Learn How to Podcast: August 2018

Sunday, August 26, 2018

Danny Peña Is On a Mission For Additional Listeners

In episode 633 of the School of Podcasting, we are looking at Podcasting Events and asking, "is it worth attending?" We also touch base with Danny Peña who has created a movie about his story and his show Gamer tag Radio (that is now winning awards at Movie Festivals) to help introduce people to podcasting and to his show. Danny can point to one thing for his success, "Community." We first spoke with Danny back on episode 506 (definitely check it out)

Sponsor: Podcast Engineering School

3:45

Podcast Engineering School – next semester starts September 18th and runs through October 30th. The classes are live and Chris packs the 2-hour classes with tons of information

Today I did a quick search on Indeed.com for “podcast engineer” and saw quite a few options

Program Includes:

LIVE Interactive Online Training

Two Mentoring Sessions with Chris Curran

Major Discounts on Software and Plugins

Lifetime Access to the PES closed community

Certificate of Completion

EARLY BIRD PRICING IS NOW – SIGN UP TODAY AND SAVE BIG

https://podcastengineeringschool.com/

Danny Peña is a Walking Make a Wish Foundation for His Fans

5:36

Danny first appeared on the School of Podcasting back on episode 506 and he has ALWAYs been about his audience and building community (he still is). I drove down to Columbus to Ohio to hang out with him (along with Daniel J Lewis from the Audacity to Podcast). Danny met some of his audience and brought them backstage at the event and introduced them to some of their favorite gamers. Think about how huge that is for the audience members. Think about going backstage at the Super Bowl to meet Tom Brady. In this conversation you will hear:

Danny put together an award-winning movie about his story and the rise of Gamertag Radio using iMovie.
How he taking steps to embrace those who are not currently listening to podcasts and to help them understand how to start listening ( www.learntosubscribe.com is something I put together)
Danny has multiple revenue streams in addition to his sponsors
His relationships lead him to leave CBS Radio when things got a little shaky.

For more information see www.gamertagradio.com

Mentioned: Edison Research

Danny's first appearance on the School of Podcasting on episode 506

Daniel J Lewis from www.theaudacitytopodcast.com

Are Podcast Conferences Worth It?

34:53

I asked you, "Are podcasting conferences worth it?" and today I play answers from

Ed Ryan from Podcasting For Radio Dummies is starting a magazine for podcasters, was inspired to start TWO podcasts and has already received a three-figure boost of support for his Beach talk Radio show that he does with his wife

33:22 Emily from The Story Behind and E Podcast Productions (check out her Book)

40:54 Marco from marcobernard.ca got to meet all sort of people at PM18, and has been inspired to start THREE new podcasts

42:58 Jennifer from Podcast With Jennifer as a podcast editor she has picked up clients and boosted relationships

44:10 Win Charles will attend when she can finance it. She looks forward to having the loving support of the community

45:13 Michael Delany from Caregiving for Dementia got direction and focus for his show, and met a lot of great people. Hear his appearance on the Podcast Review Show

47:50 Hilda from Wise Traditions Podcast has attended two events and came away with practical tips, and relationships. It's super encouraging.

50:03 My thoughts on podcast events

51:13 I got a shout out on the Podcasting For Radio Dummies (Thanks Ed!)

Question of the Month

55:00

If there is a slider between 1 I LOVE PODCASTING and 10 is I HATE Podcasting, where are you? Are you feeling like a three? Seven? Lets us know and WHY you are feeling the way you are. If you want to record something and attach it be sure to put September question in the subject line and send it to dave "at" schoolofpodcasting.com (trying to avoid spam with the spelling), or go to our Contact page for more options. I need your answer by 9/21/18

Ready to Start a Podcast?

I've got multiple plans for multiple budgets at www.schoolofpodcasting.com/workwithme

Download This Episode!

Saturday, August 25, 2018

Be Careful Joining a Podcast Network

1:00 DILLY DILLY

How adding stories to football makes me want to watch it more

4:55 Should I join a podcast network?

12:10 Hardware deals from Jim

17:25 a Discussion of OneDrive from Microsoft

mentioned mediafire.com

24:00 Thoughts on relying on your guest to promote your show (from Josh)

Mentioned: Stop Chasing Influencers: The True Path To Building Your Business and Living Your Dream

29:15 SP from the gonnageek.net network shares insights into the Gonna Geek Network.

44:25 Thanks to our awesome supporters

46:25 Dave and Jim will not rap

47:10 What is a good membership tool? You could use Patreon for building a community if you're doing a course I love Thinkific

Find Jim at www.theaverageguy.tv and start your podcast with Dave at www.theschoolofpodcasting.com

Download the Episode!

Wednesday, August 22, 2018

Solving Podcasting's Discovery Problem

2:06 Optimized Podcast Workflow - Show Notes First

5:43 Why did Rob Sanchez not stand up for podcasting on the Word From Mouth when they say there is a discovery problem

8:00 Proving there is no discovery problem in podcasting

12:48 Gary V on launching your podcast

21:00 Be Yourself - Ronnie James Dio

28:46 My last episode was not great

34:27 Our Awesome Supporters

36:00 The Story Behind Book almost released

38:20 Boats on YouTube

42:00 Repurposing your content

47:00 The Dave and Jim Chemistry plan

49:06 Guests checklist and paying guests (Jim's checklist )

52:14 www.podcastmidatlantic.com

54:50 Promoting show on social media - but fearing being judged by family

Download the Episode!

Sunday, August 19, 2018

Starting a Podcast With a Sponsor - How Marcus Couch Got To Yes

Today we are looking at not taking no for an answer. We are looking at trying new strategies for old problems. My friend Marcus Couch heard "No" multiple times every year when he tried to start a Chicago Bulls fan cast. He didn't give up. He tried and tried again. We hear his story of asking a sponsor to help. We all want more subscribers, will using a text tool like slicktext.com help by putting your subscription one click away? Speaking of new strategies, should you put together a focus group to see if your show is headed in the right direction? All of this is covered in this episode 632 of the School of Podcasting

1:35

Podcast Engineering School – next semester starts September 18th and runs through October 30th. The classes are live and Chris packs the 2-hour classes with tons of information

Today I did a quick search on Indeed.com for “podcast engineer” and saw quite a few options

Program Includes:

LIVE Interactive Online Training

Two Mentoring Sessions with Chris Curran

Major Discounts on Software and Plugins

Lifetime Access to the PES closed community

Certificate of Completion

EARLY BIRD PRICING IS NOW – SIGN UP TODAY AND SAVE BIG

https://podcastengineeringschool.com/

I'm Playing with Slick Text To Grow My Subscriber List

3:39

They even have a whole tutorial on growing your list via text

Pros:
I can try it, or revert back to a free account (and I don't have to worry about codes in an episode years later)

I can capture email addresses (and birthdays)

I can upgrade to a paid program and my un-used messages roll over to the next month

You can upgrade and downgrade any time you like

Your listeners can unsubscribe from your message by texting " stop "

Cons:

Only works in the US and Canada (for me that is 76% of my audience based on my Libsyn stats)

Some people listen in the car (or other activities) can't text immediately.

See Slick Text In Action

Text " sop " to 31996 to get links to follow me in Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts. Then when a new episode is published it will be available in those apps. Here is a video of the backend of Slick Text

https://schoolofpodcasting.wistia.com/medias/u9dzehifr0

For more information see www.schoolofpodcasting.com/slicktext

Marcus Couch Heard "NO" 20 Times But Didn't Give Up

This is a conversation that I had on my Ask the Podcast Coach show which I do with co-host Jim Collison of www.theaverageguy.tv

11:21

I've known Marcus Couch since 2005 back when he lived in Chicago. He now lives in California where writes, coaches, and podcasts (see Marcus Couach.com ). Marcus wanted to do THE OFFICIAL FAN podcast for the Chicago Bulls. He's had the domain bulllspodcasts.com for years. He asked the team, and they said "No." He asked the next year and the year after that. This went on a while. Marcus reached out to one of the Bulls Sponsors. Marcus was now part of the Sponsor's package.

He turned a No, into a yes. He saw where one way was blocked, and kept looking for another path.

He also used the strategy that bands do when trying to find a band member, he went to YouTube and found someone who had an audience on YouTube talking about the bulls.

Marcus had the podcasting knowledge, a sponsor, and a passion, and his co-host Wyse Black had an audience. The two worked out a deal and now have launched the podcast with a sponsor, fan giveaways, and an audience.

Check it out at www.bullspodcast.com

Check out Marcus on his other podcasts:

WordPress Plugins A to Z

WordPress Weekly

Industry Night

Question of the Month

22:49

Have you attended a podcasting event? Was it worth it? I need the answer by 8/24 Go to www.schoolofpodcasting.com/contact if you use email, please use the subject line, "August Question."

Why Your Podcast Needs a Focus Group

24:45

Rob Walch often uses this story of Marketing your podcast and how marketing will not save bad content (The Lone Ranger vs The Sixth Sense movies). So I decided to dig in deeper.

Dave's equation for more listeners is

The value in an episode multiplied by the amount of smart promotion = Total Downloads
In a nutshell, it boils down to this.

1. Identify who your audience is
2. Determine what content they want to hear.
3. Create content that will inspire them to tell a friend (in other words, its good)
4. Go to where your target audience is
5. Make friends with them, and bring value to every conversation, listen for ideas for future episodes.
6. Then tell them about your show

My advice before you start promoting it is to get someone who is not named Mom to listen to your show. These should be your target audience. You need people who will tell you if it’s good, or it’s not.

The best marketing won’t save bad content (Think American Idol winners, think The Lone Ranger movie with Johnny Depp).

The Lone Ranger According to Wikipedia,
“The film grossed $260.5 million worldwide against an estimated $225–250 million production budget and an additional $150 million marketing costs. That means it lost approximately $10 million.
On the other hand, great content will inspire word of mouth (Think the Sixth Sense).

The Sixth Sense - per Wikipedia
The film had a production budget of approximately $40 million (plus $25 million for prints and advertising). It grossed $26.6 million in its opening weekend and spent five weeks as the No. 1 film at the U.S. box office. It earned $293,506,292 in the United States and a worldwide gross of $672,806,292, ranking it 35th on the list of box-office money earners in the U.S. as of April 2010. Box Office Mojo estimates that the film sold over 57.5 million tickets in the US. In the United Kingdom, it was given at first a limited release at 9 screens and entered at No. 8 before climbing up to No. 1 the next week with 430 theaters playing the film.

Why was this so successful?

Because everyone who saw the Sixth sense told someone about it. They said, "You Must See This move." People who saw the Lone Ranger (myself included in this one) told their friends to NOT go see that movie.

Before you go promoting it, you might want to make sure your content is going to resonate with your audience. Promoting a show that brings no value will only allow the world to know how your show should be avoided sooner than later.

Get Some Coaching

If you want an unbiased opinion, I have two options. I can go over your show into on the Podcast Rodeo Show, or myself and Erik K Johnson an go over your entire podcast on the Podcast Review Show. If you're looking for private mentoring, I 've got packages for that at www.schoolofpodcasting.com/workwithme

Download This Episode!

Wednesday, August 15, 2018

Podcasting From Nashville

Emerald City Productions Tour

8:30 The Nashville Podcasters Meetup

11:20 Meetup Tips.

16:20 Thanks to Our Awesome Supporters

18:29 People get all of your episodes when they subscribe

22:01 Are people overthinking it?

27:47 the Blue Yeti has a RIGHT setting? - The Accessories are super expensive

33:23 Bossjock with Multiple volume issues - solution? auphonic.com

Ferrite Recording Studio for iPad

37:04 Uploading to Auphonic, is the desktop better?

40:25 the Ease of Use of the Mix Pre-6and how inexpensive are SD cards and Hard Drives?

43:56 Jim Nerd Outs on how if you upgrade your processor, your computer may slow down.

Check out voidtools.com to get a fast search thanks to computertutorflorida.com

47:19 Anchor now has crowdfunding - but you need a crowd to get funds.

Chartable.com - get your stats fix

50:30 Twitter, facebook Terms of Service are NOT the same as Anchor see http://davidjackson.org/anchor-fm-terms-of-service-compared-to-other-media-hosts/

Download the Episode!

Sunday, August 12, 2018

How Podcasting is Like Shoe Shopping

In the past, I've talked about transcriptions. The fun part of transcriptions is you still have to end up with something that is easy to read and brings value. I've mentioned temi.com and revs.com but the one thing I didn't think about is how you can use it as an editing tool

But What if Things Go Wrong?

I drove to Nashville this week to attend two events. One was the Nashville podcasters meetup, and the other was the launch party of Without Warning by Sheila Wysocki which had a room full of private investigators who are thinking about starting a podcast, and music business people looking to start podcasts.

When I first thought about it, I went to hotels.com and did a search for cheap hotels. I normally don't look at reviews, but as I was choosing the cheapest hotel I could find, I saw some reviews with words like "bed bugs," "Drug Deals," and "Cockroaches." It made me very nervous. I thought of getting bed bugs into my luggage and bringing them home. I thought of my last trip to Nashville where I ended up hitting a dear on the way home and totaled my car.

But What if Things Go Right?

I met some great people and strengthened the relationships I already had. I was interviewed, and it turns out that the Ramada Hotel I stayed at was the same one I chose the last time I was in Franklin Tenessee. By the time I left many more people knew who I was, what I do, and how to contact me.

What I Learned

If you get a bunch of private investigators together they are just as talkative as podcasters. Why? Becuase much like podcasters, the only people who understand what it's like to be a Private Investigator are other private investigators.
My comfort zone is 7 hours in a car, but if I'm driving home I can go 8.5 and be wide awake at 3 AM.
You can use transcriptions to help with editing. The two I mentioned are temi.com and rev.com
More and more people are assembling teams to create a podcast (and I'm not sure people know there is an alternative)
People often follow the guidelines based on their environment (so people in Nashville think you need to go to a professional studio to record - you don't)
Danny Ozment of Emerald City Productions ( speaking of studios) has a great mixing room, and David Hooper of Big Podcast and Red Podcast converted his walk-in closet into a studio

How Podcasting Is Like Show Shopping

I was so excited to go to Podcast Movement I forgot my shoes and I realized this when I was about 4 hours into the 7-hour drive. I stopped and bought a new pair. There are all sorts of dress shoes with colors, materials, heals, souls, etc. Some are shiny, and some have a texture. In the end, you need shoes to protect and provide comfort for your feet. With this in mind, it doesn't matter what they look like, the texture, etc. Fashion is what dictates those types of guidelines and those are not really NEED, but more WANTS.

For me I needed a black pair, that didn't pinch my feet, let my feet breathe, and had a soul that wasn't' going to have me sliding. I looked around, found a few that fit the criteria, and then bought the pair that fit my budget. I could've looked a lot longer, but I found shoes that fit what I needed, and I moved on and continued driving to Philadelphia. Sometimes you just need to decide, put on the shoes and go. Usually the first day, your f00t need to kind of get used to the shoe, but over time the show adapts to the foot and all is well.

So Man Varieties of Show Openings

Jeff Brown from Lead to Read will be coming on the show in the future to discuss this further (as we did a talk on this at Podcast Movement), but we share the opinion that the show should let people know what the show is about, what the episode is about, why we should listen to you, and then get to the content. We will dive into that deeper in the future.

The Perfect Podcast Intro

I'm going to play samples of podcast intros from many shows today and let you know that you don't HAVE to do an intro like mine if you don't want to. Don't want music? Don't need it. Like shoes, podcast intros come in many shapes and sizes.

Mentioned in this show

Ready To Start Your Podcast? Ready To Grow Your Podcast?

I have multiple plans for multiple budgets at www.schoolofpodcasting.com/workwithme

Question of the Month

Have you ever attended any Podcast Event? Was it worth it?

www.schoolofpodcasting.com/contact (I need the answer by 8/24/18)

Download This Episode!

Sunday, August 5, 2018

Should My Podcast Have an Email List?

In the age of social media is email still relvant? If so, how do you grow your list? What makes a good lead magnet? Do I need a lead magnet? This is all discussed in episode 630 of the School of Podcasting

[1:38]

Podcast Engineering School – next semester starts September 18th and runs through October 30th. The classes are live and Chris packs the 2-hour classes with tons of information

Today I did a quick search on Indeed.com for “podcast engineer” and saw quite a few options

Program Includes:

LIVE Interactive Online Training

Two Mentoring Sessions with Chris Curran

Major Discounts on Software and Plugins

Lifetime Access to the PES closed community

Certificate of Completion

EARLY BIRD PRICING IS NOW – SIGN UP TODAY AND SAVE BIG

https://podcastengineeringschool.com/

What Makes a Good Lead Magnet?

3:23

Thanks to Win Charles from the Ask Win show, Matt Rafferty from the Author Inside You podcast, and Jerry Williams from the FBI Retired podcast for contributing

Ryan Deiss at Digital Marketer defines a lead magnet as “a small chunk of value that solves a specific problem for a specific market that is offered in exchange for an opt-in. My buddy (and co-host of the Podcast Review Show) Erik K Johnston did a whole episode about lead magnets. Today we talk about email lists and why you might want to start using one.

OptinMonster (which is a great tool/plugin for capturing leads) breaks it into seven parts:

Solves a real problem – if your lead magnet doesn’t solve a real problem that your customer avatar has, or if it doesn’t give them something they really want, it won’t work at all.
Promises one quick win – your lead magnet should promise (and deliver) one quick win for your avatar. In other words, it should help them to easily achieve something.
Super specific – don’t create a lead magnet about something general. The more specific you are about the benefit of your lead magnet, the better it will convert leads.
Quick to digest – PDF checklists tend to convert really well because they are so quick and easy to digest. eBooks or lengthy reports may make your prospects feel overwhelmed.
High value – your lead magnet should have both high perceived value and high actual value.
Instantly accessible – your lead magnet will work best if it is something that can be delivered right away. People love instant gratification.
Demonstrates your expertise or Universal Value Proposition – when someone consumes your lead magnet, it should demonstrate your expertise or your unique value proposition. This helps turn leads into customers down the road.

Here is a list of 69 effective lead magnets (no email required)

Advantages of an Email List?

17:44

The biggest advantage of an email list is you are one click away from your desired call to action, and more than likely you have someone's undivided attention. Most people (hopefully) are not reading their email while driving, etc.

You can email your list directly and not have the information appear on your website.

You are in contact with your engaged audience.

2000 Facebook followers is not the same as 2000 email subscribers

According to a 2015 study, 3.57% is the average open rate. So if you have 1000 subscribers, 35 will open your email

Derek Halpern of Social Triggers sent his latest post to his email list and his twitter account

Here are the results he got:

50 people clicked on his link from Twitter
1,200 people clicked on his link from his email list

His email list might be twice as large as his Twitter following but it still generated about 24 times more clicks.

Even your grandma has email.

Where To Start?

21:38

Mailchimp is many times the place you start. Why? It' starts free (but if your list grows can be expensive).

There are many, many companies out there. I've used Aweber before moving to Convert kit.

Aweber is $19/month for 500 subscribers or .038 cents per subscribers

Convert kit is $29/month up to 1000 subscribers or .029 cents per subscriber

MailChimp is free up to 2000 subscribers but limits the number of emails sent out in the month to 12,000. If you have 1000 subscribers and wanted unlimited emails per month it would be $15 a month at Mailchimp

Do I NEED an Email List?

Do you need an email list when you starting a podcast, no. But, I hear time and time again that someone in year three pivots their show in a new direction and really, really wishes they had started an email list.

Be Very Careful With Affiliate Links

Both Amazon Associates (amazon's affiliate program) and Mailchimp have it in their terms of service that sending email with affiliate links is against the rules.

Take the Time To Learn Your Email System

One of the things you should do upon signing up for an email service is to take the time to go through whatever tutorials they have. For example, I use Convert kit and to make a long story short I'm not using half of the features. When I was at Podcast Movement, I went to their booth, explained my situation and the rep show the features I could be using, and show how easy it is to use. With this in mind, I still need to take the time to learn the system. There is no sense spending money on a system that sits dormant.

Example of Podcast Lead Magnets

Erik K Johnson has 17 Ultimate Podcast Interview Questions

David Hooper of Big Podcast has 25 podcast episode templates (bottom of the page)

Daniel J Lewis has 20 things you should do before recording every podcast episode (right sidebar) He also has an email list devoted to pointing out great deals at Podcastingdeals.com

I have a resource to help you write better Podcast Episodes titles at www.schoolofpodcasting.com/headlines

I also have a video series for those thinking of getting into podcasting that walks you through the first few steps at www.schoolofpodcasting.com/babysteps

The Question of the Month

28:50

If you've attended any podcast event, was it worth it? If so, why? If not, why not? Please send those in by 8/24/18 go to www.schoolofpodcasting.com/contact if you are emailing them in please put "August Question" in the subject line. (and don't forget to mention your show).