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

Clay Groves is one of the nicest guys on the planet. I always smile when I see him at an event. I know I'm going to be smiling and laughing soon. He is the host of Fish Nerds , and over the years when I saw him in person he would tell me a "Because of My podcast" Story and when I heard his last one, I said, "I need to have you come on the show and share these stories. In today's interview you will...

Today we are talking about Plugins. Plugins are things you add to your audio editing software to make it better, more efficient, etc. The best way to avoid buying these (or using these) is to record good audio in the first place. That is not always an option (especially with interview shows with guests) so there is a company that has a bundle on sale 72% off and I put it through some tests. Please...

So many people jump to podcast advertising when they think of making money with their podcast. This may be partially due to listening to the radio which makes its money via advertising. About Heather Osgood She started her career in advertising sales and quickly learned the valuable lessons in what it meant to be a business owner. Additionally, she has served as a business coach to hundreds of sma...

In the same way that kids on Halloween want candy, podcasters want downloads. How much? MORE is the only answer.  Should your list your show in (insert directory name)? Well, will it help you potentially grow your audience? Then the answer is yes. Yes, Stitcher and Luminary both run ads in between your episodes (and you get none of that revenue), but for me the potential of more listeners outweigh...

How do I come up with an idea for episodes? This show just celebrated 14 years in podcasting, and I would be lying if I said it was easy to come up with ideas for an episode every week. I will say this. There are some episodes that I feel are great, and I get no feedback on, and others that I feel I took out of the oven a little early and maybe were not quite ready to go to the public, and I get t...

We har about the benefits of podcasting on this show, and I attempt to get people to start their podcast and often ask, "What is the worst thing that could happen?" I wanted to hear what was the worst thing that happened to you by starting a podcast, what was the biggest regret? The Positive Side of Podcasting Here are some of the things people have reported happening "Because of my podcast:" I wa...

Today we are going to take the phrase "Value Proposition" which is typically used in business and apply it to podcast. In the past few months, I've attended a fair amount of conferences and I ask people about their podcast. In most cases, people explain their show and I can see if I want to listen or not (or decide if I'm their target audience). I want to identify what people feel is valuable, and...

I'm back from She Podcasts Live 2019 with some insights from an all women's podcast conference. It was great fun, great conversations and LOTS of laughs. Elise and Jess put on a great event, and everyone walked out with lots of actionable items to put into their podcast. 1:57 Because of My Podcast Jonathan Bloom from Weekly Awesome 3:00 Listeners WILL BINGE YOUR SHOW with Kimberly Sumpter from Sis...

I have added a new book to my "Must Read" list if you are a podcaster. The first one was Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World by Michael Hyatt. Why? Because he talks about making WOW content. My second must-read book is Will It Fly?: How to Test Your Next Business Idea So You Don't Waste Your Time and Money by Patt Flynn. Why? Because it talks about making sure your product (or in this case a po...

Should I Even Start a Podcast? Yes, and here is why. Americans spend over 60 billion dollars a year on diet books. Now you might say that is why people write books because people buy books - because each year more and more people are getting fat. How many people move to Los Angelas to become an actor or actress or to Nashville to be Musicians. You have your talent. You have your goals. You have yo...

Dr. Richard Shuster did spend thousands of dollars on his equipment when he started. He used what he had, and moved forward. Little did he know his podcast would stop someone from taking their own life. Richard has a clear goal and focus of the show, and it is that focus that ensures his show resonates with his audience. I can't wait for you to hear his story. Sponsor: Focusrite 00:56 I got to pla...

In a previous episode, three podcasters shared their opinion on the Rodecaster pro. We all liked it but wanted some more PRO options. Today I give you an update. Because of My Podcast - I Got a Sponsor Brandon/StudeeoB of the Beats to Inspire has received his first sponsor from a music-related software company. These included The ability to record separate tracks (both the computer and the SD card...

You have a great guest or you have a great story, and instead of getting to the thing that will inspire your audience to share your episode, you go to something else. This may be some sort of housekeeping or minor information that could easily be moved to later in the episode. You NEED to hook your listeners at the beginning of your show. Because of My Podcast: I'm a Cover Girl 01:19 Danielle Dail...

The International Podcast Association was launched at Podcast Movement 2019. Today I talk with two members of the executive board Liz Covart of Ben Franklin's World and Glenn Hebert from the Horse Radio Network . Because of Our Podcast - We Lost 100 lbs 1:11 Emily Prokop and John Jominzu of the Hate to Weight Podcast announced on a recent episode that together they have lost a combined weight of 1...

Two reasons people might share things are that they are interesting and that they are useful. Emotions also play into why people share items. When you have something in common with the host it can boost the chance of us sharing the content. Emotions such as laughter or anger. Marketing messages tend to focus on information. But many times information is not enough. They need something more. And th...

I was at Podcast Movement last week. I've attended all six Podcast Movement eventss and it's been a blast to watch it grow. This year the venue was HUGE and it was weird as the number of people also grew so it was hard to tell just how much bigger it was compared to the previous year. As always this is a class act all the way around. The checking procedure, swag, were all super professional. As a...

Last week an announcement from Google stated that podcast episodes will now appear in Google Search Results: Starting today, when you’re searching for a podcast about a topic on Google, such as “podcasts about Awkwafina” or “Instant Pot recipe podcasts,” we’ll show you playable episodes in Search results alongside web pages, news, images and videos. We’ll surface these episodes based on Google’s u...

I was lucky enough to meet Kristen Meizner last year and the On-Air fest, and I heard her speak. I knew immediately I wanted to her come on the show. She was working on her new book So You Want to Start a Podcast: Finding Your Voice, Telling Your Story, and Building a Community That Will Listen (also available as an audiobook ). If you're new to audible you can get the book for free. So You Want T...

I had not "take the temperature" of my audience in a while so I put together a quick survey. I use Google Forms, and did some number crunching in Excel, and made a report using Mail Merge in Microsoft word so I could easily consume the data. SPONSOR: Podcast Engineering School Be equipped to start their own podcast production company or be hired as an employee. Program Includes: LIVE Interactive O...

From time to time I see people in Facebook groups announcing "Hey I got my first 1000 download episode!" or "I just got (insane amount of money)" for my podcast. When you are just starting out, or even if you've been podcasting for a while if you're just looking at downloads or dollars, the inspiration to keep going can be hard to come by. Today we are going to examine the other ways your podcast...

SPONSOR: Podcast Engineering School Be equipped to start their own podcast production company or be hired as an employee. 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 Super Early Bird Specials Apply and prices WILL GO UP. Check it out at  www....

I've performed over a hundred interviews, and I've been interviewed over 130 times on different podcasts. Today I wanted to make an episode to answer ALL the questions about podcast interviews.  Free Podcast Interview Guide There is SO MUCH information in this episode, I've combined it into a Free Interview Guide . Click Here to Get the Guide For Full Show Notes go to www.schoolofpodcasting.com/67...

I keep seeing statements like, "Well, I've done this podcast for 2 years and it's time to start monetizing." With this type of mindset, I can see many podcasters getting discouraged or even burned out. I played music in local bars from the age of 16 to 50. 34 years I played music, but I never fell delusional enough to think I would make the big time playing local bars in Northeast Ohio. If I wante...

Thanks to everyone who chimed in with an answer: Melanie from the Beer with an Engineer show likes to throw a party for her listeners Brad from the Cinema Guys loves milestone shows - loves where people take small clips from past shows (or breaking format to do something special) Terry Noorda from the Discovering America podcast brought his family on the show Brian from Engaging Missions hasn't re...

I Have  A Fear of Heights True or False: Starting a Podcast is Hard Start a Podcast May Require Your To Overcome Fear Hiking in Utah is Different than Hiking in Ohio Get a Guide/Mentor To Help You Avoid Mistakes Everything Was Cool Until the Last Hike Getting Control of Your Mind The View From the Top Was Amazing The Confidence-Competence Loop Mentioned In This Episode Utah Podcast Summit Travel G...