow relationships with other podcasters. And, of course, it goes without saying that a podcaster should reciprocate giving back to the former podcaster by supplying a corresponding bumper.

With several examples from our own experience, our perspectives of podcaster courtesy still remain sound today. We hope that this episode is of value to the new and aspiring podcasters, as well as all the other podcasters in the podosphere.

Thank you for your attention.

Copyright (c) 2020, Matrix Solutions Corporation and Daniel J Lewis of theaudacitytopodcast.com. All rights reserved.

Categories
podcast

413- Decision for applying to The Podcast Academy

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

In this episode of The Podcast Reporter, we discuss the issue of joining the new organization, The Podcast Academy. The membership application process opened up on 22June2020 online.

I myself have sent an application to join this group recently. And I did this because of a suggestion from Daniel J Lewis of The Audacity to Podcast — for he said that this would be a good way to improve not only our own podcast shows, but also the podosphere. I also received info from Todd Cochrane of The New Media Show with his suggestion to join this group, even though his initial response contained some reservations.

So I did what I had to do, even though I was leery of a requirement to send two letters of reference from other podcasters or people of interest. This mandate, along with the fee ($50 USD for a short time, but then $100 USD after that per year) made me a bit skeptical, as I have seen multiple organizations within the past 15 years create their site, readily request applications to join and even ask for money — but then fail to deliver and finally go out of business thereafter.

I had been listening to a trusted podcast show with both Todd Cochrane and Rob Greenlee of The New Media Show podcast. And since I noticed that Rob Greenlee had been selected to be the leader of this organization, I guess that I would put my trust in him for his leadership and possible correct steering of this group to help the podosphere — including the Indie podcasters.

I would suggest that you may want to consume the episode dated 27May2020 from NewMediaShow.com to understand the nature of this group and get Rob’s comments. In this episode, some of the details that explain the organization and membership are discussed openly.

So, I hope that you consider this group for either joining or supporting — and see if they will do good for the podosphere. And if you do decide to join, I hope that your podcast can be more successful with the hints, tips, and all benefits of this organization.

Thank you for your consideration and attention.

Copyright (c) 2020, Matrix Solutions Corporation and Rob Greenlee and Todd Cochrane and Daniel J Lewis. All rights reserved.

Categories
podcast

408A- Podcasters for hobby or profit or independence

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

In this very brief episode of The Podcast Reporter, we discuss the differences between the podcaster for profit or hobby or independence. These are the differences in a couple of episodes from Daniel J Lewis in his The Audacity to Podcast show.

The first of the 4 differences of the types of podcasters were specified by Daniel J Lewis. Here, we go a step beyond the strict classification, as I, myself, have been all four of these types during my career in the podosphere (that is, a hobbyist, a professional, a corporate and an indie podcaster).

As you will hear in this brief audio episode, the details given by Daniel paint a pretty accurate representation of the type of podcaster you may be AT THE TIME you are identified as such (in my opinion).

So perhaps you should consider your journey into the podosphere and maybe update your resume to indicate the stages which you have experienced as a podcaster in one (or more) of these types. This can only be to your benefit, as you will be recognized as a subject matter expert, or a problem solver, or a solution provider, or even a thought leader in the podosphere.

Note: the last 4 were the stages of becoming a new media thought leader, as expressed in The Struggling Entepreneur older podcast show.

We hope that you can augment your skills and your reputation in the podosphere to become the very type of podcaster that will help make you successful.

Thank you for your attention.

Copyright (c) 2020, Matrix Solutions Corporation and Daniel J Lewis. All rights reserved.

Categories
podcast

407- Considerations in starting a podcast network

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

In this episode of podcastreporter.com, we focus on the question of whether to join or even start your own Podcast Network. This theme came to me from a couple of recent episodes from Evo Terra in his Podcast Pontifications show, as well as Daniel J Lewis in his show, The Audacity to Podcast.

If your passion for podcasting has grown such that you want to join or even create your own podcast network, perhaps you should listen to the questions asked by Evo Terra, as well as listen to the experiences (the good, the bad and the ugly) from Daniel J Lewis (who did shut down his own podcast network that he started years ago).

My own experiences with podcast networks

Now, I have had experiences with the thought of joining a podcast network. In 2006 and 2007, I dipped my toes into the waters of joining what looked like a growing podcast network at Podango (this was the podcast company that had acquired Gigavox, the firm that created the Levelator in 2006). I wanted to be a part of what was called a “podcast station” (which was the category or genres of podcasts) called the Business Station. I wanted to include my flagship podcast at the time, Struggling Entrepreneur. And the sharing, the community and the financial benefits all seemed like a great beginning. However, I did have second thoughts about letting someone else run my show and own my RSS feed and content. So I decided NOT to join and just kept being on my own. And, by the way, I do not regret that decision, as Podango later went out of business in another year or two.

Then, in 2007, the podcast network bug bit me again. This time, I wanted to start a podcast network which I had temporarily called the “Content Creator and podcaster network.” This was going to be basically a membership site with 4 founders — one for the technical side of podcasting; another for the financial side of startups and podcasting; another for the marketing side of podcasting and its promotion; and my contribution, the personal productivity side of creating content and podcasts.

For this membership site, we even had a meeting which I had called. And I used the prior method of getting buy-in and commitment and dialog used by Tim Bourquin when he had founded the Podcast and Portable Media Expo in 2005. That is, I invited everyone to join me personally (at my expense for travel, lodging and meals) for a couple of days in Austin, Texas, so that we could discuss all day the creation of this membership site which would then create the network shortly after launch. In fact, we even had an attorney, who was himself a podcaster, join us via Skype to get the details of the contract which he would create for all of us to agree and sign as a commitment. Well, that meeting gave me an indication of how much CONTROL and OWNERSHIP and FINANCIAL EXPECTATION that podcasters desired. As a result, I saw that this arrangement would not suit all the parties involved — what seemed like an exciting discussion and proposal went down in flames when “the devil is in the details.” So we never gave the green light to create the contract (with legal fees of $1300 in those days), and we disbanded the idea. And the survivors were only two of us who started another podcast based on Finance for Startups (which has since podfaded).

What was obvious to me at that time, after some pre-investment expenses and time, was that podcasters were too much desirous of control and ownership of the direction. And this is only natural, since podcasting at that time was individually run, owned and managed by the solo podcaster. And these people were not used to SHARING any intellectual property or revenue with others, especially under contract.

So the notion of a podcast network or membership site was erased from my mind as a creator — and maybe one day I might join one already in session.

The 2 recent episodes about podcast networks

In a recent episode by Evo Terra in his show called Podcast Pontifications, the title of his script and audio episode was “Should you join or form a podcast network?”

In this audio episode, Evo asks the most important questions: What is it that you want to get out of the network, and what is it that you will be willing to sacrifice to belong in it? He not only goes over what his own backstory was in creating his own network back “in the day” of 2004 and following, but also how a loose confederation of podcasters can be just a social club rather than a really serious podcast network (and he describes what should be in a podcast network from his point of view).

So the benefits vs. the contributions is a matrix that you should put together to evaluate an existing podcast network that you may feel compelled to join. Also, if you wish to start one, you should examine deep in yourself what you really want to get out of managing this type of organization and see if you have the talent and skills to do so effectively, without having the passion of podcasting be lost due to frustrations because of your potential lack of skills.

And Evo relates what, in his opinion, is really needed for a good podcast network today.

Now, the other example with some lessons learned comes from Daniel J Lewis of The Audacity to Podcast show. He describes how he put together his network shortly after he joined podcasting in full force — and also the end of his network, along with the reasons why he ended it.

In his recent episode called “Why we retired our podcast network,” Daniel mentions that he had clear-cut goals when he created his podcast network: “My goal was to bring together like-minded podcasters with high-quality shows to grow together through synergy, community, support, crosspromotion, and sponsorship.”

However, what seemed to me to be more or less a society of like-minded individuals with different podcast shows from different genres and possibly some unrelated themes soon grew into a long list of participating shows in the network, like the following:

  • The Ramen Noodle
  • Are You Just Watching
  • The Audacity to Podcast
  • Beyond the To-Do List
  • The Productive Woman
  • Christian Meets World
  • The Sci-Phi Show
  • ONCE
  • Welcome to Level Seven
  • WONDERLAND
  • Under the Dome Radio
  • Resurrection Revealed
  • Podcasting Videos by The Audacity to Podcast
  • Inside the Podcasting Business
  • As you can see, this could appear to be a community of disjointed themes and topics, with possibly the intent to generate sponsorship, financial rewards from downloads and advertising, as well as cross-promotion. And Daniel then explains what things he did well in the network and what things that were done poorly:
  • Audience-relevant common theme
  • Cross-promotion
  • Cross-integration
  • Full and consistent community
  • and you can listen to his audio podcast episode to get the details. Then he states why he retired the network, including the ability for him to focus on fewer things, as well as giving each podcaster more room to expand.

So Daniel’s experiences deliver some lessons learned about starting a podcast network, and I would suggest that you take these into account if you get the passion to go beyond your own podcast shows and want to start your own network.

Considerations for the podcaster about Podcast Network

As a podcaster, what passion can be driving you toward wanting to start a great podcast network? Will you have the time? Will the additional workload and timetables and schedules and management of the network be something you will embrace, as well as have time for? Will you have the necessary skills to manage your network? Will you have the right temperment for being in the network? And will the podcasts in the network be the right ones, or will they be a hodge-podge collection of your favorite podcasters and additional genres and other topics that might not relate well to some audiences? Will the network be governed by contract or by word-of-mouth agreements?

So, whatever your decision may be concerning podcast networks may be (i.e., either joining one or starting one of your own), we hope that these two audio episodes can give you enough food for thought to know what to expect both from the contribution side and the giving side to the network.

So we hope that your podcast show will be successful, whether it be a part of a podcast network or not.

Thank you for your attention

Copyright (c) 2020, Matrix Solutions Corporation and Daniel J Lewis and Evo Terra of Podcastpontifications.com. All rights reserved.

Categories
podcast

404- Podcasting with a co-host

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

In this episode of The Podcast Reporter, we focus on podcasting with a co-host. We also refer to an article in themedium.com that was written by Joseph Anderson and deals with issues of co-host podcast recording.

Several points refer to respect for, and planning with, your co-host for best success — especially if both of your are employed or if distance keeps you quite distant from each other.

For this podcast reporter, I do record remotely several episodes of my podcast show called 2030podcast.com with my co-host, Matt Cox (who is a podcaster in his own right with his show, Brunch with the Brits). As a matter of fact, we propose this as a case in point to which you can examine in a casual and unrehearsed manner.

And finally, the topic of co-host issues was addressed very successfully by podcaster Daniel J Lewis of The Audacity to Podcast in his back catalog of episodes. I heartily recommend that you may wish to review this content, for his detail is great in trying to cover all the angles that you may examine.

We hope that you can have a great working relationship with any potential co-host and have a successful podcast with great content and a great following.

Thank you for your attention.

Copyright (c) 2020, Matrix Solutions Corporation and themedium.com and 2030podcast.com and Joseph Anderson. All rights reserved.

Categories
podcast

401- Recent review of Podcaters Society

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

This episode of Podcast Reporter show gives a recent review of Podcasters Society membership site from Daniel J Lewis. He is an advanced podcaster with his show of The Audacity to Podcast.

First, I deliver a history of my experience when the membership site first launched several years ago. Then I mention that I subscribed once again this year as a member to see the changes and compare the new changes from the older experience.

Then I go through each of the major features, seminars, webinars, tutorials, courses, chats with others via Slack, tools and resources, etc. It is more of a walk-through.

My final result and recommendation: I would suggest that you consider joining this if you want to take your podcast show from “ordinary” to “amazing” levels. The cost is not prohibitive, and the value that is delivered to the member can be great.

So, if you are considering a membership site or mastermind group in podcasting, perhaps you may want to consider Podcasters Society. As I mentioned during this audio episode, I do consider this site to be more of a “collaborative mentorship.”

We hope that you find the appropriate membership site or group that will help you to succeed in the podosphere with your show.

Thank you for your attention.

Copyright (c) 2020, Matrix Solutions Corporation and Daniel J Lewis and PodcastersSociety.com. All rights reserved.

Categories
podcast

400- Good podcast intro to hook your audience

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

In this episode, we hail and celebrate our 400th episode of this Podcast series by discussing the value of a good intro for your podcast episode and some suggestions by Matty Staudt on how to grab your audience with the art of the “tease.”.

First, however, we shall share with you a milestone that we have reached — 400 episodes. Now, this was not the first time that we have had 400 episodes in one of our shows (we did that before years ago in an earlier podcast show before we had to podfade it). And having been a podcaster for the past 15 years, longevity is one fine trait with experience in the podosphere.

Since October 15th of 2019, we have published an episode every day. And although it was never planned as a publishing marathon, it ended up being one because of the content ideas and the podosphere news that have created information for us to share with you.

However, we have used the format of the short-form podcast (i.e., less than 10 minutes in length) for much of the last 200 episodes, and for most of the publishing marathon since October of 2019.

And we intend to provide more value to our listeners with the information about the podosphere and other new media topics.

So, now, on our 400th episode of this podcast show, we can look back to our roots of 2014, to the first episode and see that we have delivered value to our listeners and loyal fans, and that we intend to keep delivering such value as we possibly can. In the beginning of our podcast show, we focused on bringing you interviews with the legends of the podcasters who were the giants of the podosphere from the beginning and who helped us to form the podcast as a medium and several genres. We interviewed those who had been podcasting since 2004. And then we opened up our attention to other topics related to the podosphere which we felt were of significance to the aspiring podcaster, the hobbyist podcaster and even the professional podcaster or serious new media professionals.

Hook your audience with a good INTRO

In the recent post in the Podcast Business Journal, Matty Staudt emphasizes with an example of a boring introduction what it means to be exciting, relevant and catching, so that you can “hook” your listener in the first few minutes of your episode. The name of the article is called “Your Intro Matters.”

The importance of creating a meaningful and attractive intro is given the importance by Staudt: “People decide if they are going to listen to a podcast in the first minute. If you don’t give them the full picture in that time or hook them with interesting audio they will most likely move on to one of the other million podcasts out there.”

Now, although we have discussed good introls and outros before in this podcast show — especially with the reference of an earlier podcast episode in The Audacity to Podcast show by Daniel J Lewis — Staudt relies on a very simple and quick list of suggestions that he has seen work best for him when he produced his shows:

Voice first — as this needs to be warm and friendly to invite the listener to stick around and consume some audio that will contain the value that he seeks;

Set up the show — Deliver a “tease” with brief and relevant info: “I usually suggest a quick tease of content followed by these three important elements. Name of the show, who you are, and the show’s tagline/mission statement.”

What’s on today — The brief tease that describes the content to be delivered and the value that will be given to the listener.

Create your intro as the LAST task for your content — As Matty states, “One last thing. Do your intros after you have produced the rest of the show. It should be the last thing you do so that you know exactly what you are going to tease. A good intro takes thought, good writing, and the remembrance that each show is a new show for someone.”

Now, for this podcast, we have had a standard format for intros. This would include the episode number, then the key theme or the question that will be answered in the content (this is the “tease”). And then we will go straight into the meat of the content and provide the VALUE to our listeners so that they will not get bored. And instead of including many segments in the episode, we focus only on one theme in a short form episode. And many of our listeners have commented that they enjoy this format — especially now that many of our audience has to stay isolated during the virus crisis.

And the tease or tag line and intro are usually all created at the end, or they are set out at the start of production, but reviewed and mainly improved and modified after the episode has been produced (just as Matty states). It seems to be a good formula for us to use, and we strongly suggest that perhaps you can try this out for your podcast episodes and see how well it can work for you.

So we wish you the best in creating your exciting intros for your podcast episodes to hook your audience and keep them as loyal fans of your show.

Thank you for your attention.

Copyright (c) 2020, Matrix Solutions Corporation and Matty Staudt and PodcastBusinessJournal.com. All rights reserved.

Categories
podcast

399- Update on the fears of podcasting

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

In this episode of The Podcast Reporter, we re-visit the topic of some new media creatives that may have FEARS in thinking about podcasting.

The original topic was presented to us in episode number 55 in the back-catalog of The Audacity to Podcast from Daniel J Lewis. And we plan to add more fears in this update of this specific topic.

Now, in the original podcast episode in 2011, Daniel presented us with seven major fears, which were:

  • It is not worth the time;
  • I don’t have enough to say;
  •  No one will want to listen to me;
  • People will not like me;
  • Podcasting is too hard;
  • Podcasting costs too much;
  • I hate the sound of my own voice.

And in this episode update, we add the following reasons that may appear to be excuses that can be overcome (some may be similar, but not exactly the same in detail):

  • I don’t want to be a techie;
  • I cannot make any money;
  • I am scared to podfade;
  • It is too competitive;
  • I don’t want to learn or do SEO (search engine optimization);
  • I don’t want to become a loner or introvert;
  • It’s too time-consuming;
  • Any enthusiasm can die;
  • I don’t want my hobby to become an obsession;
  • I don’t want to burn out.

So, if you make a checklist for yourself and cross each one out when you overcome it. And we sincerely hope that you, as a podcaster, can learn to overcome any fears of these 17 reasons for podcasting — and then you can enjoy the passion of podcasting and be successful.

Thank you for your attention.

Copyright (c) 2020, Matrix Solutions Corporation and episode TAP55 from Daniel J Lewis of theaudacitytopodcast.com. All rights reserved.

Categories
podcast

383- Good SEO steps — an Evo Terra perspective

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

In this episode, the topic proposed by Evo Terra of Podcast Pontifications was that of SEO (search engine optimization) being hard — and whether it is worth it for a podcaster (from the April, 2020 publication in the audio episode and show notes).

From my own perspective, I have mixed feelings about the amount of effort needed for good SEO — including the education, training and implementation that includes follow-up and tracking. With the goal of being ranked in the top ten listings of search engines, this is a heavy-duty objective, knowing that there are over a million podcast shows today.

As Evo mentions in his episode, he describes the various stages of the SEO stages (and since he is an expert about SEO since 2005) in some of the following  steps:

  • Planning;
  • Pre-production
  • Recording and production;
  • Post-production
  • Publication
  • Syndication
  • Monitoring
  • End-result

We highly recommend that you consume this episode and/or show notes text. I feel that many can learn the truth about good SEO.

From my own perspective, there is one other resource with experience and technical ability in SEO that offers a course called SEO FOR PODCASTERS. And this is available from Daniel J Lewis of The Audacity to Podcast.

For your own efforts of SEO with your podcast show, we hope that you can learn good habits from whatever training or education resource you may have, and then apply good steps and have excellent results from your SEO efforts.

Thank you for your attention.

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

Categories
podcast

371- A grateful thanks to podcasters

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

In this episode of The Podcast Reporter, we discuss the statement of thanks to podcasters for their contributions and service to the podosphere during these times.

The theme was created from a statement from Daniel J Lewis of The Audacity to Podcast in a recent interview which we did by using the double-ender strategy.

The theme was heightened by the Vietnam Veterans National Day of thanks at the end of March every year since 2014. And my thanks also went to Daniel’s father, who served as an Air Force member during the same conflict in which I was involved — and who, in all probability, might have saved my life.

However, my gratitude goes to the contributions of podcasters — whether to Indie podcasters or professional podcasters or corporate podcasters.

I look forward to the end of September, when we shall celebrate the international podcast day (founded by Steven Lee and Daniel J Lewis).

My heartfelt thanks goes to all podcasters for making the podosphere such a wonderful and level-playing platform at this time.

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