The Jag Show: Podcast Tips, Tricks, and Best Practices

In this episode of The JAG Show, we tackle the ever-persistent question: How long should a podcast be? The answer isn't one-size-fits-all. We dive into the nuances of podcast length and what makes an extended episode worthwhile. With personal anecdotes and industry insights, we explore scenarios where longer podcasts not only work but captivate. From celebrity-packed interviews, like Julian Edelma...

WHAT WOULD A TIK TOK BAN MEAN FOR PODCASTING? Well, like most things in life, it’s all about knowing your audience.   OK, I’m not going to get into all the international politics about TikTok, and their Chinese-owned parent company, Byte Dance.   But as you may have heard, President Biden, depending on when you consume this podcast, is expected to sign a bill requiring Byte Dance to sell off their...

This week's podcast addresses a significant issue within our modern media landscape, highlighting the incident where CBS cut off the final moments of a Billy Joel concert broadcast. This mishap, which occurred after a live broadcast of The Masters golf tournament, exemplifies broader industry challenges. Due to the golf event extending beyond its scheduled time, the subsequent programming, includi...

It’s an election year, and there’s no doubt podcasting will play a role. Here’s an interesting one. Ted Cruz is hosting a podcast, 3 days a week, distributed by Premiere Networks, part of iHeartMedia.   Now Senator Cruz, who’s up for reelection this year, isn’t being paid directly for his time, but get this.   His Political Action Committee, or PAC, is producing the show.  And a share of the ad re...

OK, fine, I podfaded. Other client projects took priority, and it's been awhile.  But today was the perfect day to bring back The JAG Show. Google Podcasts, as of April 3rd, is no longer available to listen to shows on.  Users are going to have to go elsewhere.  If you want to take your subscriptions with you, you can TRY.  Here's Google's how-to. https://support.google.com/youtubemusic/thread/249...

 I don't care who you are, what your podcast is about, and how many listeners you do or don't have. Do not do what Curt Schilling did in his podcast last month.  So, quick background for those of you who aren't baseball or Red Sox fans, the Red Sox went 86 years without winning a World Series. They had a number of heartbreaks over the years, including Bucky Dent's home run in 1978, the ball going...

Google podcasts going away in 2024- here's what you need to know While Apple was the OG of the podcast space, podcasts were actually named after iPods, and Spotify was OVER aggressive, investing hundreds of millions, Google/YouTube have been more reactionary. In fact, The company itself said at podcast movement that they've been more about responding to what podcasters are actually doing.   Their...

Got my 2023 Podcast Movement Recap ready to roll, and of course, it all starts with YouTube. The best session I attended was from Jay Nachlis of Coleman Insights and Steve Goldstein of Amplifi media- their Thursday keynote was The New Rules of Podcasting on YouTube . Yes, a show on YouTube is a podcast.   And you need to have a YouTube strategy, even if your show is audio only.  Your content needs...

I know it's been a minute, but we've got to talk about two things today - Stitcher and Twitter.  For both, it comes down to the same old adage- fish where the fish are. Stitcher, one of the original podcast listening apps, has decided to shut down.  Now, for hardcore fans of the app, there's definitely going to be a "who moved my cheese" moment as they go elsewhere, likely to Apple, Spotify, or Yo...

Often times, I meet people at networking events, and all they hear me say is the word "podcast," and they ask "what's your podcast about?"  And I explain that, as you can see and hear, yes, I have my own podcast, but most of my work is focused on building branded podcasts for businesses and nonprofits. Two thirds of the US population have listened to a podcast, and half of them listen every single...

I had artificial intelligence write and voice this entire 3 minute podcast (minus the intro and outro of course). I used Descript to create a synthesized version of my voice.  This required me reading 30 minutes of copy, taken, interestingly enough, from a Planet Earth II script.  (Also, I had to read it twice because I had the wrong mic selected the first time - it happens to the best of us).   E...

Two of the best television shows in modern memory wrapped up this week - Succession and Ted Lasso.   Today I'll tell you how some of the strategies they used can help your podcast.  And oh, spoiler alert. Strategy #1 - Know when to get out.   Both shows left us at a place where they could have continued on.   Part of me would have loved to see how the Roy siblings moved on, and what happened to Wa...

The Daily from the New York Times -one of the biggest, and in my opinion, best, podcasts out there is expanding.  They're going to offer a daily 10 minute recap of the day's headlines.  But in this week's rollout, they are doing something right, AND something wrong. Here's what they're doing right - they are promoting the show on their flagship podcast.  The best way to grow your show is by target...

Yes, I'm a 42 year old man and I'm recording this podcast while wearing a pair of my new Lululemon pants.  And I found them the same way most people find podcasts. Look, we all know the pandemic changed EVERYTHING.   From food delivery to media consumption to...PANTS.  As a recent New York Times Op Ed said - the best things to come out of Covid are "soft pants."  I've been working from home since...

We've all been there as podcasters.   We finish our interview, we sign off, and the guest sends us an email and says, "oh, can I add something?" What's important to remember in podcasting is that, in most cases, this isn't hard-hitting "gotcha journalism."  We aren't out to GET our guests or catch them with their pants down.  Usually, we are highlighting them, or something interesting and relatabl...

Two things that will be central to growing your podcast in 2023  are a YouTube channel and an email list.   First, YouTube.  Now don't be scurred.  If you're camera shy, this doesn't mean you need to shoot video of your podcast.  There are tools like Headliner and others that will take the AUDIO of your show, and either your show or episode artwork or an image of your choice, add one of those movi...

I grew up a die-hard Boston Red Sox fan.  Every April, we thought, "this could be the year."  Until it wasn't.  But in honor of what used to be our national pasttime, today I'm going to tell you what podcasting and baseball have in common.   When you start your show, it's April.   You've got big dreams.   You're going to be the next Serial, or the next Joe Rogan.  You're going to get millions of d...

To paraphrase a great philosopher of the early 2000's.....FINALLY.....The Jag Show....has come back....to podcasting.   First, apologies for the hiatus.  I've spent much of the last six months on a passion project - the WJPZ at 50 podcast - interviewing alumni from a half century of my college radio station.  Look for a case study on that show soon in this space.   Also, on Tuesday, April 4, I'll...

What's better than one podcast producer's 2023 predictions?  How about 5?  I moderate this month's roundtable with Matt Cundill of The Sound Off Media Company, Catherine O'Brien of Branch Out Programs, Johnny Podcasts of Straight Up Podcasts, and David Yas of Pod 617.   We agree on some ideas, and have pleasantly divergent opinions on some others. Find jag on social media @JAGPodcastProductions or...

Hey everyone, it's been a minute.  Gonna break down the last month or so of podcast news and look forward to 2023. First, a programming note.  Yes, I've "pod faded" with this show a bit.   That's largely because I've been dedicating a lot of time to a passion project, a show called WJPZ at 50.   It celebrates 50 years of the radio station at my alma mater, Syracuse University.  We are releasing in...

It's been awhile since we did a recap of news in the podcasting world - so I'm gonna share some headlines that have grabbed my attention over the last month or so: The biggest story is Edison Research's Spoken Word Audio report, released at the end of October, and surveying Americans ages 13 and up.  Some of the key takeaways: 131 million Americans listen to Spoken Word Audio daily, that's up 25%...

A great way to promote your podcast is in other podcasts.  It's what's known as a "Feed drop."  If you can work out a trade with a similar podcaster, you can promote each other's shows.    The old adage is "fish where the fish are."  It's a lot easier to land a podcast listener from another podcast than it is from a social media channel.  They're already on their podcast app! With that in mind, he...

My wife and I are back from a week in Disney World with some friends, and a lot of the things they do there can apply to you and your podcast. Now I realize Disney has about a 90 year head start on you, and 50 for Disney World specifically.  Nor do you have a multi-billion dollar marketing machine and 4 generations of super fans at your disposal.  But here are 8 takeaways from the Mouse House that...

TikTok continues to out-innovate (and out-grow) other social media apps.  And podcasting could be their next feature. PodNews, via AudioMeans, reports that there is a new "bot scraping our feeds." Or, in English, another party is starting to look at our podcasts.  And it traces back to TikTok servers.  Details are scant so far, but this makes total sense.   TikTok has been rapidly gaining on other...

The big news in podcasting this week was Spotify canceling 10 shows from its Parcast and Gimlet studios, leading to a layoff of just under 5% of its workforce.  And it's all because of...greed.   https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/digital/spotify-cancel-podcasts-parcast-gimlet-1235234758/ These shows are Spotify exclusives. While it's true Spotify is one of the biggest players in podcastin...