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

Back from vacation last week, but as I tell all my clients, that's the kind of stuff to save for the END of your podcast, so more on that later.  Naturally, the biggest podcast news of the year came while I was away, so let's get to it.   Apple is revamping their Podcasts platform.   As always, James Cridland of PodNews did an excellent job of breaking it down: https://podnews.net/update/apple-pod...

Sometimes, it's a slog to produce a podcast.  Coming up with new content is hard.  And most studies say consistency is key - listeners should know when to expect new content.  But today I'm going to give you a different angle. Don't. People have such limited attention spans - don't ask them to spend time with content that, as a creator, even YOU aren't confident in.  Case in point - yesterday's pr...

Thank you to all of you who commented on last week's special episode, The Death of Music Radio .  I was worried about coming across as bitter toward radio, but most folks in those circles found my commentary maybe a little harsh, but fact-based and fair.  Here's a link to last week's episode. https://bit.ly/jagshow040221 Twitter almost bought Clubhouse. Business Insider says they were in talks to...

Welcome in, I'm Jon Gay.  As you hear in my intro, I'm a radio guy turned podcaster.   When in radio, I rolled eyes at those "bitter old radio guys" who said "back in my day." This is not me being bitter about being out of radio.  Professionally, I'm really happy.  But what upsets me is what's happened to an industry that I loved.   Radio has been around for over 100 years, and traditionally, rumo...

The number of total podcasts online has now hit the 2 million mark - after just passing ONE million last year.  Only a third have put out content in the last 90 days. Wanna stand out?  Good audio, good content, get to the point. Nielsen says podcast audiences are getting diverse and there could be some great advertising opportunities in the space: https://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/report/2021...

It's no secret that where you record your podcast is almost as important as how you record it.  Generally speaking, you want to avoid rooms with high ceilings and hard, flat, "echo-ey" surfaces.  It's why a living room, bedroom, closet, or even your car are much better places than say, a kitchen or a bathroom. But mindset is also important too.  I recorded last week's pod in my office, because I w...

Apple is changing its podcast phrasing from Subscribe to Follow.  - Tom Webster of Edison Research says 47% of non-podcast listeners think it costs money to subscribe.  It's a barrier to entry.  So follow, like Twitter or other social media, is a better word.  I've said "subscribe for free" in many of my podcasts, but I think follow is better going forward. If you're watching this on video, I boug...

Does your brand have an "audio strategy?"  Yes, everyone loves video.  But how burnt out are you on the Brady Bunch squares of Zoom?  And picture your audience listening to a podcast - in a pair of Air Pods as they walk the dog.  Or alone in a car.  Audio has intimacy that video doesn't - don't forget that.  Great article on audio brand strategy from JAR Audio that I picked up at Podfest this week...

First, my tip of the week - make sure your podcast isn't only on the web. It NEEDS to be, at a minimum, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts.  I've talked to several very smart people lately who were either never told this or just couldn't figure out how. To submit, you need an RSS feed, and your show needs to have a logo and at least one episode or trailer.  Then use your accounts for...

Last week, Squadcast debuted their video recording in their latest upgrade, which puts them on par with StreamYard and Riverside.  Squadcast users had been pining for this for awhile, and now it's here. If you'd like to try Squadcast, here's my referral link: http://bit.ly/squadcastjag Also in the last week, Adam Corolla went on Fox Business with Robert Ellin, the CEO of a company called LiveXLive...

I've been having neck issues for a few years now, and it stems largely from being in car accidents in December 2016, March 2017, and July 2019.  Now that I'm 40, I really need to start taking better care of myself.  This week I saw a neck therapist and this month I've returned to physical therapy.  Now, I've ordered an ergonomic desk chair that will keep me sitting upright while recording and edit...

Apple considering a podcast subscription in Apple One? I hate the idea...and feel like I'd just listen in Spotify or elsewhere.  But the carrot might be that Apple could pay podcast creators for their content if they make it exclusive.  I'm skeptical -I'm only paying for something if it's REALLY worth it.  For example, I already pay for YouTube TV, Netflix, and more...I'm not likely to drop anothe...

Last Saturday and Sunday were the NFL's new expanded "Super Wild Card Weekend," featuring (much to the chagrin of my wife) THREE games on each day.  While the NFL has had to adapt during COVID, so have the the television networks.  Due to Coronavirus concerns, NBC's Mike Tirico did the play-by-play of Saturday's Tampa Bay-Washington game from home in Ann Arbor, Michigan.  Then, on Sunday afternoon...

In my 2020 recap, I mentioned that we need to keep an eye on the big podcasting behemoths - Apple, Spotify, Google, and now Amazon.  In the time between when I recorded the show and when it was published, Amazon announced they are buying Podcast studio Wondery for $300 million.  According to James Cridland of PodNews, Wondery has had international success where many other studios haven't.   And th...

Podcasting is getting bigger - monthly podcast listening went over 100 million Americans this year, before pandemic. Overall/Technology: Pandemic paused things, we all scattered but came back. Desktop listening ticked up, overall listening shifted later in day as we got up later and didn't get in our cars, but new routines formed. Another pandemic affect - technology. Grandparents are now on Zoom,...

Merry Christmas from your friendly neighborhood Jew.  While I don't celebrate the religious aspect of the holiday, I do enjoy the holiday spirit.  And in 2020, whatever brings you joy - do it. My tip of the week - using your smartphone as a webcam.  Now again, I'm more focused on the audio side of things, but there will always be some folks who want a video component.  So I've been working with Ab...

What's your podcast doing over Christmas? You have options, especially this year. You could re-publish a great episode or interview from earlier in the year.   You could do a year-end recap. Or, you could take a week off.  Whatever you decide, today's piece of advice comes from my colleague Johnny Peterson of Straight Up Podcasts and the Pod Logic podcast. TELL your audience what you're going to d...

As an early 40th birthday present, my wife bought me (us) a new TV for our living room.  It's gorgeous - it's a Samsung 55" QLED Q8DT 2020 model (the Costco version).  Our previous TV was an 8-year-old Vizio that she bought when she moved into the house.  And it was fine.  In fact, as a sports fan, I'm a little embarrassed to say that SHE noticed the old TV's age before I did.  But when we got thi...

This weekend, I was caught up on all my subscribed podcasts and wanted something to listen to while walking the dog.  So I actually opened my SiriusXM app and found the week's "Pop2Kountdown" - a snapshot of the Top 30 songs this week during a specific year in the 2000's.  It's hosted by my former Syracuse classmate and all around good guy Rich Davis, who does a phenomenal job.  For me, the sentim...

I've been saying this for a decade now.  For local media to survive and thrive, the corporate giants need to leave the space, and local talent needs to be free to cultivate their personalities and relationships within the community. That's exactly what happened here in Detroit with Woodward Sports, the brainchild of former Detroit radio personality Sam "Stick" Day.   Stick takes us through the per...

No Friday episode today with the holiday, so here's a "5 Minute Wednesday." As 2019 ended, my wife and I were trying to maximize our time with our first dog Brady. He'd had a leg amputated and was dying of cancer.  We were extremely lucky to have him as long as we did, and he wasn't suffering.  But as the months wore on, this cloud hung over our head.  We always wondered, "will today be the day he...

No matter what business you're in, it's crucial to superserve your clients.  I'm told there are two ways to build a business - the Amazon model (scale) and the Ben & Jerry's model (do one thing really well, then build on it).  I'm a Ben & Jerry's guy, and it has nothing to do with Phish Food or the fact that I lived in Vermont for 7 years. Something I pride myself on is above-and-beyond customer s...

My tip this week - now, more than ever, force yourself to do the hard things. For me, it's working on my business.  The only way I'm going to do it, is to block some time, sit down, and do it.  What does that mean for you? Riverside. FM has officially launched, as a remote video recording platform.  Plans go from $20 to $50 a month, depending on if you want video and how much.  I haven't tried it...

This episode is a repurposing of audio from a podcast I previously hosted, "The Quizzo Cast," which was put out my bar trivia company Quizzo. I've worked with then for three years. One of our hosts, Jason Idalski, is a game show master.  He went on Jeopardy, and won two days in a row.  He joined hosts Tom Whittaker and myself to talk about the experience behind the scenes, including his interactio...

It's been a long week.  It started with two familiar foes in conflict with each other.  If only they could work together, the sky would be the limit, but one side is so obsessed with the other, that they seem to have lost their own way.   Of course I'm talking about radio and podcasting. On Monday, iHeartMedia laid off another bucket of local radio employees. (Edit: More came Thursday.)  It's no s...