Categories
podcast

655- Measuring real success of your podcast

In this episode, we examine the views of podcaster Ben Krueger in the area of measuring success in podcasting. He explains this in an article from his show, cashflowpodcasting.com. The article is titled “How to measure real podcast success.”

Ben Krueger

As is well known from other podcasters like Dave Jackson of schoolofpodcasting.com and Daniel J Lewis of theaudacitytopodcast.com, a real measure of success is not just by the measurement of downloads of an episode or a series of them. In the podosphere, the real measure of success depends on much more than the numbers of downloads. As Ben states: “While this is an important metric, it’s not the only one that matters when measuring the success of a podcast…While this is an important metric, it’s not the only one that matters when measuring the success of a podcast…In fact, comparing download numbers to other podcasters can be misleading and discouraging, especially for niche podcasts that serve a specific audience.

Ben continues as he looks at specific types of podcast niches and genres: “It’s time to take a holistic approach to understand the unique needs and expectations of your audience and track metrics that align with your podcast goals.”

In fact, Ben delivers to the reader a Podcast Success Tracker Spreadsheet, which is included in the article. This is a tool that can track the metrics that should really matter to the podcaster.

Ben also recommends that you be specific in these areas, especially in the most common goals of:

Audience growth;

Becoming the go-to authority in your niche;

Client/customer acquisition;

Speaking opportunities;

Business development partnerships.

Goal-setting and planning are key elements, rather than emotion and impulse:  “By defining clear and measurable goals, you’ll be able to stay on track and make informed decisions about the direction of your podcast.”


Ben also suggests which metrics should be tracked. He suggests on “Focusing on ONE PRIMARY goal, with 1 or 2 secondary goals (if you must) will help you prioritize and actually drive results toward your goal with focus and clarity….” such as:

  • Audience growth;
  • Downloads and email sign-ups;
  • Creating your podcast as an AUTHORITY;
  • Client acquisition;
  • Response to your calls-to-action;
  • Speaking opportunities: “This includes invitations to speak on other podcasts or at events, or inquiries that come through your podcast’s website or social media channels.”;
  • Opportunities for BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT partnerships;

Besides these, Ben recommends later in the article other metrics to track, such as listener behavior. And one of the most important metric to follow is the financial one: “Finally, track the return on investment (ROI) of your podcast.”

Ben also urges you to improve each metric, with some other tips, such as the “CTA templates” that he provides, in addition to your taking steps to own continuous growth toward your goals.

Copyright (c) 2023, Matrix Solutions Corporation and michaelandmike.com and Ben Krueger of Cashflowpodcasting.com. All rights reserved.

Categories
podcast

652- Suggested Strategies for podcast growth

In this episode of The Podcast Reporter Show, we discuss the 5 strategies to succeed in podcasting for business growth. This was reviewed in an article by Ben Krueger of cashflowpodcasting called “Podcasting for Business growth: 5 Strategies to Succeed.”

Now, as I have stated in several past episodes of this podcast show, I have known Ben since 2014, when we first met at the initial Podcast Movement conference in Dallas, Texas.

Ben Krueger

I feel that Ben has had great information for the newer and aspiring podcaster, especially with this free pdf files and his suggestions. In this case, he gives some sound advice to help you improve your direction at succeeding in growing your business via podcasting.

The main sections discussed in this article are the following (with details in each link to the section of the article):


Finding the right content for your podcast episodes in your show and having clear calls-to-actions are highlights of some of the mistakes that newer and aspiring podcasters make when starting out — especially in some cases where the podcaster decides to incorporate 5 or more calls-to-action in the episode (and then leaves the listener in a confusing direction). This can easily blur the right content for your show, as perhaps some of the calls-to-action may not fit the key messages in your content, thus making your podcast show look like an advertising billboard. And conventional wisdom may indicate that you may not want to go in this misdirection.

As the article indicates, podcast growth can be helped by placing you and your content and podcast as an AUTHORITY for the listener — and there are proven ways to do so. In fact, one of the earliest ways to do so was mentioned by an early podcaster, Paul Colligan, in which he described some of the steps in becoming a THOUGHT LEADER. In fact, we ourselves have had several episodes in the past that looked at what a true thought leader is, as well as the steps to becoming a trusted and accepted thought leader in podcasting. In fact, you may refer to episodes 412 and 513 of this podcast series, podcastreporter.com.

You will then see this chart with the steps to becoming a successful content creator:

And you can also see some of the other interesting viewpoints from Ben that could possibly help your podcast for business grow with his suggested strategies.

We encourage you to review this content from Ben and see if these strategies can work for you — especially with his advice for definite, clear and non-confusing appropriate calls-to-action.

So we hope that you can accept this content as beneficial after your review, and we wish for you a quick path to making your business successful with good podcast strategies.

Thank you for your attention, and for listening.

Copyright (c) 2023, Matrix Solutions Corporation and michaelandmike.com and Ben Krueger of cashflowpodcasting.com. All rights reserved.

Categories
podcast

649- Choices for Podcast Production companies

In this episode of The Podcast Reporter show, we deliver an interesting discussion of what a podcast production company may be like, and if it may be of benefit for you and your show. This comes from an article that is authored by Ben Krueger of cashflowpodcasting.com.

Ben Krueger

As I have mentioned in earlier posts of this show, I have known Ben since 2014, when he and I shared a booth at the very first Podcast Movement conference in Dallas, Texas. I do recommend him for his value that he delivers in his posts — many times, there are free resources with good documentation that are very helpful.


And Ben divides the discussion into these topics:

Top Podcast Production Companies For Businesses and Brands

… and Ben discusses each theme with some details that can give you an idea of the topic, as well as an example or two as clarification proof points.

You have to ask yourself if the company that interests you is specialized in a specific content niche or industry that you find yourself and your show: When selecting a podcast production company, it’s important to consider their area of expertise, whether it’s in a specific content niche or an industry.”

And you can gather from the firms that we listed for you the nature and the type of production company that may interest you. The list is a good starting point for the newer or aspiring podcaster, as it may help to understand what a production company is, what it does, what the strengths are of each firm, what the marketing hype may or may be, and how it can turn out to be a good introduction to a topic drowning in a lot of sales talk.

I highly recommend that you consume this article in detail and select one or several companies listed so that you can be thoroughly acquainted with these type of firms and the value that they promise for the podcaster. And since Ben has already limited the landscape of these firms for you, there is a good chance that your interest will be satisfied, and that you may find a good resource to help your show.

The end of the article delivers a “conclusion” that I feel is well stated for the podcaster. He says: “By partnering with an experienced podcast production company, you can be confident that you’re getting a team of professionals who will take care of everything from recording and editing to marketing and distribution. This allows you to focus on what you do best – creating high-quality content and engaging with your audience…Are you not seeing the results you were hoping for when you started your podcast? We encourage you to look for a podcast production company that offers strategy support or podcast coaching. With the right partner, your podcast has the potential to reach new heights and attract a wider audience than ever before.” 

So I hope that you can determine if you need the services of a podcast production company, and that you can find one that will help you to make your show a success.

Thank you for your attention.

Copyright (c) 2023, Matrix Solutions Corporation and michaelandmike.com and Ben Krueger of cashflowpodcasting.com. All rights reserved.

Categories
podcast

643- Suggestions for Optimizing podcast audio

In this episode of The Podcast Reporter show, we deliver a summary of the suggested publication by Ben Krueger called “How to Optimize Your Podcast Audio Quality” in 2023.

Ben Krueger

From his previous podcast shows and episodes — as well as his written posts with free pdfs and suggestions that actually brought value in the form of suggested theories and tasks — Ben delivers some steps and general practices that could, indeed, help your podcast audio quality improve and be more attractive to the listener.

Most of these are free or can be done very cheaply using a DIY approach.

Key suggestion: One major point to note if you want to improve the audio quality of your podcast is the importance of “taking a bit of time (about an hour or two) to test these things out and experiment to find what works best for you to optimize your podcast audio quality.”

After reading and implementing the tips, Ben recommends that you review and “tweak things if it isn’t sounding quite right and then record another test to listen back on and critique.”

Obviously, the important item to remember is to record your audio in the highest quality (e.g., bit rate, less ambient sounds and noise, etc.). And Ben reminds of this before he begins his survey of audio quality.

Ben then deals with the topics of:

  • equipment  — reminders to wear earbuds or headphones for analyzing sound quality at the time of recording;
  • avoiding the use of speakers;
  • use of microphones — including the use of pop filters and mic stands with the list of suggested mics;
  • setting the mic input levels in your DAW (i.e., digital audio workstation);
  • then setting up the environment — whether you may be in a studio or use your closet or your home rooms as your “studio” to cancel any noise and have a silent area for you to record:
  • minimizing background sounds and noises;
  • And TECHNIQUES of audio recording — including placement and care during your recording;
  • And he gives some general suggestions for audio settings for Zoom calls on separate audio tracks:
ZOOM SETTINGS FOR RECORDING SEPARATE AUDIO TRACKS

Zoom Settings for Optimizing Your Podcast Audio Quality

  • And he also recommends some “pro tips” for those who may run into the land-mine areas of novice mistakes (e.g., keeping the temporary recording files), including TESTING the mics beforehand and BONUS Zoom tips;
Ben Krueger

 

So, we hope that the new and aspiring podcasters can get a few tips from Ben in his quest to help out the newbies to avoid common mistakes and improve the audio quality of their podcast recording.

We thank you for listening, and we are grateful for your attention.

Copyright (c) 2023, Matrix Solutions Corporation and michaelandmike.com and Ben Krueger. All rights reserved.

Categories
podcast

640- Stages of your podcast and resources for specific help

In this episode, we refer to a post by Ben Krueger (creator of site and podcast at cashflowpodcasting.com) that presents links to resources that can help newer and starting podcasters in several stages of making your podcast shows successful.

Ben Krueger

These stages do have help and support from offerings by Ben from is site of CashFlowPodcasting.com:

So, depending on where you are in the stages of podcasting, perhaps the tools and support offered by Ben Krueger can be a life-saver by saving you time and giving you the education for that specific element.


Now, I have known Ben since 2014, when he and I shared a booth in the expo hall at the first Podcast Movement conference in Dallas, Texas. I have also received and downloaded some of his tips and help from pdf files which he distributed to all at no cost.

Note that these links in his post at the link given to the recipients of his email list in an email note take the user to the site where he lists elements needed for success, along with offers and offerings which he can deliver to the starting of newer podcasters.

I would strongly suggest that you check out his site for the topics that he has listed and see if there can be information of value for you the specific stage of your podcasting. I would think that you may find gems of help and some value for you at any of the stages.

Thank you for your attention, and thanks for listening.

Copyright (c) 2023, Matrix Solutions Corporation and michaelandmike.com and Ben Krueger. All rights reserved.

Categories
podcast

632- Podcasting show notes — creating them for engaging content

In this episode of The Podcast Reporter show, we discuss some suggestions from podcaster Ben Krueger on how to write show notes. This is taken from his website called cashflowpodcasting.com in a post recently.

Ben Krueger

So, although many posts have been published from different podcast consultants, you may want to review this brief set of ideas from Ben. And as you know, I have known Ben from 2014 at the first Podcast Movement conference in Dallas, where he and I shared a table in the expo hall for that event.

The title of this post was “Podcast Shownotes: How to write engaging content — EP: 22.


In addition to the topic at hand, Ben starts off with the theme of “What’s the point of show notes?” and then continues into the main theme of the post of how to create the engaging content. In fact, he summarizes the content like this:

“It all starts with having a compelling episode title.

Something that showcases what the episode is about and has a keyword that potential new listeners may be searching for.

Next, you will need one or two paragraphs summarizing what is discussed in the episode.

After this, we like to add bullet points that elude to what your listeners will learn.

Finally, you will have the resources that will link to everything you spoke about in the show such as books, people, or websites.

If you want something more substantial to go along with your episode, you can write a full blog post instead.

This will increase SEO even more and potentially provide your listeners with an in-depth look at the topic you’ll be discussing.”

And then he summarizes the theme of using the show notes for marketing content.


As for this podcaster, I have been writing show notes for 17 years, and I find his suggestions very obvious. However, not every new podcaster plans to write outlines or gives a thought to show notes (if he even would have a written set). And even some podcasters use a transcript and publish them as show notes.

I myself have done both ways, and I even get to the point of including images and photos when relevant. I do not favor one way or the other, as it depends on the topic and the planning that I have done to give relevance to the topic at hand and to make my show notes as a “gift” to those who go to consume them.

However, you can determine which style you give to your show notes in creating them and making them engaging for your audience. We wish you the best and hope that your readers will appreciate them.

Thank you for your attention.

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

Categories
podcast

626- Using POC tactic for podcast consulting success

In this episode of The Podcast Reporter Show, we deliver to you a real-life example of a strategy and tactic that may bring success to you in your role as a podcast consultant — and that includes other business areas such as editing, billing, promotion, sales and a lead to other parts of your consulting business (e.g., video). This strategy and tactic is from my own experiences, and it is called the PROOF OF CONCEPT method and strategy.

This comes from the age-old tactic from a vendor who wanted to prove that he could successfully create a deliverable and successfully have it approved and satisfy a potential customer or prospect.

The age-old formula probably started initially as servitude. In other words, a craftsman or a skilled prospect would make a deal (or contract) with a master or principal. He would offer to work for a specific time period (e.g., a week or month) — or his offer would be to deliver a specific piece of work in a specific time span. If the principal (in this case, his potential customer) was completely satisfied, the agreement was that the prospect would then be upgraded to a formal laborer of the principal — or that the specific piece of work or deliverable that met the requirements would be the proof that the concept of his employment would be honored for continuing such deliverables to the customer (or master or principal — call the end receiver of the VALUE what you will) and be recognized as a true craftsman or valued employee for a period of time. And in some cases, the free time worked by the prospect would be recognized as time worked for pay, and he would receive the back wages, as well. In the case of deliverables, the agreed upon price for creating and finishing the said deliverables would also be paid, in addition to the terms of another agreement. For the deliverables, this would be a contract for creating and delivering some more final pieces — and  usually they would include back-pay for the proof of concept, as well (only this was flexible in the terms of the “contract” for the proof of concept.


So what was my experience in the world of podcasting with this tactic known as “proof of concept”?

Well, a prospect approached me after receiving my business card that mentioned my skills in podcasting. He wanted to know more about what I could offer him.

Instead of spouting a litany of sales-oriented offers, I wanted to know what he wanted and what he felt he needed in his business.

I saw that he wanted a full soup-to-nuts service of creating the podcast show and infrastructure, as well as the editing and production of episodes for professional polish. He called it “productizing” the episodes. Well, I declined on the large scale project and referred him to the consultant who had helped me to jump-start my podcast shows. The reference were the podcast shows I had done.

So he contacted the reference that I gave to him, but then he wanted to see what I could do with the several interviews which he had done and recorded — although some of them had very, very poor audio quality.

Now, he said that he wanted to start off with an interview show and he had recorded on his own these several audio interviews.

I told him to send me the audio files of a couple of interviews. I also looked at his web site, and I gave him a timetable for its completion and that he would receive the finished or “golden” mp3 files.

However, I gave him an amount that seemed reasonable and competitive for creating each final or golden mp3 audio interview, so that he could determine if his needs were met.

And I decided to exceed his expectations.

I took the mp3 files and listened to the poor quality of the interviews. I then cleaned up the audio, and then I added intro and outro music from quality musicians (for which I had obtained licenses to use in podcast episodes). I also added the voiceover intro with the intent of getting the listener interested enough to want to listen to the content of the interview. And I finally did the research of the interviewee and the program or situation being discussed. I also got a photo head shot of the interviewee from the public info center libraries. And then I created the SHOW NOTES, with the content and images included that would have the professional qualities that I would expect in that podcast episode.

And finally, I delivered both edited and “productized” episodes before the deadline.

The prospect was delighted, and I produced a written contract for him to sign. The contract, however, was not for the work done, but included the provision that I would receive a future minimum of episodes as content for future work to be “productized.”

Thus, the basic amount was for 10 additional episodes, as well as payment for the 2 episodes that I had delivered to him with his satisfaction and approval.

The deal was done by using the tactic of the proof of concept.

And so, the prospect then became my CUSTOMER and I would receive his interview files, which then I delivered to him in return as golden mp3 files, along with the added value of the show notes, the intro voiceover, the musical intros and outros, and any photo or images in the show notes content.

Well, he delivered to me over 25 episodes in the year. And they were ALL done with the same quality and delivered to him on time.

But then, after the 25th episode, he went silent and I did not hear from him for a month or so.

Why?

I never asked why, but only saw that after the brief absence, he contacted me in a email note and began to send me more interviews again. My suspicion was that another “podcast consultant” came to him with a lower price. However, the VALUE received of the services and deliverables probably did not meet his expectations. And so he returned to me for an additional 20 episodes. In fact, he asked me to create a video that promoted his offerings and his programs to his targeted audience. And I did deliver 2 videos — one as a proof of concept that was for no charge, and the other to meet his deadline. And when he wanted me to continue with the videos, I did decline, because I did not want to go into that business, as the return for my business was not really worth the time, effort, money, work and costly equipment and requirements. So I removed myself from the video world for him.


So that is the story of the tactic known as the proof-of-concept which was used in a real-life scenario in the podosphere by yours truly.

Perhaps this tactic may be one that you could use, or that you could take and improve on the method with your own style and delivery for potential customers.

But you have to be careful. You have to KNOW that your skills are very high, and that your pricing is competitive, and that your financial planning has proven that you can work within the structure of your proof-of-concept to make your tactic profitable for your business. And you can see what others are doing who use a variation of this tactic — and the name of Ben Krueger from cashflowpodcasting.com comes to mind. I have seen his offers and I have taken him up on purchasing a deliverable when he used the POC method. And I was pleasantly surprised with the quality, value and final deliverable from him within the time frame specified. And Ben would be a good example to see some of his offers using the poc tactic. In addition, Dave Jackson from The School of Podcasting also had offered several deliverables using a variation of this tactic.

So if you do decide to use the proof-of-concept for your podcast consulting business, we wish you the best in generating a great revenue stream for your business by having a successful podcast business.

Thank you for your attention.

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

Categories
podcast

625- Checklists from pros about Launching and Recording podcasts

In this episode of The Podcast Reporter Show, we discuss the value of the checklists for launching a podcast and preparing to record your podcast episode. The former is delivered in a post by Ben Krueger of Cashflowpodcasting.com. The latter is delivered by Daniel J Lewis of The Audacity to Podcast in his podcast show and prior episode.

 

The first checklist is given to us recently by Ben Krueger in his post of cashflowpodcasting.com. It is titled “The Podcast Launch checklist: 21 steps to easily launch an industry leading podcast.”

Ben Krueger

Although this takes into account everything from the inception and idea of brainstorming to create the details for your podcast show up to the actual promotion and possible monetization of your podcast show, this is a good list to ensure that you can use very effectively the plans from others when you plot out the tasks needed to creating your podcast show.

In summary, the 21 steps from Ben (with a bit of description after each step, along with case studies after step 5) are:

☐ STEP #1: DECIDE WHAT PODCASTING WILL DO FOR YOU

☐ STEP #2: SELECT YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE

☐ STEP #3: CRAFT YOUR CENTRAL MESSAGE

☐ STEP #4: PICK YOUR PODCAST FORMAT & FREQUENCY

☐ STEP #5: DECIDE HOW YOUR PODCAST WILL MAKE MONEY (AND BECOME A PROFIT CENTER!)

☐ STEP #6: GET YOUR PODCAST RECORDING EQUIPMENT

“The next section lays out the exact steps to actually create your new podcast and get it launched to the world!

☐ STEP #7: CHOOSE A PODCAST TITLE

☐ STEP #8: CREATE YOUR PODCAST COVER ARTWORK

☐ STEP #9: CREATE BRANDED INTROS & OUTROS

☐ STEP #10: RECORD YOUR FIRST EPISODE(S)

☐ STEP #11: SET UP PODCAST HOSTING

☐ STEP #12: SET UP THE PODCAST ON YOUR SITE

☐ STEP #13: PRODUCE YOUR FIRST EPISODE(S)

☐ STEP #14: CREATE A WINNING “LAUNCH PLAN”

☐ STEP #15: SUBMIT YOUR PODCAST TO DIRECTORIES

☐ STEP #16: LAUNCH DAY!

☐ STEP #17: EMPLOY “GRASSROOTS MARKETING”

☐ STEP #18: PUBLISH REGULAR CONTENT

☐ STEP #19: GROW YOUR AUDIENCE & EMAIL LIST

☐ STEP #20: FURTHER MONETIZE YOUR PODCAST

☐ STEP #21: LEVERAGE YOUR NEW PODCAST AUTHORITY

 

And then Ben includes in this checklist summary  several case studies to add proof to his system. He delivers this content with the approach of his “What?” and “How” method. And for those who like this approach, Ben also adds his call-to-action for his site to provide solution-based value of podcast consultancy to any podcasters who wish to become a client of Ben for his services.


 

So, after you are ready and prepared to launch a podcast, you may be wishing for a simple — but mainly complete checklist for the preparation of recording your episode (especially if you are a newer or aspiring podcaster). This has been provided FREE to podcasters by Daniel J Lewis of the podcast show called The Audacity to Podcast.

This free resource is called “Podcasting preflight checklist” from episode 164 of his podcast show. And I strongly recommend that you download this and use it to ensure that you are fully prepared before you press the RECORD button on your system to capture the audio that you will deliver to your audience.

This checklist will go into the details of preparation for Ben’s checklist (above) step number 10.

This one-page single sheet resource can be downloaded as a pdf file and it should be used as a reference when you prepare to record your audio portion of your episode. I, myself, used this for several episodes until the routine became automatic — and I did not have to worry or back-track or forget anything important during the preparation phase before recording the audio.


So, for novice or aspiring podcasters, these checklists can be integrated into your planning and production systems and tasks to save you time and effort and energy (and frustration, in case you have to go back and include some forgotten tasks in your workflow). These professionals have already learned the secret to time-saving methods in a checklist format that can help you be productive and successful in planning and launching your podcast, as well as recording and producing effective episodes for your podcast growth and success.

Thank you for your attention.

Copyright (c) 2022, Matrix Solutions Corporation and Ben Krueger of cashflowpodcasting.com and Daniel J Lewis of The Audacity to Podcast.com and michaelandmike.com. All rights reserved.

Categories
podcast

624 – Tips to avoid Podcast planning mistakes

In this episode of The Podcast Reporter show, we discuss some tips concerning some of the top podcast planning mistakes, as given to us in a post by Ben Krueger of Cashflowpodcasting.com.

Ben Krueger

In the podcast episode and post titled “The Top 3 Podcast Planning Mistakes,” Ben delivers a summary of what he considers are the top mistakes in planning your podcast shows:

  • Thinking that it is all about YOU;
  • “Build it and they will come”;
  • Not providing a clear call to action.

While certainly, these 3 are key mistakes when planning your show, I venture to say that there are others — and the gravity is a matter of opinion. In fact, Dave Jackson of The School of Podcasting show has covered in many episodes of the past other key mistakes that he feels are catalysts when a podcaster determines that he has failed and that it is time to podfade a show.

I, myself, feel that other key mistakes were NOT to understand what your objectives are in starting your podcast, as well as not knowing who your audience is and what kind of VALUE is that you need to deliver to them.

And there are others that can be classified as either smaller mistakes of less offensiveness or those that focus on the business and the personal areas.


But, in looking and listening to the podcast episode by Ben Krueger, let us not forget that Ben also delivers his own personal call-to-action for the reader or listener to be aware of his free and fee resources — both his book and his roadmap. I have seen these and they do, indeed, provide good suggestions for the new or aspiring podcaster. And this is true in the area of PLANNING your show.


Also, Adam Curry (i.e., the podfather) also gives us one mistake that beginner podcasters make is that they do not create a podcast show that is really considered “an outsanding product.” Yes, the quality of the show is reflected by the followers or subscribers, the downloads and the responses to calls-to-action of the show itself. His case in point is his show called No Agenda, where he implemented the “value-for-value” model of contributions (either “time, talent or treasure”). I mention this because many think that their show may deserve the merit of being great — when in reality, no feedback or proof (other than social proof from only reviews) can back up that thought.

When I met with Adam the last time we had lunch together and with him during his meetups in Austin over the years, the idea that came through loud and clear was the proof that many hours of preparation and thought and planning went into each episode of his show. It was not the scenario of a couple of “dudes” sitting around a microphone and ad-libbing any sort of babble with expletives, just because they were having fun.

In my situation, I also started a podcast show several years ago whose main objective was just to have fun and really just play around with the audio infrastructure of podcasting with a co-host. This was the show called Grumpy Old Bears — but we really had no plan for success nor any means of feedback of proof. It was just a fun “hobby” for us, whereas the other podcasts I do have in operation now (such as this one) provide feedback to me on the content, the downloads, the acceptance and social proof, etc., to prove and demonstrate the VALUE they provide to their intended audiences.

So, again, I would advise the aspiring and new podcasters to give a quick listen to the 8-minute episode from Ben to learn about how one can disillusion one’s self when it comes to podcasting, and how this type of mindset can lead to creating and implementing some of what Ben Krueger considers the top 3 mistakes in podcasting. And hopefully, you can correct those and put yourself on the correct road to success in your podcasting.

Thank you for your attention.

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

Categories
podcast

623- Step by step guide to editing and producing Podcasts

In this episode of The Podcast Reporter show, we disclose information about a post by Ben Krueger that describes “a step by step guide to podcast editing and production.”

As you may know, Ben is the podcaster with his site called Cashflowpodcasting.com. He has delivered many resources (many of them free as pdfs) to those who are mainly new or aspiring podcasters. I have valued his deliveries of advice and resources since I met him personally in 2014 where I shared a booth with him in the expo hall during the very first Podcast Movement conference.

Ben Krueger

Ben first goes into the do-it-yourself approach to creating a podcast show and recording and editing its episodes. He refers to free software, such as audacity and others like auphonic to help podcasters in the editing of audio for podcasting. In fact, I, myself, have used various versions of the free software, Audacity, since my beginning in the podosphere. And with the help of good microphones, other devices and good software, I still continue using it today to record and edit my podcast episodes.

He then explores the idea of hiring a team to do your podcast editing, thus freeing you up to pursue content creation and marketing and sales and other talents. As we said in our last episode, you could hire a studio or an agency or get a podcast consultant to which you can “farm this out.”

But he ends this summary of the article with the suggestions for the do-it-yourself podcast editing — and he emphasizes why you should not be afraid of learning the tools and getting a good workflow down for editing the audio files yourself.


When I started my trip into the podosphere in 2005, there were no tools or training for being a podcaster and creating a workflow to do editing. It was not until I had read the book by Evo Terra and Tee Morris called Podcasting for Dummies that I learned the elements of a podcast and its creation. And it was not until 2006 that I was able to view and follow the audio and video training by Jason Van Orden to learn how to podcast. And in a little over one day, I had my first podcast episode created, edited and published on a public platform. And after that, I started discovering the podcasters who were podcast  consultants that offered to help you create and publish your podcast shows and episodes — and I chose Dave Jackson from The School of Podcasting as my podcast consultant. With his advice and his tutoring, I quickly learned a good workflow about podcasting, and I started creating more shows and publishing more episodes in the podosphere.

And I have never looked back after some 16 years.


Now, although today, you have a myriad of choices from agencies to consultants from which to choose,  you can select the best source and alternatives for you (in terms of quality, offerings, cost and results) to begin your career (be it part-time or full-time) into podcasting. And then you can also progress to the next step of setting up your podcasting as a tactic for your business — or you may even set up your own entrepreneurship as a podcasting business, as the tools and education and training for this are also available in many places and from many sources. As stated by Adam Schaeuble of the podcast show called the Podcasting Business School, you can treat your podcasting endeavor like a business, but enjoy it like a hobby.


And take it from someone like myself that has been a podcast consultant for over 10 years, there is a lot of room in the podosphere for those who want to use their creativity to improve the way podcast editing is done and the workflow for podcast production today.

One final note — Ben also has a call-to-action at the end of the post for you to download his free book, as well as know about his roadmap. I would suggest that you scan the article in the post by Ben to see if your world of podcasting can improve with the help of others — either as consultants, agencies or professionals — or with books or tutorials that can help you learn new materials, new ways, new tools and become more successful in publishing your podcast episodes.

Thank you for your attention.

Copyright (c) 2022, Matrix Solutions Corporation and michaelandmike.com and Ben Krueger of cashflowpodcasting.com and audacity and auphonic and Dave Jackson of schoolofpodcasting.com, and Tee Morris and Evo Terra. All rights reserved.