School of Podcasting: Expert Tips for Launching and Growing Your Podcast

The show is filled with "Because of My Podcast" stories. We also have a great example of a good question, and a reminder that Apple is going on Holiday soon (very important if you wanted a podcast ready to go in January 20201). SPONSOR: SCHOOL OF PODCASTING Ready to start your podcast? Got a podcast and you need to grow it? Join the School of podcasting and get instant access to: Step by step tuto...

I had someone ask me about starting a podcast. They wanted to "Stand Out" without "Niching Down." The easiest way to stand out is to Niche down. When you do a show like We Have Cancer, Adoptees On, or the Chameleon Breeder, you get providing information that people can't get anyplace else. You end up with a smaller audience size, but a more engaged audience. Podcasting is Closer to Cable Televisio...

Your Podcast is A Steam Train I often say that when you start out, your show is rolling slow. As it keeps moving, it gets faster and faster. It just takes time, consistency (of schedule, and value). Kim Krajci of Toastmasters 101 pointed me toward this YouTube video from Box Angeles . This video shows Mellisa Hunter who has a hilarious series of Adult Wednesday Adams and how one video in that seri...

Last week , I interview Matthew Dicks who is the author of the book Storyworthy. I am a HUGE fan of Matthew and was very excited when he agreed to come on the show. After the episode was published I get email after email. I saw comments on Facebook all stating, "WOW, That was a great interview." There will be times when you get feedback, and no matter if it's positive or negative you want to inves...

I have had the voice of Matthew Dicks in my head more than any other person this year. I heard him on a podcast, bought his audiobook Storyworthy: Engage, Teach, Persuade, and Change Your Life through the Power of Storytelling , and listened to it. When I was done with the book I wanted more and found his Speak Up Story Telling podcast . Unlike other books on Storytelling that have brilliant messa...

This week rock guitar God Eddie Van Halen died after a long battle with throat cancer. As a guitar who was 13 when Van Halen's first album was released, and whose band provided the soundtrack to my adolescent years this hit me hard. With this in mind, I wanted to talk about things podcasters can learn from Eddie Van Halen. Sponsor - Profit from Your Podcast: Proven Strategies to Turn Listeners int...

School of Podcasting Win Best Technology Podcast People's Choice Podcast Award I am thrilled and humbled to be named the winner of People's Choice Podcast Award for best Technology podcasts (beating out seven other podcasts). Thanks to Todd Cochrane and everyone at podcastawards.com for all you do and thank YOU for voting for me. I had one this award back in 2017, and now I will have an awesome se...

If you want to hold someone's attention you first need to know who they are and what they need. Then we hear that people's attention span keeps getting smaller. Is it? Today I look into attention spans, and what makes things interesting. I asked my audience what thought made things interesting. Thanks to everyone who contributed including: Craig From http://www.inglespodcast.com/ Thomas from www.n...

Elizabeth Benton is known as a health and nutrition guru, but to me, she is more of a "mindset guru." She is someone who has dug herself out of being $130,000 in debt, and has lost (and kept off )150 lbs. My audience from the Logical Weight Loss podcast told me I HAD to read her book,  Chasing Cupcakes (get it for free on Audible ), and once I finished her book, I checked out her Primal Potential...

Charley Valher started a podcast and was "swinging for the fences" and after hiring a team, and putting 50,000 into a marketing budget he realized after a year that the show just wasn't producing the results he needed. Today he shares the mistakes he made, and how he came back to podcasting with new strategies and insights that resulted in his podcast ( the business of podcasting ) being the numbe...

As I continue (as a middle-aged white dude) to attempt to learn more about Black History, Culture, and issues, a friend of mine suggested I watch the TV show Black AF on Netflix as there is always a hidden history lesson.   (a writer and producer)  plays a television writer and producer (named Kenya Berris). In one episode the main character (who is a movie and television creator) is worried about...

It's to know what is working for your audience. Sure you can look at your downloads but there are other ways to look at engagement. Today in episode 738 I dig deeper. Website Traffic How many website visitors are you getting? You may be surprised that your top ten pages on your website are the same as the top ten episodes of your podcast? Why, you might have more keywords in your notes that attrac...

The Zoom Podtrack P4 is coming out next month (from what I hear) and this appears to be a game-changer for those podcasting on a budget. Here are some of the features of the Zoom Podtrack P4: Zoom Podtrack P4 Podcast Recorder Four mic inputs with XLR connectors Four headphone outputs with individual volume control Gain control knobs and mute buttons for each input Phantom power for all XLR inputs...

HOUSEKEEPING: My book, Profit Grom Your Podcast UPDATE. If you're asked to confirm your sale, please say yes. Podcasts are continuing to get more and more popular with millions of listeners worldwide. In some (few from what I've seen) cases, people with  very popular  or  very niche shows can charge what some people call a "Guest Appearance Fee." While I understand that some of us are trying to at...

Patreon is having what appears to be some  serious legal issues created by a loophole in their terms of services. Today I talk about seven different options each with their own strength.  Patreon Subscribestar Supercast Memberful MyLibsyn Podbean Buy Me a Coffee Ko-Fi Full Details, videos, and more at  www.schoolofpodcasting.com/735

There are those that are going to be surprised by today’s content. Why? Because I’m going to admit to making one of the biggest mistakes (if not THE biggest mistake) you can make in podcasting. This deals with your podcast feed. When you learn to shave, you have to learn how to hold the razor properly.  The Radio Analogy Let’s start with some analogies. Radio is broadcasted on a frequency. That fr...

Today we revisit the topic of Impostor Syndrome (something we talked about in episode 627), as you won't believe who has impostor syndrome (the whole, "Why would anyone listen to me???).  We also share what your favorite episode is and why (some pretty amazing answers thanks to all who participated).  Join the School of Podcasting Worry Free Worry about sounding bad or unprofessional? Worried abou...

Glenn "The Geek" Hebert and Jamie Jennings have been doing a ninety-minute daily show Horses in the Morning   since 2010. If you listened to the show 24 hours a day it would take you 150 days to listen to all the episodes. That is a HUGE amount of work along with finding sponsors, booking over 6000 guests, facilitating contents and more. Today they share their secrets to longevity while keeping th...

I've been asked this questions in a few interviews. As there are no rules and you can do anything you want  in a podcast, are there are any Podcasting Best Practices? Well as we all see podcasting through many different lenses I thought I would share my opinion on the best practices. Have a Topic You Are Passionate About, as in REALLY Passionate about.  Next week you will hear Jamie from Horses in...

I hear so many podcasts that do interviews and they start their podcast by pulling a clip from the interview. Today we talk about why this may not be the best strategy. The interview snippet should build anticipation Piques the curiosity and makes them want to know more Some people pull clips that make people go WHAT WAS THAT? Many times these clips are long (I wouldn't make then any long than 10-...

Today we hear stories of different people who have had doors open due to their podcast. Your podcast typically is not a business. It is a business card. Your podcast can be used to network with other people and companies, help you get employment, and help secure opportunities. Mentioned in This Episode Joe Rogan and he was interviewing John Stewart  Emly Prokop from the Story Behind Podcast gettin...

If you hate WordPress but want something a little more powerful than the built-in website that comes with your media host then you might want to check out Podpage. Today I interview the create Brenden Mulligan Learn Podpage for Free Sign up at www.schoolofpodcasting.com/learnpodpage Want to play with it for free? Check out www.schoolofpodcasting.com/podpage Question of the Month: Who Is Your Dream...

I've been holding "podcast happy hours" during the pandemic. This is a place when some of us just wanted to talk to someone besides the cat. In one of those sessions, Scott Johnson from What Was That Like? shared how he ad success swapping episodes with another similar podcast. This got me thinking about strategies to grow your audience. This episode is sponsored by Focusrite Mentioned in This Epi...

As a Marine Biologist, Andrew Lewin from Speak Up for the Ocean Blue podcast (available in directories like Apple , and Google ) just wanted to talk about treating the ocean better and keeping it safe. That was less than 10 years ago, now he's a key figure at Ocean Related events, and is becoming THE podcast about ocean conservation. Today we will hear parts of Andrew's story. SPONSOR: FOCUSRITE *...

My last episode had a typo, and a mistake in the audio ( I said the deadline for June's question of the month was in February). Today we're going to talk about how to fix things when you make a mistake in your podcast. SPONSOR: Focusrite * Scarlett, now in its 3rd Generation, is the world’s best-selling USB interface range with over 3 million units sold worldwide * Choose from 6 different interfac...