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598- Major podcast projects left in your lifetime

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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.

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597- Experience and tips for aging Podcasters

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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.

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595- The LONGEST DAY in podcasting

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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.

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594- Ben Krueger on Podcast Procrastination

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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.

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593- Starting a Podcast or not — some questions

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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.

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618- Cancel culture now reaches Podcasting — a sad tale

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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.

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590- Ideas for setting up your Podcast studio

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In this episode of The Podcast Reporter, we discuss an earlier post by Ben Krueger, a podcaster at cashflowpodcasting.com,  in which he posts the text by Adam Crookes in which the latter addresses the age-old topic of podcast studios. He gives some recommendations on how to set up a podcast studio as potential ideas.

Now, as I have stated many times before in this show, I do respect and admire the value that is delivered by Ben Krueger, as I have known him and interviewed him since the time I personally shared a booth with him the exhibit hall of the very first Podcast Movement conference in Dallas in 2014. So I thought that this would be a great topic to explore once more and get his perspective. However, I got some words from a guest post from Adam Crookes. And my perspective of the post follows after a brief summary of the article.

Summary of the Post

Now, for those interested in creating your own studio, the article gives you thoughts about what is required as food for thought:

  • Estimating the costs of setting up a studio;
  • What is required for the studio?
  • How do you set up a studio in your home? And the post then gives you a list of items and tasks required for your in-home studio:
    • Here’s a list of equipment you should consider for your podcast studio:
      • “Computer
      • USB or XLR microphone
      • Audio interface
      • Mixer
      • Windscreen or pop filter
      • Microphone stand
      • Headphones
      • Acoustic treatments”
  • Then the post delves into the question about whether or not you can start your podcast shows with just your phone;
  • And finally, what is addressed is the age-old question about whether a podcast show is worth it to both you and your audience;
  • Then the article suddenly jumps into the subject of the necessity of headphones when starting a podcast;
  • And then a key question ends the post by asking if it is free to start a podcast on Spotify.

For these questions, I feel that this article, written by Adam Crookes, leaves out a lot of other key questions and statements that a new or aspiring podcaster needs to investigate before setting up a studio. One of these would be testimonials from those who have successfully set one up and are currently podcasting and reaching their success in their objectives at the time. Another would be the time it takes for a podcast studio to be written off or get a good ROI for your business, should you be creating a business podcast.

All in all, I find that this post does little in awakening a coherent target of your mind to investigate fully what is involved in setting up your podcast studio (other than the equipment and physical preparation of your home studio). I know that Ben Krueger would have addressed this topic with more research, more details, and with some personal and third-person experiences of successful podcasters who have set up their own studios and are showing great results from it — or experiences that did not see the studio succeed in the business.

One item you may want to explore is the Podcasting Business School site, where the main theme is to treat your podcast like a habit, but to grow it like a business. Within the 200 episodes so far, the podcaster did cite a few minutes on building a home studio for podcasting.

For myself, I have been a podcaster who has done remote reporting with adequate tools for the past 16 years, as well as have had a “podcast studio” (or a place where I record my podcasts with guests or by going solo) in several sites, from California to Texas in inbetween (including hotel rooms when I have been traveling and in transit). I will address the key areas that I propose for a studio in a later episode, as I will share with you my experiences for doing so.

Thank you for your attention.

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

Categories
podcast

588- Words do matter — especially PODCAST

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In this episode of The Podcast Reporter, we deliver to you the information that was espoused in Podnews.net newsletters that concerned the etymology of the word “Podcast.” And, of course, since this is not an absolute authority, and I, myself, have also some thoughts and concerns from my own experience within the podosphere since 2005.

In an earlier article delivered in the Podnews.net newsletter, James Cridland gives his views on the history of the world PODCAST. And in this post, there are links and audio players that prove the point of origin of both the eclosure and the word podcast in his experience.

“As Eric Nuzum discusses elsewhere here, the first audio referenced by an enclosure tag in an RSS feed was published on Jan 20, 2001; with Dave Winer placing one song by the Grateful Dead into a post, as a test.

Christopher Lydon is generally held to have the published the first ever original piece of audio referenced by an enclosure tag in an RSS feed on Jul 9, 2003…The first program to automatically grab an audio show like this, originally called RSS2iPod, was launched by Adam Curry on Oct 12, 2003…But these audio shows did not have a name. Yet.”

Next, there is a viewpoint of the word “Podcasting” that takes place, with examples and sound bytes, as well. And it all boiled down to Dave Winer, credited with creating the podcast episode (along with our Podfather, Adam Curry):

The term “is credited by Dave Winer, speaking in Guy Kawasaki’s podcast Remarkable People:

Adam had the initial idea for why this made sense at that particular point in time. This was the first meeting that we had, and this goes back to 2000.

He saw me do it, and then he started doing it. And then, I don’t know, by September of 2004, there were twenty or thirty people doing [it], and we needed a name. And so we had a mail list and I asked people, “What should we call this?” And a guy named Dannie Gregoire said, just call it “podcasting.”

And Adam and I were doing a podcast called Trade Secrets, and on that we discussed it. So let’s just go with podcasting, and that’s it.

Guy Kawasaki: That’s how podcasting got named?!

Dave Winer: What did you think? We hired some kind of a market research firm and they did a focus groups and shit? Come on! That wasn’t how it worked!”

And then Cridland also records the words by Adam Curry about the naming of the word. And a section of the post ends with the first mention of the term “podcast.” And so, the term caught on, as is stated: “The term was quickly taken up. Adam Curry mentioned podcasting on his blog for the first time on Sep 21 2004; Dave Winer blogged ‘what is podcasting?’ on Sep 24 2004, by Doc Searls, who blogged about podcasts on Sep 28 2004, and Dan Gillmor on Sep 28 2004.”

And then some of the earlier podcasters stated the term, as well, in the media: “As an example that the term was already well-embedded, Todd Cochrane posted the first “Geek News Central Podcast” on Oct 9 2004; and, on the same day, Rob Greenlee posted a comment announcing the new name on the Web Talk Radio Show website. Evo Terra followed on Oct 13, 2004.”

The post finally ends with the question of “who invented the term podcast?” And so, the final reply to this inquiry is delivered from the viewpoint of Mr. James Cridland: ”

“Ben Hammersley was the first to use the term in print, in a widely-read publication.

Dannie J Gregoire was the person to make the term popular in the community: and it’s very possible that without Gregoire’s use of the term in Sep 2004 – and its enthusiastic use by Adam Curry and Dave Winer – we’d be calling audio referenced by an enclosure tag in an RSS feed something quite different.”

In my own viewpoint, the term podcasting has meaning for us early podcasters as requiring an RSS feed and adhering to certain criteria — which, today, is being “bastardized” by the younger set that want to define it in their own way, just because they wish to do so.

But for myself, the older meaning and etymology will stand as the true types for the terms. Why? Well, for me, you can pry the term “podcast” from my cold, dead fingers (reciting a pun from an old saying by Charlton Heston of the NRA).

Thank you for your attention.

Copyright (c) 2021, Matrix Solutions Corporation and michaelandmike.com and James Cridland of podnews.net. All rights reserved.

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podcast

587- Disruption technology in Podcasting

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In this episode of The Podcast Reporter, we discuss the theme of “disruption” activities and promotions and projects. In particular, we deliver a repurposed podcast episode from Tom Schwab of the program  Interview Valet, where we look at the “disruption technology.”

Also, we owe some credit to Evo Terra (podcaster of today’s show called  podcastpontifications.com) when he discussed with us what it is like to be a “podcaster disrupter.” And we plan to include that earlier repurposed interview in a later episode of this show. Evo felt that the “next big thing” in podcasting would come from a supportive “disruption” of the podosphere.

Now, as I mentioned before in this podcast series, I have known Evo when I met him in person in 2007, and also when I had strengthened my relationship with him, both in person and when I had interviewed him on my podcast shows since 2007.

In one interview episode, I had Evo tell us how and why he described  himself as a disrupter. This was both for being an entrepreneur and a podcaster.

Then, later, I had interviewed Tom Schwab of the Interview Valet program, where he was also noted as a “disrupter” in podcasting, as he was one of the first to publicly announce that he was NOT going to do a podcast, but rather, he would pursue his success in being a podcast GUEST. He announced this at the second Podcast Movement conference in 2015 at Fort Worth, Texas. And he later provided others with a business model that would help podcasters gain success in their shows by being a guest on other podcasters’ podcast shows.

As a matter of fact, we have the original interview from 2015 where Tom describes his business and his “disruption” of the podcast interview processes:

As you can hear from this repurposed episode, Tom describes his “disruption” in business and podcasting from the entrepreneurial side in the following summarized manner:

  • “Disrupted technology” that supports the pursuit of being a podcast guest (e.g., being and interviewee) as opposed to being the interviewer to lead the conversation on a podcaster’s own show;
  • Repeating someone else’s success may not be the best model to follow for success — in other words, do NOT be a “me-too” product;
  • Being a disrupter incorporates new models of how to do business as an entrepreneur, as well as a podcaster — but not by total imitation of someone else’s successful results (in particular, to avoid naming your show with the “on fire” suffix);
  • How to go about getting YOU as one of your prospects from being listener to being visitor and have you be welcomed to a tailored, individual welcome site for just YOU;
  • His “disruption” includes renaming some of the terms used in sites (e.g., a “welcome” page instead of a “landing page” or “squeeze page”) to make it more personal.
  • His disruption will be in the form of creating VISITORS and not to provide them with podcast audio episodes — but rather have them listen to yourself as a guest and then get them interested in your programs;
  • Monetization can also be incorporated in your business, as you can refer to his book, “Podcast Guest Profits: Grow your business with a targeted interview strategy.”
  • He currently has moved to interactive webinars (mostly free) to promote his program and the successes of podcast-guesting.

So, as one of the very first programs to emphasize being a podcast guest instead of a podcast interviewer, Tom has been flexible to adapt new methods for his success and his business.

We hope that this model of disruption may be of benefit to you as you shape your podcasting model for your show, or adapting parts of this to make your business more profitable and more successful.

So, later, we will deliver the repurposed episode from Evo Terra where he speaks to us earlier about plotting his way and pivoting to become a “disrupter” in the podosphere.

Thank you for your attention.

Copyright (c) 2021, Matrix Solutions Corporation and michaelandmike.com and Tom Schwab and Evo Terra. All rights reserved.

Categories
podcast

586- Mastering your craft of podcasting

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In this episode of The Podcast Reporter, we relate to you a set of podcast episodes, delivered during the week of September 20-24, 2021, that deal with the topic of improving your podcast show, as well as improving your “craft” of podcasting. These episodes were published in the podcast show by Evo Terra called Podcast Pontifications.

And what I would suggest is that this may be a good start for an actual project that you may want to plan and begin to better yourself as a podcaster, as well as learn some great techniques to improve the quality of your podcast shows.

Now, I have known Evo Terra since 2006, and I had met him in person when he attended one of my sessions which I delivered at the first Podcamp in Arizona in 2007 (when I spoke about podcast improvement for monetization and delivery). I had also interviewed Evo several times during the past 16 years on this show about his contribution as a “disrupter” of the status quo (for the beneficial reason of improvement of the craft and not just for the sake of doing away with the current workflows for podcasters). And Evo has a lot of suggestions that do provide value to both the new and aspiring podcasters, as well as to the professional podcasters.

So, in reviewing the suggestions and topics and products and other deliverables mentioned by Evo in his several episodes that centered around the theme of “improving your craft” to become a better professional podcaster (and not just a newbie), I also found myself noticing that much of the improvement can come from increasing your skills as a story-teller and a planner of content. However, this content goes beyond just podcasting show notes and blogs — it also dealt with how you can improve your craft by taking tips and suggestions from other types of media (including the press and books and narrations).

So I would suggest that you consume the content for these 4 episodes that Evo has published and see if the resources mentioned and the tips that are given can add to your professionalism in building a better podcast — especially if you have a business podcast.

Some of these are the following (and this is a non-inclusive list):

  • Make your podcast education a continuing education program and be SERIOUS about it by planning and budgeting for both time and money to include the knowledge that will make you better in the area of CONTENT CREATION AND MEDIA;
  • Resources that deliver training and workshops that can help you to improve your game in podcasting (he cites 6);
  • Looking to the Podcast Academy for insight and knowledge from others in the podosphere for inspiration; and
  • 5 resources to “help you think like a SERIOUS podcaster.”

Although some of these resources mentioned and the roads suggested may have some financial costs, it is up to you to investigate how they can help you — after all, they are suggested by someone who has been a center of podcasting for over 16 years in the podosphere and has written some of the first books on podcasting.

So, for this short episode, we hope that you can evaluate if these resources and suggestions will help you to “improve your craft” of podcasting (and not just the mechanical part or the recording or editing part) in ALL areas of content creation, publication and distribution. If so, then you can, indeed, better yourself as a professional podcaster and as Evo says, “MASTER YOUR CRAFT OF PODCASTING.” And this can help you lead your business and podcasts to success.

Thank you for your attention.

Copyright (c) 2021, Matrix Solutions Corporation and michaelandmike.com and Evo Terra of podcastpontifications.com. All rights reserved.