Grow Your Audience Using the KFC Approach

Hindenburg Journalist Noise Reduction

The latest version of Hindenburg Journalist Software (slowly becoming one of my favorites for people who "Aren't too technical"). They have a new noise reduction feature that is super easy to use, and actually not bad. 

Here is a video of it in action

Grow Your Audience Using the  KFC Approach

If you live in the US, and maybe outside you are familiar with a certain Colonel Sanders who started Kentucky Fried Chicken. You also notice that over the years they have introduced grilled chicken and changed their name to KFC. This name change provides less emphasis on the word FRIED which in the world that is becoming somewhat more educated on better food choices might serve their sales better.

Today I'm going to share what KFC stands for based on a book I'm listening to How to Make People Like You in 90 Seconds or Less by Nicholas Boothman. You can get the audiobook for free by going to www.schoolofpodcasting.com/audibletrial (If you want to be an affiliate for audible, go to www.schoolofpodcasting.com/audible )

The part is Know what you want out of podcasting. I've said before that you need to know WHY you're getting into podcasting. If you don't, you'll never make it through the how. Are you looking to be seen as an expert? Then maybe you should do some Q & A. Are you looking to get people to know and like you, then maybe it's time to ditch the interview format and talk directly to your audience. If you're trying to get a message out, then come up with a hashtag so you can track your progress. The other thing this does is it helps you know if you're being successful or not, or if you're even on track.

The F in this instance stands for find what you are getting. When I get feedback from people, they seem to like my style. They say I seem laid back, and I break things down into easy bite size chunks. They appreciate the fact that I occasionally try to get your to laugh. In the past, I've told you about surveymonkey.com and polldaddy.com and how I've used those services for surveys. My favorite tool for this now is Google Sheets (sheets.google.com). You can easily take this spreadsheet tool, and with a few mouse clicks turn it into a survey for your audience.
Unlike the previous tools I mentioned, it is free, and there are unlimited questions and unlimited responses.

But what if the feedback you're getting isn't what you were expecting. What if things are going in the wrong direction.

You've heard me quote Ryan K Parker of Foodcrafstmen.com for years. I quote it because it's true. No one will punch you in the face if you change your podcast. In fact, look at any long running series on TV, and you will see how things evolved. Many times that was because what they found out was that their ratings were going the wrong way.

Not it takes courage to be able to have people leave your feedback. If you go back to the beginning, when you KNOW what you want out of podcasting, you will be willing to tweak it to get what you want, as you give your audience what they want.

Many Streams Make Up  A River

Launching my New Godaddy Reseller Account

Recently we've been talking a fair amount of about sponsorship, so I want to restate something. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO MAKE MONEY WITH YOUR PODCAST. If you are looking to have some income one of the things you might consider is instead of  trying to get a big giant paycheck, get a lot of small checks.

Earlier this year I added some features to the School of Podcasting and raised the prices quite a bit. It turned out those features weren't exactly what people were looking for. So, I tweaked some things, and adjusted the pricing. I also looked at the financials of the SOP. Part of the expenses for the School of Podcasting is my ongoing addiction to buying domain names. Yes they are only $9.99 a year at www.coolerwebsites.com (more on that in a second), but when you have over 100 domains, that adds up. My solution was to eliminate the middle man. I became a reseller for Godaddy. So if you need web hosting, domains, SSL certificates, or any other web related services, you can go to www.coolerwebsites.com and support me, and have the power of Godadddy.

I Was Won Over With Support

It wasn't just the domains that got me to put my eggs in the godaddy basket. I helped a friend setup a website using Bluehost. Now for the record I have a few websites on Bluehost. This is because I always try to use what I recommend. He hit a bit of a snag, so I told him how they had good service. He got on the phone, and I got on the live chat. As a person who works in support, I may be a bit more critical, but it was not fast at all. He finally got someone on the phone who was sticking with their script. We got our problem solved, but it took the better part of 90 minutes.

I've been promoting Host Gator for years. I've used them for over 15 years. I've always thought their support was better than Bluehost, and still do. Over the last year, what use to take 3-5 minutes to get a live chat person to answer a question was turning into 5-20 minutes, and then I often felt like they were holding 5 different chats at the same time. Not horrible, but not great.

When I tried out Godaddy, I was floored by their support. Over the years they called me to show me how I could save money with their company. No really catch when they called. They just saw my current situation and wanted to let me know if I did things a certain way I could save a few hundred dollars a year. When I get on their chat, I usually have someone within a few minutes and I get my questions answered. So I have a website I'm hosting on them, I didn't have any problems, so I became a reseller. I'm sure they are not perfect, no host is, but their support won me over.

Currently if you want to order web hosting specifically designed to be lighting quick with Wordpress, I have a special going where you get

• 2 websites
• 30GB SSD storage
• 400,000 monthly visitors
• One-click staging site
• SSH / sFTP
• Search engine optimization plugin
• Malware scan & removal
• Standard SSL Certificate - 1 year free ( renewed annually)

For $11.99 for more information go to www.schoolofpodcasting.com/hosting

Why Mystery Show Was Cancelled by Gimlet

When this show first aired I stated that this show was well produced, but in the end the content was stupid. 

That's why the show got cancelled. See my original review.

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How I Got a Sponsor On My Podcast

Today I share my story on how I secured a sponsor for my show. I'm doing this as an experiment as I prepare to update my book More Podcast Money Next year. I also share the behind the scenes of what it was like to take on a sponsor. There are some things that I have to tackle mentally.

Emerald City Productions - Our Sponsor

1:15 Emerald City is running a special go to www.emeraldcitypro.com and tell them you are from the School of Podcasting and have your first four podcasts done for $15 an episode.

My Favorite Podcast Is

2:50 I'm working on the last episode of the year where we all share what our favorite podcast is (you can only pick one, and no, it can't be yours). Then be sure to tells us a little about it, and WHY you like it. Also, be sure to tell us a little bit about your show and where we can find it. So its free promotion for your show, and later I get these transcribed and turn them into a book. The deadline is October 31. Go to www.schoolofpodcasting.com/favorite16

Getting A Sponsor For Your Show

4:30 Today I share my story on how I secured a sponsor for my show. I'm doing this as an experiment as I prepare to update my book More Podcast Money Next year. I also share the behind the scenes of what it was like to take on a sponsor. There are some things that I have to tackle mentally.

Getting A Sponsor For Your Show
Today I talk with Jessica Kupferman who has been selling advertising for a very long time (back in the day on banner advertising) and has been podcasting since 2013. I know her best for her Shepodcasts.com show which she does with Elsie Escobar (it's a fascinating take on podcasting from a Women's point of view).

Jessica just launched jkmagency.com an add agency that helps sponsors find podcasters, and podcasters find sponsors. Here are some of the insights from today's discussion

You need to know how many downloads you get per month

If you don't have a ton of downloads, but you have an active community, that may enable you to secure a sponsor

You don't need a media kit if you don't have one. Jessica can create one for you.

If you're pricing per episode, you might as well flush your money down the toilet.

The smallest contract/campaign she sells is three months. She will go two months if there are no other options.

Podcasters should be open to having the sponsor on the show to help create content.

In regards to platforms, sponsors are looking at Twitter and Instagram followers.

You just need to create a report once a month

Never lie about your stats. Not only does it make you look bad, but it also makes podcasting, in general, look bad.

How do you figure out what to charge for your podcast?

The current standards for CPM is $15-$100 which is why it doesn't work for most podcasters and is the worst way to sell your show

Can unique genres get a sponsor? (i.e. Science Fiction movie reviews)

To be considered for adds go to jkmagency.com/considerme

She also is a co-host for She Podcasts

The Mental Side of Podcast Advertising

34:00 When you take on an advertiser, you have a couple of things to consider.

You need to make sure your sponsor fits your audience and is something you can talk about honestly. When you promote something that you don't believe in, that is (in my opinion) the definition of selling out.

Make sure you are aware what you will be delivering, and then deliver it.

Remember who your TRUE audience is. Having multiple audiences can be a struggle. My audience is you. You've been with me for almost 12 years. If I pay too much attention to promoting the sponsor, I lose the true audience (again, you). If I don't pay enough attention to the sponsor, I lose the sponsor. The problem is I'm being paid for a 15-second spot. I recorded the spot four times last night, and the first one went over two minutes long. I figured out what I needed to say, and figured out how to see it as quickly as possible. This first ad was a bit longer as I needed to introduce you to the sponsor. I've always liked he way Gimlet media does their advertisements, and I plan on borrowing as much as I can. If you are a regular listener, you know I like to think outside the box. Just know, this can mess with your brain. Remember you worked hard to get an audience, and advertisers will come and go. I have never heard one, but I've heard stories about Leo Laporte going on for what seems days when he does a spot for Audible. If you don't pay attention to your listeners, then there will be nobody to hear your advertisements.

What if you have a Patreon account? Well if you are delivering extra value to your patrons, then this shouldn't be a problem. They are getting what they pay for. Also, Patrons are people who want to support you. When they hear, you are benefiting from an advertiser they may be all for it. Just don't be surprised if someone stops being a patron because "You don't need us."

Speaking of that, realize that someone will not like the fact that you have advertisements. There is nothing you can do about that. Focus on the one who stays.

Podcast Rewind

38:18 I appeared on the Rock Your Retirement show talking about Alzheimer's disease

I appear on the new Cut to the Chase from the friend Ravi from Digital Access Pass. This is business advice with not fluff (hence cut to the chase ) so it is some of my best podcast advice in one quick blast.

While I have appeared on Podcast Junkies, I wanted to point you to the episode with Jonathan Oakes of Triva Warfare (who I've been on his show). It was just a great show where you hear Jonathon talk about how he shaped his show over time, and ever has a cool because of my podcast story. Check it out

Podcast Glossary

43:08

Blubrry
Blubrry is a media hosting company (use the coupon code sopfree to get a free month). They are also the people who make the PowerPress plugin. The PowerPress plugin will work with any media host (although it does full integration with blubrry) such as Podbean, Libsyn, Soundcloud. We will talk about PowerPress later when we get to the P's, so for now Blubrry is a media hosting company.

Compressor
A compressor is an effect you can add to your audio. In its simplest form, it makes louder things softer, and softer things louder to ensure a level audio output. These can be applied in software, or they can be physical pieces of hardware such a DBX 286

CPM
CPM is a pricing model used by the Radio industry. With CPM you get paid a certain amount for 1000 listeners. So if you have a CPM rate of $6, and you have 20,000 listeners you would pay the radio station 6 X 20 = $120. CPM rates in Podcasting typically start at $20 and go up. Some reporting as high as $60 or more. For most podcasters (without thousands of downloads) CPM is not a viable model to making money with your podcast

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When Your Equipment Dies Half Way Through the Show

Cal in your questions 888-563-3228

Dave is flying solo and is using smiletime.com and is using the chat room as his co-host. It's a cool tool for about 20 minutes of the show. Then things go south. It's a free service, and well, sometimes you get what you pay for. 

7:25 Firetalk.com pulls one of the dumbest business moves I've ever seen.

10:55 Glen Hebert from horseradionetwrok.com helps Dave kick the tires on Smiletime.com

Glenn is in Florida and had to postpone his show due to Hurricane Michael. 

Glenn just celebrate 5000 episodes. 

14:50 a non podcasting tip about hiking in the woods

15:20 Podcast Bingo  The Stories Podcast http://storiespodcast.com/

19:50 Listen to Dave interview Glen on the School of Podcasting (amazing interview)

21:40 Podertainment magazine See Podertainment

22:35 Put the show number at the beginning helps blind people

25:10 Nugget of Wisdom - Take an improv class - the importance of listening.

26:50 Dave did some acting as a child

28:10 The key to really good interviews

32:35 Repurposing your content - Google Hangout Beef?

36:40 Playing music in your podcast

39:35 Podmatic and Patreon

41:00 Thanks to our awesome supporters go to www.askthepodcastcoach.com/awesome

Using the RSS option in Patreon. Join Patreon Here

43:15 Changing Your Show's Name - iTunes is not a light switch - it takes 24 hours for changes to appear.

45:00 If you put the name of your show in the title of your episode, the podcasts app stops you from being stupid. 

46:05 Logo Design for your  Artwork. I like Podcastdesigns.com (tell them you're with the School of Podcasting) and there is a new one called Design Crowd which is similar to 99 Designs

49:10 A really bad book about podcasting to get people to sign up a Audible. You can have Audible as sponsor by signing up here

 

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Corey Fineran's Podcast Lead Him To Star His Own Business

Comments" Call 888-563-3228

I've spoken about Corey Fineran before and how his Chicago Cubs podcast Ivy Envy helped get a rule changed in Major League Baseball. Corey's boss saw the impact podcasting creates and talked Corey into starting a podcast for his job.

Corey's podcast helps high school students with special needs transition into the workplace. It went over well. It lead to him starting Next Up (His own business) Here are some key points:

They tried it to see if it would work.

They got feedback from their audience, and listened to it, and acted on it.

They updated their equipment after they proved the concept.

Corey's goal is to help as many students as possible. His niche (students with special needs) is often overlooked, or has no budget. So he created the content that was needed. One night it was speaking with his brother in law (who is well versed in running a business) and they realized that he could reach more students and have a larger impact if he did this on his own, and start his own company. So Corey:

Used his brother as a resource to launch the business

Converted his current employer into his first customer

Used his mother (an accountant) to help with taxes

Growing His Business

Corey found that educators are not used to being "pitched." The tried and true strategies of mass emails, cold calling, etc were not going to work. So he did what any good podcaster would do:

He went to where his audience was.

He started attending events where he could talk face to face about his products and services.

Common Podcast Lessons and Truths Translate to Business

Listen to your audience and be open to suggestions

When you have a great podcast people will spread the word about your show

When you can, the best way to get feedback from your audience is face to face. It is also the best way to start building those relationships.

While your audience can become your brand advocates, so can your family (so make sure they know what you are up to).

Save at Podfest

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Submit Your My Favorite Podcast Is

Go to www.schoolofpodcasting.com/favorite16

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Membership Guys Podcast 

Marketing School Podcast 

Audio Technica 2100 (Dave's Preferred Microphone)

 

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Behind the Scenes of Radio With Michael Sharkey

We are joined by Michael Sharkey from the Talent Show and Zen Shark Media who helps people shape their content.

Firetalk is dead and we've moved to huzza.io

3:50 What does a producer do for the show?

6:23 What is a typical day like in radio?

10:50 Any thoughts on keeping your thoughts organized

13:42 <a href="http://www.heilo.com/" target="_blank">Heilo </a>insights its twitter with audio

15:50 International Podcast Day

18:55 Behind the scenes stories of Radio - its chaos

21:44 Podcast Bingo - A quick sample of a Random Podcast <a href="http://www.nejm.org/action/showPodcastsFeeds" target="_blank"><strong>NEJM Podcast</strong></a>

27:26 Bad Audio vs Good Content - Gary V

31:40 Thanks to our <a href="http://www.askthepodcastcoach.com/awesome" target="_blank"><strong>Awesome Supporters</strong></a>

33:-02 Dave's domain addiction just cost him some big bucks. Need a domain? Go to Dave's Godaddy reseller account at <a href="http://www.coolerwebsites.com" target="_blank">www.coolerwebsites.com</a> (the power of Godaddy and you can support Dave at the same time)

35:18 What does the chat room think of Huzza.io

36:18 International Podcast Day Grattitude Award insights with Daniel J Lewis of the Audacity to Podcast

42:08 Audio is important - There are exceptions

43:00 You never know who is listening - Sting story

45:30 International Podcast Day insights Pre-roll ads are being dropped

48:56 What other streaming platforms are people trying

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Is It Time for You To Zag?

Today we have some lessons from fast food that apply to podcasting, and I talk about zagging when everyone is zigging.

Comments? Call them in at 888-563-3228

Bernie's Greatest Hits

1:58 My cat is pretty popular on this show as he chimes in all the time. When I went to Pittsburgh last week apparently he got a record deal. He's releasing "Bernie sings the hits"

Someone Is Doing a Show Like Mine - So I Didn't Start my Show

3:07

One of the most frustrating parts of being a consultant is seeing someone who has the right stuff to create a podcast, but they are more skilled at finding reasons not to press record than actually pressing record. Today I have two points I want to make

Someone will come to me and say, “I want to do a podcast about ______” but someone is already doing a show like that. The first thing I say is to go to iTunes and see when their last episode was published. Many times the person has already hung up their microphone.

But what if they haven’t?

Let’s look at McDonald’s. Here are some interesting facts (well facts according to Wikipedia). McDonald’s was not the first hamburger chain. A&W was first in 1919 followed by White Castle in 1921. McDonald’s didn’t come about until 1940.

Fun facts:

McDonald’s started as a barbecue joint. They found that hamburgers were more profitable. So they started in one direction, and then followed what their audience wanted. I always say your podcast is a recipe not a statue. You can change it any time you want.

White Castle developed the supply chain and automation to have a nationwide food chain way before McDonald’s did. But when McDonald’s did, they didn’t recreate the wheel. They looked at what others were doing, and borrowed the best, and tweaked the rest.

Now when burger king came along in 1953 did they say, “I would open a restaurant but someone else is doing “Assembly line” hamburgers? No. They didn’t recreate the wheel, and they tweaked it (adding flame broiling and “have it your way” at Burger King).

What is the one thing that is common here? Well in the US apparently we can’t get enough of hamburgers. If you throw some meat on a bun and squirt some ketchup on it, we will eat it. In America I think if you put enough ketchup on anything we will eat it.

They saw their competition and looked at ways to innovate. Breakfast was introduced. Bigger hamburgers like the Big Mac were introduced in 1967. Later the innovation of the drive through window.

So if someone is doing a show like yours, WHO CARES, if you think it will be fun, if you think people will enjoy it, DO IT. The WORST thing you can do for yourself in podcasting is COMPARE YOURSELF TO OTHERS.

Podcasting is like golf, while there is competition, you are really only competing against yourself.

Now to my second point, and this build on innovation. Todd Cochran recently launched a new Podcast Legends show and it is interviewing podcast pioneers (people from 2004 - sorry Chris Hardwick is not a Pioneer) and one of the things I forgot about (I started in 2005) was the WHACKY shows that just had you go WHOA!?!

Yeast Radio was by Madge Weinstein and was one of the most subscribed to podcast in 2005. Madge would say outrageous things about the government, about her hygiene (she was often bloated), and in general said things often people only think. She was an angry, jewish, fat, Lesbian. There was one other small twist.

Madge was a dude (Richard Bluestein ).

One other thing, if you could handle the language, Madge was pretty darn funny. Madge was the queen of tuning in because you didn’t know what to expect.

The really cool thing was there was NO WAY that this would EVER be on radio or TV. It’s kind of what made podcasting special, unique, and intimate. Madge is still going strong at yeastradio.com

One person did a show called the daily download where he recorded his thoughts while using the bathroom...

Dave Slusher from the Evil Genius Chronicles mentioned how one podcaster had a show called Podcat where he would play clips of other shows intermindled with clips of his cat.

Why did people do this?

Because THEY COULD. There was no radio, no FCC, no program directors, and it was YOURS. If people didn’t like it, WHO CARES. Podcasting was much more of an artform. People grabbed their stick microphone and press record, because they had something to say, and they could be creative.

I think we’ve gone too far from those days. Now we over-think podcasting as if our lives depended on it. We are all preparing as if this is going to be a full time job some day because it might be. That is true.

Maybe We Should Zag?

I was listening to the Start Up Podcast where they have a team of 18 people per podcast (roughly), and when they launch a show it sounds painful. It sounds like there so up tight about it. I guess they should be as they are doing this as a business. But let's look at women singers. Back in the day Madonna stood out for singing in her underwear. No EVERYBODY sings in their underwear. So someone sings with a bit more passion, keeps her clothes on, and has oodles of talent that lead to her selling 31 million records (Adele). Maybe, just maybe it's time to start doing a "This week in," or "On Fire", or "Three guys one brain" shows. Maybe, just maybe we should all spend that extra time figuring if there is something we can do that might make us stand out (realizing that there is no way to do something 100% original)

Fun Fact: According to a CNBC story 60% of restaurants fail in their first year. This is a company that is serving FOOD. That is something every single person on the planet NEEDS (not wants).

Now we have podcasting that only roughly 30% of the planet even knows we exist, and people think they are going to make six figures talking about their love of Barbarella and other fun movies. And this is what is bothering me.

Just because you can’t make a living with your podcast shouldn’t stop you from starting it. If you would have fun with it, then start it and have fun.

When you look at the people making big bucks in podcasting, and you stress our about it you take the fun out of, well, FUN.

That my friends is a crime

My Favorite Podcast Is (2016 Version)

22:52 It's that time where I ask you to answer a very hard question. What is your favorite podcast? You can only pick ONE (no ties). Then (more importantly) WHY IS IT YOUR FAVORITE? You can CLICK HERE, and let me know (and be included in the last episode of the year, and in the 2016 version of the book).

Podcast Glossary "B"

26:25

Bit Depth, Sample Rate, Export or Encoding Rate
I want to use the analogy of a camera here. Let's say you are taking pictures at a Nascar Race, and there is a wreck. One person has a camera that takes 10 pictures per second, and the other person takes 5 pictures per second. Who has the better representation of the wreck? The sample rate is how many times your recording device (computer or portable recorder) "takes a picture" of your voice. The standard is 44.1 which means it takes a picture 44,000 times per second. Can you go higher? Sure, but there is a minor problem. Most everything is created at 44.1, and when you mix with other sample rates, those will need to be re-sampled. Not the end of the world, but in the end remember most people are going to listen to this in their car or ear buds. The details you gain are not really worth the hassle (in my opinion).

So what is Bit Depth? If we stick with the analogy of the camera, the Sample Rate is how many times per second the recording device "takes a picture" of your voice, the Bit Depth is the megapixels on the camera. Most people record in 16 bit. Can you record in 24? Sure. Is it needed? Not in my opinion, but if you ask engineers who do music they will disagree.

You want to record in a "lossless" format. Lossless means the sound you record is what you hear back. It does not lose any quality. That's the good news. The bad news is these files are HUGE. So when you record you want to record in WAV on a PC or AAC on a Mac. This keeps the best quality. But you don't want to force your audience to use these big giant files that destroy data plans. So we encode them as MP3 files which are much smaller and still sound good.

So I want to use the analogy of painting a house now to explain encoding. The sample rate is how much pain it on your brush. The encoding rate is how fast you move the brush across the house. If you go too fast no paint gets on the house. If you go to slow, you get too much paint, and it may run. There are three formats that are used frequently.

128 Kbps Stereo. This is sometimes referred to as "CD" quality. That is debatable, but it is the highest acceptable rate. Meaning anything above this is too much, and you are just wasting storage space, bandwidth, and the difference in audio is almost unnoticeable.

64 Kbps mono. This file is half the size of the 128 kbps but has no stereo separation (which if your show is mainly talk, is not a big deal).

96 kbps mono. This is used for people who feel the extra bits make the files sound better.

Podcast Rewind

Ham Radio 360 had a listener download his back catalog and listened to him for two weeks.

Mike Murphy Unplugged - Has the Adobe Audition listening to his show (last week we mentioned that you never know who is listening)

Glenn Hebert from Horse Radio Network

Podcaster's Roundtable -Listeners to Subscribers

 

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Automation and Authentication

Rob Greenlee, head of Spreaker.com, co-host of the New Media Show, and the Speaker Live show joins us for another fun session of Ask the Podcast Coach. Rob has previously worked for Podcast One, and Microsoft.

1:20 Social Media Question: Automation vs Authentication from Jeffery at podcastfiend.com

15:10 Grandma is on Facebook 

17:10 Rob shares some insight on the Adore Podcast Network

24:10 Cast Away Awards http://castawayawards.com.au/

26:00 Weird Spam Comments, and how to handle them and setup tour site to avoid them.

29:30 Dave Talks about Manage wp 

32:10 Live listening on Spreaker shows

Mentioned Marketing Over Coffee

37:50 Would Spreaker ever add the ability to call in?

41:10 Tips for going live

46:10 Gratitude Award at International Podcast Day

48:20 Losing a Skype Call  - always have a backup. 

51:10 Plugging two USB microphones into a computer to record.

52:20 Dealing with Bad Audio

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SOP534-100316b

Today we in this episode:

We have a great because of my podcast story that has someone getting paid to do something they would do for free

We tackle some of the podcast jargon starting with the A's

We revisit the File For Download debate in a podcast smack down!

A tale of sleazy guests

And we remind you that you never know who is listening.

Because of My Podcast Lucas Apps

Podcast leads to relationships, and those relationships lead to opportunities. Those opportunities can lead to more relationships (you get the idea). Lucas ended up getting paid to do something that he loves - because of his podcast. Check out Lucas’s show at triangletactical.com

Can I Podcast With a Built-in Microphone?

8: 53 If someone invites you to go golfing. The host shows up with their golf club, and another friend shows up with a pool stick, and you show up with a hockey stick. Sure you can attempt to golf with a hockey stick and a pool stick, but compared to the other people who are using the proper equipment it is going to be obvious that you are not using the right equipment. This doesn't mean you need to spend $1600 on equipment. You can start with an Audio Technica 2100 with a pop filter and mic stand for $93 (full disclosure bestpodcastinggear.com is my amazon affiliate site).

The Wrong Podcast Gear Can Mess With Your Head

I did an hour session for International Podcast Day and to make a long story short, I brought along a microphone (as I was on the road) and then locked it in an office. I HAD to use my built in microphone. I was embarrassed. While I think most of my presentation was OK, I would be the first to admit that this was not my best presentation. I had notes in front of my, but in my head, I just kept hearing a voice in my head shouting that I sounded like a hack using a built-in microphone. Had I had access to the Audio Technica 2100 with a pop filter, I would've been relaxed and more focused.

I Can't Believe ____ Is Listening to my Podcast!

14:20 Try not to use the word "only" when talking about your audience. I "only have" 20 downloads.

Check out Podcast Legends by Todd Cochrane Here is the Episode where he talks about his phone call with Steve Jobs.

I share a story about talking with Michael Hyatt at the New Media Expo and finding out Michael Hyatt listens to my show. Check out Michael's Book Platform

Sting explained on the Tonight Show how he had three people in the audience of a "the Police" show. He interacted with them and made it very intimate. It turns out two of them were DJs who started playing their music.

Cal Nelson of Ham Radio 360 had Adam Curry (one of the people who helped invent podcasting) listens to his show.

The Libsyn File For Download "Discussion"

24: 15 A few episodes ago Mike Dell (a friend of mine who I've known for years) stated my advice about when and when not to use "File for Download" on the Libysn platform was "bad advice." Mike is a great guy, and we are going to have to agree to disagree on this. The fact that I work for Libsyn as a support person and he works in support for blubrry.com is probably not a coincidence.

Two years ago (roughly) I had severe problems with my Wordpress install. One of the things I did was move my RSS feed (which was getting pounded at the time). Luckily at the time I had been publishing my episodes on Libsyn (and copying and pasting the link) into Powepress. Now because I set these episodes up using the "Add New Episodes" in Libsyn, when I switched my feed from PowerPress to Libsyn, my Libsyn feed looked just like my PowerPress feed.

Last week I talked about how using File For Download option in PowerPress is not a great idea. People Like Pat Flynn and Cliff Ravenscraft have recommended that strategy. That makes sense for them as they have multiple podcasts and they are using ONE libsyn account and using their Powerpress. But they are missing out on some automation that would not hurt their WordPress install.

So here is my point, if you go to Libsyn and create an episode as an episode (not a file for download) you are not hurting your podcast at all. Some might argue that you are creating a second feed and that could be confusing. To this I say, for 11 years I've been having to hand hold people to subscribe to ONE feed, let alone two. Some might say that this might damage my SEO. To this I say, I've been using the Internet almost since it was invented, and I have NEVER pulled up an RSS feed in a search result. Google Chrome doesn't display RSS feeds in a way that makes then readable, so why would Google pull up something you can't read?

A file for download is meant for people who want to restrict access to a file. A classic example is someone who has a podcast, and they also have a membership site. They only want members to have access to this file. In this case, they can upload the files as a "File for download only" and only the people who have the direct link can access that file.

So when you upload a file in Libsyn, you CAN use the Add New Episode option and have it do zero harm to your Wordpress feed. You can copy the direct link into PowerPress. Much a like driving around with a spare tire doesn't harm your car, having a second feed available doesn't hurt your Wordpress install (you'll only use it if you need it). PLUS you can also have that episode go to Twitter, Facebook, LikedIn, YouTube, iHeart Radio, Spotify, Tumblr, and more. When you make a file for download, you now have to promote to those sites using another tool. So you are missing out on a TON of automation.

To those who think, "Who would watch an audio file on YouTube?" according to Tory Heinritz of the Black List Exposed podcast people who are deaf. Because YouTube attempts to transcribe the audio in the video,  deaf people can now read your podcast (with some noticeable imperfections).

Get a free month of hosting at Libsyn.com or Blubrry.com using the coupon code sopfree

Podcast Glossary

36: 46 Today we will tackle the terminology beginning with A

Audio Interface (XLR to USB/FireWire)
You will hear phrases like XLR and quarter inch, 3.5 MM USB, and Firewire. So let's cut off the fat. Firewire was a connector used on old Macintosh computers and no longer is used on new equipment. XLR and Quarter inch are typically ways to plug things into a mixer. An XLR has three holes in it to line up the plug. A quarter inch is a thick plug about the size of your pinky finger. A 3.5 MM connector is better known as a headphone jack. If you are looking to purchase a mixer you want an XLR input jack for every person. USB is another way of connecting things primarily with computers. To use these in a sentence, the Sure SM58 microphone plugs into your mixer via an XLR jack. You can connect the Audio Technica ATR2100 microphone using its XLR jack or via its USB jack. If you think of extension cords, some have two prongs and others have a third prong.

Audition/Audacity
Audacity is a free software that runs on Mac or PC that is used by many podcasters to create podcasts. It has many, many options. Most of them you will never use.

Audition is a software from Adobe that runs on a Mac or PC that you rent to use each month. It has some features that make it easier to use than Audacity, and it is considered by some to be "More Professional" but that is up for debate as both are very powerful. Audition has many, many options. Most of them you will never use.

Auphonic/Levelator
Auphonic is free software (for PC or Mac) with premium options that you can run your audio through, and it will remove noise and adjust audio levels. Auphonic is great for interviews where one person is louder than the other, or you recorded yourself, and you were too quiet. Find it at www.auphonic.com

The Levelator software is free (for PC or Mac) that adjusts the volume of your file to be equal. So if you have two people and one is quieter, it will boost the quiet person to match the volume of the other person. You can find it at http://www.conversationsnetwork.org/levelator

Sleazy Guest Who Hijack Your Website

44:27 Jon Buscall shared a story on episode 48 titled "Integrity" of his Online Marketing and Communications podcast about a guest who kind of used a special link to overly promote themselves on Jon's website. It was so intrusive that Jon eventually pulled his episode. It's a very fascinating story. Maybe in the future we will have to spell out the common sense details to guests who come on our show and explain how they are allowed to link to our websites.

School of Podcasting is Now Open with New Options to Meet Any Need

You can purchase courses separately, or you can order a monthly membership

You can also purchase a yearly subscription (and it's like getting two months free)

Mentioned in This Episode

Platform by Michael Hyatt

Podcast Legends by Todd Cochran

Podcast Junkies Podcast

XV - King's X

Download This Episode!