Tag: Ben Krueger

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531- Podcasting growth — over 2 million podcast shows

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In this episode of The Podcast Reporter, we discuss the news that podcasting had reached a milestone months earlier — which is more than 2 million shows in April, 2021. This is important for each podcaster — but this can be a double-edged sword. In addition to going more mainstream, this can be a dilemma for a podcaster, because now it becomes very difficult to be known in the podosphere, as well as getting more listeners in audio for your show.

This was discussed in an April, 2021 email from Ben Krueger of cashflowpodcasting.com to his email list, in which he titled the content “This month in podcasting.”

In summary, Ben wrote:

“Hi friends, 
This month the podcast industry reached a new exciting milestone by officially hitting 2 million shows on Apple Podcasts, according to Podcast Industry Insights courtesy of Daniel J. Lewis. This means that after a decade of audience growth, podcasting remains an extremely appealing and ever-growing advertising platform for your business. 

As the industry becomes increasingly more mainstream, this platform gives you an opportunity to connect with your audience on a more personal level, therefore allowing for more trust and commitment to your company, product, or brand. While your followers may otherwise feel overwhelmed with visual inputs or marketing tactics, this will give you the upper hand.

So how can you continue to show up for your audience in a way that provides them with enough valuable content that they want to keep coming back for more and share with their loved ones? Here are a few of our tips:

  • Engage with your audience. Be responsive. Let your listeners know you’re there for them. Try to make it as easy as possible for them to provide feedback, ask questions, or make topic recommendations.

  • Write top-notch show notes. For some of you, this might be a new venture as you start your podcast. Copywriting can be daunting and overwhelming. We suggest including a brief summary of the episode, top takeaways, links and resources mentioned, guest bios, and of course ending with a call-to-action. If this seems a little too stressful for you to attempt on your own, we also provide this as a service to our clients. You can learn more here.

  • Provide good quality audio. Try to minimize background noise and avoid raising or lowering your voice too much as you speak. Recording in a padded or smaller room often helps. We also recommend using a pop filter to remove plosives and making sure the level on your microphone is not too “hot.” Again, if you have questions, please let us know. We are happy to help! …

Some of you may be aware that Libsyn recently launched the 5th version of their publishing interface to their Beta community. It appears they officially launched it as a public beta on March 30th. You can take a sneak peak at what the new layout will look like HERE. This is what they stated in their recent email:

“ ‘This means that at this time new customers will initially be directed to the new interface at five.libsyn.com after account creation. All customers will be able to switch back and forth between the current interface and Libsyn 5 via available dashboard links. Remember Libsyn 5 is still in Beta, so there are features that may be in your current workflow that are not in Libsyn 5. They are coming and so many other good things. The new updated interface is available to libsyn.com customers and is not available for LibsynPRO customers at this time.’ ”

Ben Krueger

And, of course, Ben will update the status of Libsyn5 to his email list subscribers — and we will forward the news to you via this podcast show.

As we have stated several times in this podcast series, we respect Ben and his contributions to the podosphere, in not only educating aspiring podcasters or those who wish to make their shows better, but also for delivering many times free contributions in the form of pdf files and other content that are genuinely gold nuggets that aid recently published podcasters to improve their show.

But for the podcaster, the other side of the good news for the podosphere is that now, aspiring and current podcasters must create realistic strategies that will attract even more listeners and have them subscribe (or “follow” as the new term emerges from Apple) your own podcast shows, so that you may engage with your audience (as Ben suggests) with good audio and excellent show notes.

So we hope that you can put together some strategies that will help you to improve your show and generate the kind of listener growth that you will prefer and enjoy, and that your show will not only be popular — but with suggestions from podcasters like Ben, you can also then be successful in your strategies and action items to monetize your show in your business.

Thank you for your attention.

Copyright (c) 2021, Matrix Solutions Corporation and Ben Krueger of cashflowpodcasting.com and Daniel J Lewis of theaudacitytopodcast.com and michaelandmike.com. All rights reserved.

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508- Can Podcasting work for you — from Ben Krueger

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In this episode of The Podcast Reporter, we deliver some thoughts and link to a podcast episode from Ben Krueger, a podcaster from the show Cashflowpodcasting.com.

In a post titled “Will podcasting work for you?” Ben delivers his suggestions to incorporate podcasting successfully in your business and have it be a profitable component for success.

He states:

“As podcasting is on an uprise, businesses are wondering if it’s the right marketing tool for growth and sales.

If you’ve been pondering whether podcasting will work for you, then you don’t want to miss this episode. I’m diving into defining your desired outcome, niche, market, and how to find your online communities. You’ll learn why a niche resonates well with podcast listeners, whether your target audience is already using tech, and why it’s okay if you don’t have a product/service to offer just yet.

< LISTEN TO: Will Podcasting Work For You? >“

Now, having known Ben since 2014 (when I shared an exhibitor table with him at the very first Podcast Movement conference, I know that he is a well-known and successful podcaster, mentor and entrepreneur. His episodes of his show have made a lot of sense, and he has given away a lot of gems for business and podcasting for free in his blog posts, his emails and his episodes.

Ben Krueger

In this selection from the link above, Ben covers the topics (more about the entrepreneur point-of-view) of whether or not podcasting can be right for you and your business:

  • “How to define the outcome you desire with your podcast and business.
  • Why a niche resonates well with podcast listeners.
  • Find out if your target audience is already using tech.
  • The perfect business types for Cashflow podcasting.
  • That it’s ok if you don’t have a product/service to offer just yet.”

So, this is a mini-episode (which is part 3 of a 3-part program) that covers these topics in 19 minutes delivers links to other resources that you may be interested in. For example, he describes the “podcast litmus test” with the principle from Dr. Steven Covey (“Begin with the end in mind.” from THE SEVEN HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE). 

We hope that this episode can help you as an entrepreneur that can plan to include podcasting as a revenue stream for your business. We hope that you can improve on your niche for creating a podcast and implementing successful strategies which are described in his episode.

Thank you for your attention.

Copyright (c) 2021, Matrix Solutions Corporation and Ben Krueger of cashflowpodcasting.com. All rights reserved.

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538- The case for podcasters producing their own podcasts

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In this episode, we comment on a recent article from Ben Krueger and cashflowpodcasting.com that had the title of “Should you produce your own podcast?”

The argument can go in favor of those aspiring podcasters who want to be their own podcast production house. Although the rise of podcast production companies and facilities is on the rise, sometimes the cost of giving away the responsibility of producing the podcast (including, in some cases, the moderation of the content that can lead to censorship or extreme bias by the radical left employees) may be too high for the independent podcaster — especially when the value at stake is much more than financial, as it could be the loss of control and the threat of being subjected to the woke community of employees that seem to be violating their own management just because of their ideologies. Now, for the older podcasters who have had a good track record in podcast production on their own, this may seem to be a road they will avoid — as they have total CONTROL of the content, the audience and the production processes that they have developed successfully over time.

So, in this article, Ben goes into detail of the points he makes in producing your own podcast.

Ben Krueger

We strongly recommend that you consume this article, for it does give you an idea of the current thinking of some of the newer podcasters who feel that they do not want to do all the WORK associated with content management, content production and follow-up content activities (like marketing, promotion, etc.).

The main points that are delivered by Ben are the following:

  • The cost of podcast production;
  • How much money can you make by producing your own podcast?
  • The profitability of podcasting — some key thoughts; and, oh, by the way, you may want to reference a recent book by 16-year podcaster and coach Davd Jackson called Profit from your podcast)
  • Examples of some podcast platforms and making money (in one case, he uses the Anchor example);
  • Can you make a podcast by yourself?
  • Do podcast guests get paid? (Ben advises against this at the outset of starting your own podcast — and he tells why)

And also, in this article, Ben delivers a link to his own program where he encourages people to become podcasters at Start a Podcast. He certainly can promote his program and benefit from the aspiring podcaster who wishes to be his own podcaster.

And there is nothing wrong with that. I have known Ben since 2014 and have followed his blog at cashflowpodcasting.com and have seen him deliver many gems in podcasting in the form of free pdf documents to podcasters.

As Ben summarizes in his post, he focuses on the key element of starting your own podcast, owning it, continuing it and developing it into a successful show:  “Nothing is stopping you from making a podcast by yourself and publishing it across all the various streaming platforms. The question is, do you have the time?”

However, Ben assumes that you probably will be desiring to deal with the content and focus on audience and promotion elements of your show than the day-to-day tasks needed for production (both pre-production and post-production from the audio recording). So he states that “With more production services on the market than ever before, there has never been a better time to start looking for a podcast production partner. From offering basic editing services to a comprehensive end-to-end solution, you can find a partner that will meet your requirements.”

So we hope that if you are an aspiring podcaster, you create for yourself a cost-benefit analysis where you can look at the costs (and most of them not being financial) of creating, recording, editing, posting, publishing, promoting, marketing, controlling, selling and monetizing your business podcasts by yourself vs the costs and benefits of delegating those tasks (or most of them) to a third party podcast production house.

Then you can successfully move into the area of either being a true independent professional podcaster or farm it out to a third party (with whom you may later disagree with their practices, their ideologies, or potential bias that may cause you irreparable damage to your podcast and your brand and your business).

Thank you for your attention.

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

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podcast

479- Podcasting business school — interview with Ben Krueger

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In this episode of Podcast Reporter, we discuss a recent interview that took place at the Podcasting Business School and Ben Krueger (of cashflowpodcasting.com). It was episode 122.

In the podosphere, I myself have known Ben since 2014, when we both shared an exhibitor table at the very first Podcast Movement conference in Dallas. And I have followed him, since he has delivered value to listeners by his advice (most of it for free from his blog) on how to improve your podcasting and get benefit as a profitable podcast.

As you may know, Ben Krueger is the Podcast Educator, Founder & CEO of Cashflow Podcasting and he’s dedicated to helping Industry Advocates to start, launch and grow world-class podcasts for their businesses. This article spells out the value that Ben brings to new and aspiring podcasters:  “He believes podcasting is one of the best tools to help leaders reach more people, connect more deeply and make an impact because it allows them to educate, motivate and advocate at scale like nothing else.”

Ben Krueger

So this episode 122 of Podcasting Business School as Ben discusses these sub-topics:

  • How he got started in podcasting.
  • Why he things more brick and mortar businesses need to have podcasts to grow their brand.
  • His top tips for podcasting growth.
  • His top recommendations for podcasters that are just getting started.

For this podcaster, I found the concept that Ben delivered that podcasters can be of several categories — and one of them is “riffers.”

Also, Ben describes his beginning journey into the podosphere, including his education into podcasting, and his experience in creating a brand and producing a podcast that will support a business brand — especially with an “internship” in podcasting.

What was very interesting in this interview was Ben’s advice on new or aspiring podcasters “applying blinders.” As you will hear in that interview in episode 122 of Podcasting Business School, this is a description of a trap that the neophytes can fall in when they want success to occur faster than is occurring

Another point that is key to understanding formula for monetization is to find out (from research and survey info) what your audience is willing to pay for. Because very few podcasters don’t — they are so involved (and enamored) with their show, that they do not look beyond their passion. They equate success with their own emotions in finding real value for their listeners.

We hope that you can find come good gems for your podcast show from this 51-minute interview with Ben Krueger.

Thank you for your attention.

Copyright (c) 2020, Matrix Solutions Corporation and Ben Krueger and Podcasting Business School. All rights reserved.

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474- Argument about “just start” a Podcast — just DO NOT do it

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In this episode of The Podcast Reporter, we present the argument from Ben Krueger that the common advice given to “just start” may be the wrong advice for having a successful podcast show. After we see why he says what he does, we bring in my own personal opinion from my own history when I “just got started” into podcasting. And we end up with a thought leader in the Podosphere, Paul Colligan of The Podcast Report show who is a mentor himself and helps aspiring podcasters to be prepared to monetize their shows and business podcasts.

First, let us see what Ben Krueger had stated in his email:

““Just get started!”

That’s the advice I hear all the time given to budding podcasters.


Yes, it’s true that taking action is better than getting stuck in the planning process. But I still think it gets more credit than it deserves.

Why?

First, “just get started” puts you at a huge disadvantage.

These days, everyone can launch their own show. Sometimes with a budget as low as $200.

So if you start a podcast without a clear attack plan…

And you’re just doing it for the sake of “getting your feet wet”…

You end up producing a messy, low-quality show that won’t stand out in the crowded podcasting world.

Second, every episode is important.

“Just get started” may get you published quickly…but it won’t get you recommended.

If your podcast doesn’t leave a good impression, it’ll probably end up in a prospect’s “do not listen” list.

Now, I’m not saying this to discourage you from producing your show.

But the reality is, podcasting isn’t for everyone!

And by doing the upfront work of planning, you’ll save time and potential heartaches in the future.

That’s why I want to invite you to a free consultation call, so we can see if podcasting is the right strategy for your business.”

As you will hear in this brief episode, I myself had “just started” my own podcast show in 2006, but I had the help of tools and courses that were available to me:

  • The School of Podcasting was a program from Dave Jackson that helped me to learn how to prepare a good show and episodes;
  • I took the course from Jason Van Orden about Learn How to Podcast (no longer available) online and understood the rudimentary steps of producing a podcast episode — especially since there were almost no tools available at the time in the podosphere;
  • I leaned from the books available — from Podcasting for Dummies to the book by Todd Cochrane and another from Mr. Geohegen and others.

But thought leaders like Paul Colligan of The Podcast Report now mentors others and consults with them to prepare a podcast that will have business success for monetization.

And I think that the 2 groups of podcasters — one that podcasts as a hobby or for passion, and the other that podcasts for business with monetization in mind — are what podcasters have to determine when they are sprayed with the words “just get started” by many of the podcasting instructors today.

For you, as a podcaster, which is the path you will follow? And which is the mentorship program that you will pursue and follow if you are serious about becoming a professional podcaster who will successfully monetize the podcast within your business?

And this email letter gives food for thought to the aspiring podcaster for a decision that should be made today.

Thank you for your attention.

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

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470- Framework for podcasting from Ben Krueger

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In this episode of The Podcast Reporter, we discuss a recent framework for podcasting which Ben Krueger of cashflowpodcasting.com described in his post and email called “5-Step Framework for Podcasting Success.”

Ben’s framework for podcast success involves the following five simple steps that can be summarized by a single word or two each:

  1. Envision – Outline the podcast concept using 8 Podcast Principles
  2. Decide – Choose style, frequency, title, branding, and call to action
  3. Record – Get your equipment set up and create your episodes
  4. Setup & Launch – Build your foundation and put it out there
  5. Systemize & Grow – Streamline ongoing tasks and growth

Now, although this may seem trite and oversimplified, these steps involve multiple tasks and multiple skills that are required to produce a good, solid foundation for the planning, preparation, production, editing and publishing of your show — and then monitoring and adjusting your show for growth.

However, I find these simple steps to be a good overview of the flowchart that you, as an aspiring podcaster, may want to adopt in creating your show and episodes, and then growing your show. However, please be advised that this post with free suggestions and advice is the prelude for Ben asking you to set up a time and conference where he can be your podcast advisor and get you going on your way to successful growth (of course, for a fee).

Now, I have known Ben since 2014, when I met him at the initial Podcast Movement conference in Dallas, Texas, where we were next to each other in the exhibit hall most of the time — and where I first interviewed him. Since that time, I have seen him deliver what we refer to as an “ethical bribe” — that is, a free deliverable (usually advice, or a pdf document, or some tangible recording of a podcast audio file or a video file, or a blog post, etc.) so that you can know that he is a subject matter expert that has been a solution provider. And in this way, he can become a trusted advisor for you (leading him to reach for the platform of a thought leader in podcasting and profitable media content creation).

I sincerely recommend that you subscribe to his emails, his newsletters and see what he suggests — for there are many gems in what he says from his experience and his knowledge that he has had in the past 8 years in the podosphere. And we hope that you will find value in his offers, offerings, deliverables — and yes, in his ethical bribes that will always encourage you to partner with him as your advisor to make your podcast shows better and more successful.

Thank you for your attention.

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

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462- Principles for world-class level promotion of Podcasts

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In this episode of The Podcast Reporter, we discuss a recent post by Ben Krueger of cashflowpodcasting.com titled “8 Podcasting principles to make your show world class” by Marc Guberti.

In this post, the theme of being “world class” is proposed. Now, as arrogant and nebulous as this sounds, a world-class podcast is very subjective at this time, because who is determining what a world-class podcast should be and how is this class defined?

In fact, this post has no visible details, but merely a series of links to the sections of the content, among which are the following:

Here are the key links from the episode:

Cashflow Podcasting

The Podcast Principles

 

Marc’s Links

5 Day Podcast Launch Mini Course

From $0 To $100K+ With Content Marketing

Schedule a free strategy call

 

Marc’s books

YouTube Decoded

Podcast Domination

Content Marketing Secrets

The Wealthy Author

Now, for this podcaster, I was totally annoyed by the series of pop-ups by Marc with the questions of “Do you want to grow….?” and such questions that left a very bitter taste in my mouth. I felt that such a very RUDE and ANNOYING pop-up storm would likely ruin my thoughts about his content — and it did from the start.
I tried to look at the “Podcast Principles” section, and I found that I could not “connect” with the web pages that should have delivered content. Instead, I saw that this was a key “sales job” that kept hitting the reader over the head time and time again. And after this, it was a struggle for me to finish the reading of this post.

So I had to go to the next sections of the post, which were:

  • Coming up with the right idea;
  • Podcast launch checklist; and
  • Launching your podcast.

And the image of Marc with his “Breakthrough success” baseball-type cap is featured at the end, as the article and post becomes nothing more than a glorified sales-page throughout for his five-day launch mini-course.

The final section of info dealing with the topic “From $0 to $100K with your content” as depicted in his “content marketing plaza” page is nothing more than a long squeeze-page with the 8 principles:

  • Content creation hacks
  • Content marketing hacks
  • Social media marketing hacks
  • Product creation hacks
  • Funnel hacks
  • Relationship creating hacks
  • Conversion hacks, and
  • Outsourcing hacks

Now, for this podcaster, I only saw the titles of min-courses in the squeeze page that I just described. And, of course, you cannot see the quality of the content from his post, because each of these “hacks” requires the reader to purchase the mini-courses from the squeeze page. And with the $197.00 USD price tag for this “training,” this was the biggest turn-off for someone who wanted to see the VALUE of what was being promoted and how it could help me (the podcaster) , rather than just be given a sign-up-sales-page from the very first reading. Unfortunately, the reasons and the sentence or two descriptors were cliches that did not fulfill my expectations.

And so I closed the links and chose to place this into the category of “sales” pages without showing the value of the product. To me, having been involved with sales for over 33 years, this was something I would not ever recommend to another podcaster, let alone investigate any more on my own.

However, if you wish to investigate this more on your own to see if you can find any value in this promotion, then I do wish you well. In fact, the only reason that I looked at this “ad” was because of the name of Ben Krueger. But I venture to say that, for myself, I can never reclaim the five minutes of investigation time from looking into these links.

In any matter, I would like to thank you for your attention.

Copyright (c) 2020, Matrix Solutions Corporation and Ben Krueger and Marc Guberti. All rights reserved.

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453- Growing podcast show by narrowing podcast niche

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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.

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449- Advice on testing out a Podcast idea for success

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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.

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440- Podcasting checklists — from Ben K and DJL

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In this episode of The Podcast Reporter, we focus on a recent article from Ben Krueger of cashflowpodcasting.com that delivers a checklist and advice on how to prepare for podcast recording — and this is in addition to the podcast pre-flight checklist as given before from Daniel J Lewis in The Audacity to Podcast show. And you can download the free copy of the pre-flight checklist from the link of episode TAP164 from Daniel’s show.

The original podcasting pre-flight checklist

The original podcast pre-flight checklist (before you start the actual recording) was delivered in a podcast episode in 2014 by Daniel J Lewis in episode # TAP164.

I, myself, have used this checklist and have promoted this as a free aid to other podcasters — especially the newer and aspiring podcasters. And this checklist is to confirm that you have prepared for the audio environment and processes before you hit the RECORD button. It does not focus on the CONTENT of your episode (it assumes that you do know what you want to say and how you want to say it).

The Ben Krueger checklist

Ben Krueger

However, this new article from an email delivered from Ben Krueger’s distribution list promotes a free checklist from cashflowpodcasting.com.  The article is called “HOW TO PREPARE FOR A PODCAST EPISODE: WHAT TO DO BEFORE YOU HIT RECORD.” But when I clicked on the link to get access to the free checklist, I received the message that this was not available, even after I entered my name and email address. So, you should be aware of this error from my own attempts. Thus, I could not adequately compare the checklists.

[Editor’s note: after many attempts after I recorded this episode, I finally got the link to the pdf one-pager from Ben Krueger.] And the pdf with the checklist (Copyright (c) 2020, Ben Krueger of cashflowpodcasting.com) is:

So, due to this, I review the posting from the link in an email from Ben Krueger that outlines not only what to do prior to start the recording for the episode, but also what to do in order to prepare for the CONTENT of the episode. He discusses what you should plan for in what you are going to record and how to do it. And these are the key points in the Ben Krueger article are the following (with some discussion for each point):

On preparing content

  • He discusses scripting and bullet-points in the planning of the content of the episode;
  • He advises on stories, parables, questions and scenarios for the preparation of content;
  • He finally advises on asking deeper questions to get better answers on interview episodes;

On preparing HOW to record

1. Is your microphone positioned appropriately?

2. Are your audio levels where they’re supposed to be?

3. Is the room ideal for recording?

4. Are you likely to be interrupted?

5. GET RECORDING and hit the record button.

Other resources that Ben points out and gives the links to are those that suggest how to be a better podcast host, as well as perfect podcast equipment.

Now, for this podcast reporter, the pre-flight checklist from Daniel J Lewis is a free resource that is much more comprehensive for the audio preparation of podcasting before you hit the record button. And other checklists that I have seen, including the suggestions mentioned in Ben’s article pale by far in comparison.

However, in addition to the simple bullet points we mention on Ben’s suggestions for the preparation of content, there are numerous episodes in the back-catalog of The Audacity to Podcast show that give hours of detail in the preparation of good content for the genres of podcasting that will help any podcaster to improve the content of any podcast episode. My recommendations, therefore, go to Daniel J Lewis and his back-catalog for a deep dive into preparation for good content in planning a podcast episode.

We hope that these two podcasters and their resources may give you the help you need in preparing the content and the audio environment for you to record great episodes of your podcast show.

Thank you for your attention.

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