Categories
podcast

603- Creative confidence needed for podcasters

In this episode of The Podcast Reporter podcast show, we discuss the topic delivered to us by Todd Henry in his podcast show of The Accidental Creative of creative confidence for podcasters.

In Todd’s podcast episode, he describes three main problems that the professional creative and podcaster must deal with to deal with the problem of lacking creative confidence —

  • imposter syndrome
  • narrative fixation
  • risk delusion.

And after presenting and defining these three situations for ourselves, Todd then presents several solutions (at least one for each problem that creates a lack of creative confidence.

I strongly suggest that you consume this episode, so that you can understand how the lack of creative confidence can impact your podcasting efforts and could be an obstacle to your success.


In the meantime, if you wish to get more in-depth into the obstacle of imposter syndrome, I would like to refer you to a prior episode of this same podcast show where we dealt with this topic of overcoming imposter syndrome in detail:


So we hope that you can recognize the three main problems and situations that Todd describes which can be an obstacle to your own creative confidence, and that you can overcome them to have a better show for your success. As you know, Podcasting is one of the creatives that exist where that type of confidence is essential — from the planning, to the creation of the content, to the final preparation and execution of the publication, and then the follow-on marketing and sales for your show.

Thank you for your attention.

Copyright (c) 2022, Matrix Solutions Corporation and michaelandmike.com and Todd Henry of The Accidental Creative. All rights reserved.

Categories
podcast

602 – Podcasting imposter syndrome — steps to overcome it

In this episode of The Podcast Reporter show, we discuss the topic of imposter syndrome — not only what it is (according to Chris Land), but also how to detect it in your own self and publications, and how to avoid it. This is explained in a post published earlier this year at this URL:

improvepodcast.com/imposter-syndrome

For many podcasters, this is a common fear. And although we did have a prior episode that started to scratch the surface of this theme, we now deliver a bit more from this newer post in 2022 to help you decide about imposter syndrome and perhaps your feelings about it as either a newer or aspiring podcaster.

The topics in this post cover the following areas:

The article ends with a summary and point of view from the author as he tries to give you a positive, uplifting and generous result for your own self-doubt.

For this podcaster, I have sometimes felt the imposter syndrome about the technical aspects. But I had enough experience as a systems engineer for over 30 years in the high tech industry to overcome this. I did get the skills I needed right away, and I kept my continuing education ON MY OWN in the tech area, as well as the interviewing environment and I did keep up with information and events in podcasting — from subscribing and consuming the podcast shows about podcasting, as well as attending and participating in the events that were held where podcasters got together and shared training, experiences and new announcements.

And I did feel comfortable in overcoming this syndrome very quickly, as I did have 16 different podcast shows running at the same time in 2011 — just five years after entering the podosphere. Since that time, I have podfaded most, but I have started four new shows since then.

So I would strongly suggest that you consume this article. Then I would recommend that you create a matrix of the syndrome and its symptoms, and then see how you have either addressed it now with your shows, or how you have overcome this in the past. This will give you a better perspective of dealing with the “tiger” in a factual way and then I suggest that this will give you more STRENGTH, more CONFIDENCE, and it will make you less vulnerable to the imposter syndrome in podcasting.

Thank you for your attention.

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

Categories
podcast

600- Podcasting and misinformation in the podosphere

In this episode of The Podcast Reporter, we discuss the recent article written by Dave Jackson of The School of Podcasting show that is titled “It’s enough to want to make me quit podcasting.”

Dave Jackson — podcast consultant and podcaster

And we focus on one key element that Dave discusses — and that is, on the concept of giving poor information in various communication methods (like social media, etc.) to aspiring or new podcasters. And this is compounded by the fact that many of the givers or such information dub themselves as “masters” when they do not even have a podcast themselves. And as Dave observes in his article, much of the info can be downright wrong or erroneous, especially for the type that charges money for the novice what wants to learn and jumps into the podosphere without really planning for it or without doing due diligence in researching the elements that will deliver the best information for that type of individual.

As Dave states in the article:

So many people just jump into podcasting. If you’re doing a hobby podcast and could care less then “Just jumping in” works for you. If you are just putting this “out there” to have it “out there” then go right ahead.
If you are taking this serious (even as a “hobby”) you need to know:

  • Why you are starting the podcast
  • Who is your target audience
  • Is this a hobby or a business?
  • What do you want your listener to do with your content? How should they feel and what should they do at the end of the episode?
  • How will you gauge your success? This doesn’t have to be a download.”

But, as we know, many people do not plan in any way — they want to have a podcast show that is “genuine” (to them, this would be improvisational and mostly with a guest. And when you consider the audience intended by these who venture into podcasting quickly with just a microphone and do a “genuine” episode that they publish, then you may find that they do not even realize what “success” would mean to them when they publish their episodes and find that their “genuine” audience does not react. This is disappointing to the intended podcaster, especially if there is a desire to monetize the podcast show.

And Dave continues with the results of such a disappointing desire for those who fail to plan by even considering a target audience:

“So when your podcast that has “everybody” as a target audience isn’t growing even though you are consistently putting out interviews with unvetted guests who deliver no value – you might want to consider who is giving you this advice?

  • Then ask them how this strategy is working for them?
  • Start asking WHY you should do this strategy.
  • Start questioning WHO is giving the advice and what credentials they have.

After all, would you hire a mechanic that doesn’t drive a car?”

And in my experience, the non-podcaster who wants to sell a course or intellectual property or something that promises to deliver success in podcasting is actually doing a disservice to the novice, new or aspiring podcaster — they are providing what Dave had described as “misinformation”.

Now, although the term of “misinformation” has been thrown around by the lame-stream media in the area of the virus crisis, here the term would mean that inexperienced promoters are selling you “the sleeves out of your vest.” And many aspiring podcasters may be listening or consuming the advice from those who possibly are misinforming them on what really is the formula for podcast success.

Thus, I would suggest that you, as a podcaster, consume the article from Dave Jackson and see if you can detect the erroneous journey described by those who practice such promotion. If you can, then a good planning session with yourself can answer all the questions that should be asked in the article before jumping into the podospher feet-first and with a budget that may later have to be written off as “bad advice” taken from those who misinform the innocent newbies.

In order to see where advice may be lurking for the aspiring podcaster, I would highly recommend that you consume Dave’s article and then set a plan for action for your own podcast show that targets the right audience and fulfills the desire to have TRUE VALUE in your content for your right audience.

If you do, then you have gone more than half way in the road to success — the other half is creating great content with value and delivering a quality show with great episodes to your audience. And then you can develop a promotion plan and marketing plan and sales plan, if you with to enlarge your audience or monetize your show.

Thank you for your attention.

Copyright (c) 2022, Matrix Solutions Corporation and michaelandmike.com and Dave Jackson of schoolofpodcasting.com. All rights reserved.

Categories
podcast

599- Tips on how to structure a Podcast

In this episode of The Podcast Reporter Show, we review the topic of structuring your podcast and episodes. This theme was discussed in December of 2021 by Ben Krueger, a podcaster and consultant with his show, Cashflowpodcasting.com in his email content with the title “How to structure a podcast.”

Now, as you may know, the REAL objective of a podcast show and its episodes is to provide value to your listeners and audience. As Ben Krueger states in this post, “you should aim to cram as much value in the shortest possible time.”

Ben Krueger

In addition to ending the podcast episode at a shorter time (which may be the right time), one key areas of discussion by Ben deals with the preparation required for quality content (in addition to good audio). As Ben states:  “If you’re eager to record a new podcast episode, it can be tempting to just get behind the microphone and start. This is one of the easiest ways to hamper an episode’s potential. Structuring your podcast episodes can increase the value of your content and help listeners to find what they’re looking for. Before you begin recording, a little bit of preparation can make all the difference.”


Now, after this mention, Ben goes into detail into the following areas of tips for structuring your podcast:

  • “Why is it important to structure a podcast?
  • How do you write a script for a podcast?
  • What are the key components of a podcast?
  • How do you create an outline for a podcast?
  • How do you structure a podcast interview?”

As is stated, scripting your podcast and creating key components by writing an outline can be great ingredients for preparing VALUE for your listeners and customers.

We hope that you, as a podcaster, can improve the quality and value of your show by structuring your podcast better — and we hope that you can get some value from this post from Ben Krueger.

Thank you for your attention.

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

Categories
podcast

598- Major podcast projects left in your lifetime

In this episode of The Podcast Reporter show, we deliver an episode from another podcast show of mine called The Struggling Biz. So we are repurposing this episode that deals with the theme of planning major projects for you during the rest of your lifetime.

As you will hear in this repurposed audio episode, my major projects remaining in my own lifetime experience are PODCASTS. And so here are the shownotes from the repurposed original podcast episode:


We reflect on a theme propagated by podcaster, Todd Henry, of the show called The Accidental Creative. This theme was that of deciding which big projects you should select and complete — because there are only so many of them you can do with the remaining years of your life. So you may understand this, the average time for a large project in your life — be it business or personal — is about 5 years in length.

Or better put, as Todd states in an episode released in December of 2021:

“Michael Bungay Stanier is a force of nature. My recent interview with him about How To Begin really made me think. We can take on about one big project every five years or so, which means you can subtract your current age from the average lifespan, divide by 5, and figure out how many more big things you can take on. Really makes you think about where you’re spending your time and energy. (By the way, I likely have about 5-6 big projects left in me. You?)”


Well, this made me think about my own situation as an entrepreneur and especially the business projects (including podcasting and screencasting, which are driving my business revenue at present) that I currently have or am planning to have and launch in the near future.

Well, for myself, I remember when I was in elementary school back in the 1950s, and the teacher drilled into our heads that the average lifespan for someone like me was 71 years. Well, thank goodness that I have surpassed that time, as I am now living on what seems to be “borrowed time.” And the several projects that I have currently are several, which have been long-term and going on for 10 years or more. They deal with me as a content creator and consultant for screencasting, videocasting, New Media content creation and podcasting, etc.

And when I look at the future, I know that I only have 2 to 4 more large projects left under the definition given earlier (even that would be a stretch at my age). So what do I do and how can I plan to do the best and maximize my ideas, my project goals and my business and my life? Well, I already stopped my journey to get my PhD. in International Marketing (and I was at the dissertation stage when I had to stop, due to problems that I had to deal with in my family — and that was a major project that will never be completed by myself).


The podcast and video content creation

I had in my plans since 2019 to create and launch 2 more personal podcast shows:

  • The Real Academy of Life show — which would be the equivalent of memoirs and my perspective on my life in the future and in the past, with accomplishments and setbacks, but with a satisfaction of having delivered my success stories and weaknesses that would give me a type of fulfillment and closure. This would be free-form and not subject to a rigorous schedule. As a matter of fact, I had even prepared an episode to capture my thoughts about this and become energized to plan and launch this show in details:

and also,

  • PodcastScreencasting.com — this was to be a podcast show that would highlight my experiences as a podcaster and screencaster and video content creator (insofar as tutorials, training videos and commercial videos). And at the time of this publication, it may be that the domain has been relinquished, due to non-launching of the show.

So, according to the formula that is highlighted by Todd Henry in his podcast episode, I would have to first end the current 2 projects that I have now — and these should be completed in about 2 to 3 years. Then I would have to allocate another 10 years (5 years for each major project planned) in order to complete the other major projects in my mind.

According to the calculations, I would reach age 85 by the time that these major shows would be launched and completed. Now, for someone who is suffering from medical complications from results of exposure to Agent Orange (as well as the mental problems caused by PTSD, stemming from my days as a combat infantryman and paratrooper when I was a machine-gunner in the Vietnam War), I seriously doubt that I will reach that age before I expire. As the age-old saying goes: “I am living on borrowed time.”


Thus, I did take a look and see what would be realistically available insofar as time left in my life (as well as energy and enthusiasm and euphoria) in order for me to look forward to  completing these current projects in which I am engaged in my business, as well as starting and finishing these other 2 projects.

My summary about this exercise that I did was that it is, indeed,  of great value. I feel that this could be very beneficial to every entrepreneur and bring him down to a level of reality to clearly see what remains for dreams and projects to be imagined, to be planned, to be started and launched, and to be possibly completed — for the self-satisfaction and closure is something that I feel would definitely be worth it for your life and your business.

I sincerely hope that you undergo such an exercise to look inside yourself and see what major projects you can plan, and which ones would be realistic for your life span — I am sure that your high priority projects would deliver the best results in satisfaction and closure for you.

Thank you for your attention.

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

Categories
podcast

597- Experience and tips for aging Podcasters

In this episode of The Podcast Reporter, we discuss an experience that leads to tips for older entrepreneurs who may be having some signs of aging in today’s complex world of New Media. This experience comes from my own history as both a New Media specialist, a podcaster, a podcast consultant, an author of magazine and blog articles — and especially an entrepreneur.


Aging can bring on certain medical complications

We all have heard about medical situations caused by Alzheimers and Parkinsons and other complications.

  • From other people — Bill O’Reilly: we have heard on the Bill O’Reilly podcast shows that he is now gripped with a complication of dropping items, dropping food from his utensils and other faults of not having balance in what he holds. To me, this seems to be a sign of the beginning of Parkinsons — which can lead to other things — even though it has not been proven or announced. So this can be a sublte “wake-up call” for entrepreneurs and podcasters who are seniors and continue thier craft of creating content in the podosphere. And please remember that Bill is the same age as myself (although he was not a combat infantryman in Vietnam and exposed to agent orange, thus to have medical complications). So he and I are on the same path of aging — as it was stated in the movie called King Solomon’s Mines: “we are living on borrowed time.”
  • From other people: Rush Limbaugh: We have seen that a radio personality and entrepreneur who had a radio show and a podcast show years ago also succumbed to cancer recently. And this complication affected the voice, the publication of content and the ability to reach his audience.

From this entrepreneur

As a small business owner and past entrepreneur who also was an author of blog and magazine articles, as well as a voice-over artist and an instructor for both entrepreneurship and podcasting, I myself have been recently plagued with complications to health that have knocked me down at various times with medical problems that cometimes required operations.

As a combat infantryman during the Vietnam War, I was exposed to Agent Orange and am now suffering from complications of that toxin — more than 8 of them, to be truthful. From diabetes to neuropathy to prostate cancer, as well as a recent problem called Vestibular Motion Disorder — and, of course, PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) and the beginnings of Parkinsons and Alzheimers and dementia — I have had to undergo operations for kidney problems and hernia problems and also a ruptured appendix…and so on.

Thus, I have had to deal with the problems of having medical complications, as well as just AGING. Thus, in addition to the medication that was delivered to me by various physicians, I have also discovered something that has helped me to deal with aging in these areas:

  • forgetfulness and loss of short-term memory;
  • slowing the erosion of vision and hearing problems;
  • lessening the symptoms of vestibular motion disorder as a kind of therapy;
  • and a few very minor issues.

The treatment I had was AUDIO CONSUMPTION of podcast episodes that deal with business, entrepreneurship, podcasting, monetization, and sometimes deconstruction of current issues and events by a third party that is not consumed by the radical left (but that can prove with audio clips the facts that they deliver to the audience).

By listening to podcasts in a very comfortable position, whether sitting or lying down (or even walking by taking a walk in and around the quiet neighborhood), I have been able to sharpen my mind (which is being affected in memory loss, balance, equilibrium while standing or moving, as well as decreasing the vertigo episodes from the vestibular motion disorder). This sharpening of my mind has allowed me to lessen the effects of aging, so that I can continue with business tasks and mental planning and action items similar to what I had done before 10 years ago. In fact, it even helped me to enunciate my words better when I record a podcast or deliver a presentation to an audience or to prospects, as well as communicate with customers.


Bottom line: audio consumption is a therapy for me

As you can see, for myself, consuming podcast episodes or audio books that help me to develop my business or my podcasting tactics is a great therapy for me. And it helps me with the problems of aging, as well as dealing with complications from other situations (such as medical problems that affect an aging entrepreneur).

Now, this is my story — and it works for me still today. I highly recommend it. When I was with some PTSD therapy groups 15 years ago, I shared this with my comrades, and it seemed to work for a couple of them that stuck with it. And I am sure that trying this will be just like the commercial: “your results will vary.”


But whatever you decide to do to cope with some of the complications of aging, we hope that if you try this therapy, it will work for you. We wish that your business will prosper and that the effect will help you to succeed and to lessen the issues of aging as an entrepreneur or podcaster.

Thank you for your attention.

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

Categories
podcast

595- The LONGEST DAY in podcasting

In this episode of The Podcast Reporter, we discuss a theme that I do review annually — and that is, in remembrance of the Allied invasion of France in WWII in the battle for Normandy, we reflect on Operation Overlord (i.e., called D-Day — which, for airborne troops, was something that occurred with every combat jump, because every jump was referred to as a “d-day.”). I do this because I, myself, served in the US Army Airborne in the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division (which was a major unit in the assault over Normandy in the early morning of 6 June 1944). And thus, to the thousands of paratroopers and glidermen that assaulted the Normandy fields, we honor and dedicate this episode to them.

I also was able to know one of the paratroopers who did assault Normandy in operation overlord — in fact, he had made all 4 combat jumps with the 82nd Airborne Division in WWII . His name was Al Essig, and he did pass away several years ago. May he RIP. As a paratrooper some 50 years ago, I do honor and respect the bravery of such men who volunteered to go airborne.

Now, for this episode, I deliver some audio of a book that was written by another paratrooper who served with the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division. His name was Darrell G. Harris, and he also has passed away a couple of years ago. He wrote a book about his experiences in WWII, and it was called Casablanca to VE Day: A Paratrooper’s Memoirs. DG Harris had made 3 combat jumps — in Sicily, Salerno and Holland (in Operation Market Garden, which mission was immortalized by the book by Cornelius Ryan and movie of the same name called “A Bridge Too Far.”

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/fgcast/DG-Harris-back-cover-book.JPG

The above player, and the one below, are the mp3 files for the audio content of the book by DG Harris, Casablanca to VE-Day: A Paratroopers Memoirs.

 

 

Now, Ryan was the same author who also wrote the book, The Longest Day, which was also made into a movie in 1962, with a lot of stars and celebrities playing the actual roles of live veterans from WWII, in portraying both the airborne parachute element and the seaborne invasion on the shores of Normandy. One element that was different and which started a trend in Hollywood movies was that actual Germans spoke German in their portrayal of the Axis side, while British subjects portrayed the British forces, and the French portrayed the French forces. And each group spoke in their native language with English subtitles. So you did not have American or Canadian actors portraying Nazi troops and speaking German (in their broken accents). This has now become a trend in Hollywood to accentuate realism.

So, too, in celebrating the success of this incredible and monumental operation in time of war, we reflect upon the theme that breaking new ground in your medium should be something that you, as a podcaster, should consider in order to drive to success in your area of the podosphere.

By this, we mean that other podcasters are now going forth with the new podcast apps, or with new practices for requesting and getting donations (e.g., using the value-for-value model, which was encouraged and widely used by Adam Curry and John C Dvorak of The No Agenda Show for the past several years — and which other podcasters have now taken up as their own method of getting financial support in the donations from their listeners or “producers”).

So the question we ask now is “what can you do to make yourself different from the rest of the podcasts, in whichever way or manner or activity that you can bring to the table as fresh ideas?”

And if you reflect upon the enormity of D-Day, 6th of June, 1944, many of the activities and tools and tasks of the operation were new and many untried — but the end saw success for the Allies who dared to make the assault at a place and time that was not anticipated by the enemy (or, in your case, the “competition”).

What we would suggest is to have a planning session with yourself to reflect, analyze, plan and commit to a test of planning, producing, publishing and/or promoting your podcast in new ways or with new ideas in order to make your show more successful. If it works, then great! If it does not work, well, you have succeeded in sowing the seeds of perhaps what could be the next task, following, standard or item in the podosphere for others.

So if you are brave enough to plan and execute this new operation — just as the Allies did for Operation Overlord in assaulting Normandy in WWII (in many ways) — perhaps you, too, can achieve a breakthrough success for yourself and maybe for others in the area of podcasting. And we wish you well, as we will look for those who would be doing these types of innovations for success and promoting them.

So, in honor of the 82nd Airborne Division and those who found in the air and on the beaches of Normandy on  6 June 1944, we look forward to remembrance of Operation Overlord (both for the Airborne parachute and glider operations, as well as the beach assault on the shores). Remember, your contribution of creativity could actually turn out to be THE LONGEST DAY for you in podcasting.

Thank you for your attention.

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

Categories
podcast

594- Ben Krueger on Podcast Procrastination

In this episode of The Podcast Reporter, we consider an article by Ben Krueger (podcaster and creator of cashflowpodcasting.com) in which he ponders the reasons why potential podcasters delay in getting started — in fact, he titles it “The One thing stopping you from starting your podcast.”

Now, you could consider this a type of procrastination from getting your feet wet in the podosphere as an aspiring podcaster.

And as we delve more deeply into this article, there is food for thought that someone who would like to podcast should really know what he may be missing out on by not starting. And we would ask ourselves the same question — what is the one big reason why anyone who wants to podcast would hesitate?

In the article, Ben describes the dilemma and the lost potential of communicating with a good audience and telling your own story and delivering your own message:

The biggest thing that gets in the way of podcasting dreams is the desire to do it right. And it’s not surprising if you think about it. Industry advocates and leaders have become successful because when they decide to do something, they make sure they do it well.

They make the effort to create high-quality work, use a strategy that gets results, and make the most of their time so they can focus on what they’re best at. This drive to do it right is key to their success in other things, and podcasting is no different.

The problem is that because they are so focused on this, their podcast becomes the project they think about for months—if not years—before they’re ready to commit. In my experience, this is usually due to three main issues that must be addressed before these would-be podcasters feel ready.”

And so Ben describes these main issues for aspiring podcasters and their procrastination:

  • Issue number 1:  the excuse or reason is “I don’t have the time.”
  • Issue number 2:  Being intimidated by the tech in podcasting;
  • Issue number 3:  The desire for success (and the resulting fear of failure to meet expectations).

Now, in my past, I have taught Personal Productivity (aka “time management”) courses to professionals. There is always some proven method to be able to be more productive (about 25 per cent for many people) with their time. In fact, when I taught the course, the objective was “to accomplish more in less time with better quality and to reduce stress.”

As Ben addresses in the article, getting help with software, or with virtual assistants, can free up time for you to be able to engage in the podosphere and get some good results. Obviously, his call to action is to hire a professional who can assist in helping you get started (like himself). And I have no problem with this, as I myself did hire Dave Jackson of The School of Podcasting to help me get my podcasts launched (even after I had taken self-study courses in starting a podcast show and creating and publishing an episode).

And, of course, if you have the money and want to get a pro to do it all for you, the hiring of help is the ideal way — even though most of the aspiring podcasters cannot afford it:  “The third and best option is to hire a full-service podcast production agency that takes care of the strategy, as well as all the time-consuming and technical stuff so that all you have to do is show up and hit record.”

I highly recommend that you, as an aspiring podcaster, should review the contents of this article so that you can really get past the excuses of “no time” or “no tech savvy” to get yourself into the podosphere — especially since most of us cannot go with the third alternative, which is to hire a full-blown studio to do it all for you. And although this is one alternative that can be provided by Ben Krueger, your budgets may have a warning for you from proceeding down the full-blown studio setup.

Yes, it may take some time and some self education, as well as a minor investment in training materials, as well as the tech devices and software. But once you get past the learning curve, you will find out how satisfying it can be to prepare, produce, publish and promote your own show and episodes.

As Ben summarizes, the HELP you need is something which you must explore, investigate, analyze and plan for stepping into the podosphere: “The moral of the story? Get help at whatever level is appropriate so that your time and effort are maximized for success…Instead of trying to figure out all the tech on your own, there’s a much simpler and more effective way: Ask for recommendations, and keep it simple…Starting a podcast can be time-efficient, simple and rewarding — if you let it.”

In fact, Ben recommends one of his resources to start with, as it is a free key piece of advice:  “(A great place to start is to download our free book, which breaks down our proven 5-step process for starting and managing a podcast…)”

In his book, Die Empty, Todd Henry (a podcaster and author) also mentions that a graveyard is the biggest container of lost ideas and valuable projects that never got started. Thus, Ben, in a similar manner, suggests that you NOT let procrastination of getting into the podosphere be one of your tragedies that were never realized in life.

Thus, we hope that you will find the time and get the training and education and put together a realistic plan to engage in the podosphere and have a successful podcast.

Thank you for your attention.

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

Categories
podcast

593- Starting a Podcast or not — some questions

In this episode of The Podcast Reporter, we discuss the theme of starting a podcast — especially in 2022. This theme came to me from a post by  Ben Krueger of cashflowpodcasting.com. Then the opposite viewpoint was proposed in a later post from another podcaster titled “Why you shouldn’t start a podcast.”

So, in this episode, we briefly discuss the main topics of both related themes to starting a podcast.


STARTING A PODCAST IN 2022 vs NOT DOING SO

Suggestions for starting a podcast in 2022

First, from Ben Krueger of cashflowpodcasting.com, we get the encouragement and details of starting a podcast show and episodes in his earlier post. Now, as I have mentioned before in earlier episodes on this show, I have great respect for Ben for the deliverables he creates and the recommendations that he gives to the new and aspiring podcasters.

Ben Krueger

And in this post, he gives to us his philosophy that determines the timing of podcast show creation:  “Timing is critical to succeeding in anything. Podcasting is no different. The timing of launching your podcast can make a BIG difference in its initial success. ** So the question is, what’s the BEST time to launch a podcast? **”

And he gives the short answer to the aspiring business podcaster who is filled with emotion, passion and energy for starting a podcast: “It comes down to where you’re at in the development of your business.”

What Ben delivers are some key bullets that outline the timing of podcast show creation:

  1. “You have an established service/offer that sells, and gets clients results

  2. You already have some audience to start with (client list, email list, social following, personal network in the industry, etc)

  3. You’re ready to start scaling.”

And then Ben gives an example of a client and stories of those who have gone through the process and have become successful. And, of course, Ben delivers his own call-to-action for his own program to help podcasters get started: “Learn more about how we help leaders launch podcasts and request a free consultation call here:
https://cashflowpodcasting.com/services/podcast-launch-program/ “

He continues to describe the program: “The Podcast Launch Program includes everything you need to develop your podcast idea, plan and outline it, design and record your first episodes, produce them and launch your show to the world.”

And Ben then goes on to describe the major components, tasks and milestones that an aspiring podcaster can go through:

  • Strategic planning;
  • Podcast coaching;
  • Branding creation;
  • Setup and submission;
  • Launch and promotion;
  • Production and marketing.

I would strongly encourage aspiring podcasters to review these types of programs, especially from Ben, to see if they can help you to achieve success in your business podcast while you may be in the planning stages. I think you will be pleased from what you can learn and what the results of your show will deliver.


DON’T START A PODCAST — IF THE SHOE DOESN’T FIT

The other side of the coin is the recommendation NOT to start a podcast, with the following topics that you also need to review before jumping into the podosphere with both feet:
  • Am I doing this for my ego or an audience?
  • How to set yourself up for podcasting success;
  • Do I really know what I am getting myself into?
  • Steps to release a podcast episode;
  • Am I doing this because I think this is a way to make money?
  • Am I doing this because I think I should?
  • Coming up with a great podcast idea.
  • When do you know if podcasting is right for you?

And each of these sections provide a few sentences on the thoughts espoused in each topic, especially in awareness of the “loneliness of the long-distance podcaster”:

“If the answer to “Why do you want to start a podcast?” is anything other than ‘Because I’ve got amazing content that will educate/inspire/entertain and I desperately want to get it into people’s ears” then think twice. Podcasting is a big commitment with absolutely no guarantee of success. The people who have been successful are those who consistently create valuable and engaging content that appeals directly to their ideal listener. If you’re passionate about every episode you’ll be happy to keep going even when no one is listening.”


As usual, I would recommend doing a cost-benefit analysis of the pros and the cons of launching your own podcast. And now you should include not only the labor and EFFORT and TIME that podcasting requires (and you can get that from other successful podcasters who can tell you the truth about the 3-to-1 or 4-to-1 ratio of time required per minute of finished audio) — but also of the FINANCIAL requirements that can only increase. Remember that many podcasters make a quick estimate of costs, which later turn out to be less than required, and the budgets may grow quickly and become sore points for the podcaster.

Whatever your decision — to start a podcast in 2022 or to avoid podcasting altogether — I hope that you will make the best decision for yourself, your business and your future success.

Thank you for your attention.

Copyright (c) 2022, Matrix Solutions Corporation and michaelandmike.com and Ben Krueger and Rachel Corbett. All rights reserved.

Categories
podcast

618- Cancel culture now reaches Podcasting — a sad tale

In this episode of The Podcast Reporter, we mention very briefly how the cancel culture has invaded the area of the podosphere and podcasting. We also see that this can be the start of censorship and the forcing of opinion by the radical left into the area where your own podcast may be found.

We talk briefly about the situation with one of the most dynamic, intelligent, fair-minded and helpful podcasters, Daniel J. Lewis, who had several podcasts such as the award-winning The Audacity to Podcast, as well as several tools which he created for the podcast community to help from email newsletters to improve your podcast content to SEO (search engine optimization).

This story was briefly mentioned in an episode of the show called Ask the Podcast Coach on 14 May 2022 by Dave Jackson of the School of Podcasting podcast.

My experience with Daniel J Lewis has been a great one. Not only have I interviewed him several times in this podcast show, along with a previous show called The Struggling Entrepreneur, but I had subscribed to his shows and I had also purchased some of his intellectual property and items, as well as had been one of the key subscribers when he started his online membership of Podcasters Society.

He has been an excellent resource, very technically competent and one of the very highly regarded podcasters who won an award at one of the New Media Expo for his podcast show from the People’s Choice award for his flagship show. He has been one of the very trustworthy, honest and fair-minded people whom I have known in the podosphere.

In fact, when The Podcast Academy was introduced, he encouraged us to sign up and be part of that organization. Thus, with the trust I had in him, I did sign up. And when he was nominated to be on the Board of Governors for this organization, I wholeheartedly voted for him, and he won a seat in that group.

Now, in 2022, there was a controversy in which he tweeted his views on a matter on twitter. He did voice his opinion, and I believe (from knowing him personally) that he would engage in healthy and open and honest debate with others on the opposing view. However, the radical left charged at him and savagely tore him down by demanding his removal from the board. Well, he was “beat up” and “bullied” for his beliefs (in what should be an open and free-speech environment) and the Board succumbed to the woke ideology and asked him to leave. So he left the Board.

Well, I immediately canceled my subscription to the Podcast Academy and had enough of their radical left ideology in canceling someone with the great honesty and fair play that Daniel has.

What was Daniel’s remarks after this bullying?

On 8May2022, he wrote an email to his trusted distribution list, and I received this email from him:

“I am deeply saddened and hurt by the campaign of harassment, false accusations, and bullying against The Podcast Academy and me. I tried to slow the abuse by removing some of my comments, but to little avail. Regardless, I apologize to those I failed to extend equal grace while I was defending a baby’s right to life. I also apologize for using a common label I did not know offended some of the same people I was fighting for.

TPA members voted me in for who I am and how I promised to advocate for them, but a disinformation campaign disrupted TPA’a operations and compelled the board of governors to vote me out. I regret that I will not be able to keep my promise to the diverse podcasters I was eager to serve. I hope that TPA’s efforts to be inclusive will not further exclude people for expressing conservative, pro-life, or Christian values.

Sadly, after years of supporting The Podcast Academy, I’m now compelled to believe they are unable—at least at this time—to truly serve or represent the large diversity that the rest of the podcasting industry has welcomed since its grass roots. I cannot, in good faith, endorse an organization that let disinformation bully itself into kicking out one of its most passionate supporters.

In respect for the short-lived opportunity TPA and its members allowed me, I will not publicly discuss this further. I do not wish TPA to fail; I only wish The Podcast Academy to be truly inclusive and supportive of all podcasters, so that—together—we can help podcasts, podcastING, and podcastERS improve.

I will continue taking some time away from podcasts and social media to heal, reflect with thought and prayer, and refocus (but you’ll still receive my email series). No matter what, I continue to believe that podcasting is the most powerful way for anyone to share a message to change the world.”

So, in my opinion, Daniel still is a strong advocate for podcasters and is still a great resource for the podosphere. I will continue to look forward to his contributions in Askthepodcastcoach.com and his email newsletters.

For now, I have been left with a sour taste in my mouth for The Podcast Academy and I will not say anything positive about it, but only have the memory of an evil-minded organization that falls into the clutches of the radical left, where debate is prohibited, and the only thing that applies is the saying “my way only or the highway for you.” So damn the Podcast Academy, and I will NOT support them in any way.

Daniel, as one of the biggest contributors to the positive elements of the podosphere and your care to help podcasters, I salute you and say “Long Live DJL and down with TPA.”

Thank you for your attention.

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