Your Podcast Consultant: Podcast Tips To Avoid Podcasting Mistakes

If you're working on crowdfunding, you have to position your rewards in a way so that they are a reward for your audience.  What Do Superfans Want? Superfans want more content. They love your show and they want more of it. Keep in mind they also want the same level of quality. Superfans also want to help steer the show. This means if you do Q&A they get their questions answered first. This means i...

From the Patreon website, you can expect 5% of your audience to join your crowdfunding campaign. The average patronage is $7/month. If you want to make $60,000 (take home) you need to make $98,192 gross income. This means you need 1169 patrons.  To have 1169 patrons you need 23,379 downloads a month or 5845 downloads a week. Need help growing your audience? See https://podcastconsultant.com/how-to...

I had someone ask me about publishing a "preview" of a show and then putting the "full" version of the website (but not have the full version go to Apple, Google, etc). There are tools at Libsyn.com (use the coupon code sopfree for a free month) to help you do this ( File for download only).  In thinking about this, it sounds like you're adding an additional step for your audience to get your epis...

You notice that none of your quests that you interview on your podcast are sharing their interview. There is a reason for that. The interview you did was very similar to the other interviews they have done in the past and  their audience has already heard their story and the same old same old questions. It Needs to Be Different If you want your guest so share the episode with their audience it has...

In the previous episode, we talk about the importance of listening, to take this one more level deeper in this episode I want to talk about the importance of staying out of the way of the guest. I edit some client's show's and when you do active listening by saying things like, "Uh huh, Mm Hmm" is not needed. It goes against what we feel might be rude (as actively listening shows you are listening...

It's not the size of the guest that brings value, its the size of the value that makes the guest.  When doing interviews you need to ask yourself: Why am I bringing this person on? How will this person bring value to my audience? Then do some research so you can craft an interview that brings value. If you know the answers that are going to get your audience sharing the episode, then you need to m...

You are looking for places to be interviewed, or you're looking for guests for your show. Today we talk about a few. Some of these resources will charge between $400-$1000 per month (hundreds of dollars per episode). There are events that again cost hundreds of dollars to attend. I don't recommend paying for these as there are many free resources. I have a list at Podcasting Resources .com Need a...

When you get booked to be on a show your goals is to understand the goal of the show, and understand who you are talking to. Here are some steps to take: Listen to at least two episodes of the podcast before your appearance. Show up on time. It is somewhat sad that I need to remind people (not you) about this.  Make sure to understand the technology you are going to be using. Wear earbuds or headp...

Avoid The Phone if Possible Unless it is your only option, you want to avoid using an actual phone line as it will sound like, well, the phone (it cuts some of the clarity out and the bass). If you have people who will only use a phone you can get a skype to phone account (which is currently around $3.00 a month). Other options are to use a zoom.us meeting and have the person call in. The quality...

Here is what people do to me: Hello  (no name), I love your show ( which one I have several).   Here are a few paragraphs about me and why I'm so great.  Here is How to Get Booked on Podcasts: Do your homework and  listen to the show to make sure you're a good fit. This benefits everyone as you don't want to waste the time of the podcaster, and  you don't want to waste your time appearing on a sho...

In the last episode , I mentioned how you shouldn't take a break. With this in mind, I realize that "life happens" and you can't put things like your family or your job, or your health on the back burner so  something has to go (and that something is your podcast). Today I talk about how to do this without losing your audience.  Mentioned in this episode The Way I Heard it by Mike Rowe Need Help W...

There are holidays throughout the year especially towards the end of the year. Some questions you might ask is: Is your audience taking a break from driving to work? Are they not grocery shopping/walking the dog? Are they traveling over the holidays (over the river and through the woods). You can record episodes ahead of time and release them later. When you release on a regular schedule, your aud...

Smart speakers are getting more and more popular, but for the most part podcast listening is not the MAIN thing that people are using their devices (like the Amazon Dot, or Echo) for (and we can include the Google Home).  There are companies that will charge you a monthly fee to host your podcast and distribute it to Amazon. Currently, I don't recommend that as according to Libsyn, .2 (not 2 - poi...

You have everything you need (name, equipment, etc) and still can't press record. Today I've got some steps to help you overcome your fears with just a little practice.  This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy

Podcasts are a lot like children. They take up a lot of time. They're kind of expensive and you learn a lot of insights by having one. There are times when I run across people who want to launch six podcasts starting next month. In my head (because I'm polite) I say,  "No you don't." You want to treat starting a podcast like having a kid. You don't just have six kids. You don't have just three kid...

When people find your show and like it they will download a lot of your old episodes. I did this recently and found a podcast that I should have loved.  I pressed start on the latest episode and was greeted with a pre-recorded advertisement. Followed by another pre-recorded advertisement.  In fact, as I went from episode to episode, I kept hearing the exact same advertisement. Every time I pressed...

I found a show name Storyworthy by Matthew Dicks. I love it.  Do you know what I did? I downloaded all of his episodes (64 at the moment) and consumed them all.  However, some of these are from a long time ago. In case he started off with a mild (I exaggerate apologies in this episode) apology. I had just listened to his episode, and the next one starts and here is Matthew apologizing for not putt...

I get confused when I meet bloggers who have great content but don't want to take the exact same information and turn it into a podcast.  I may like your blog, but I can't read it on the way to work. However, I could listen to it if it was a podcast. People on YouTube have audio recorded. All they need to do is pull the video into a program like Audacity and export the audio.  You already have gre...

Today I share my thoughts and some facts on why it's not too late to start a podcast ( or write a diet book, or become an actor, musician, etc). See www.podcastconsultant.com/29  for full notes This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy

There are times when we can overthink things. You always want to do your best and get input from your target audience. You want to know what they want.  There may be decisions that just you just can't come to a conclusion. You could do more research if you want, but in some cases, you just have to make a decision and if it doesn't work out, then try something else.  I often say your podcast is a r...

If you look at other people in entertainment: Musicians Actors Athletes They all have some sort of “pre-seasons, or “Dress Rehearsal” to work out the kinks and your podcast should follow their example. I am going to Podcast Movement next week and I have the following gear ready to use/test: Tascam DR-10X miniature recorder SC6-L Mobile Interview Kit Rode Interviewer Microphone I haven't used any o...

As a support person for a podcasting company (Libsyn.com) I have people contact me who are looking at their daily, weekly, and monthly stats and in some cases, they panic. If the numbers go up, they don't believe they are real listeners If the numbers go down, then there must be something wrong. I host a show that I've done since 2005 called The School of Podcasting and it has over 600 episodes. W...

You've decided that you want to do a podcast with a co-host. That's great. Some people feel having a co-host makes podcasting easier because it's not just you talking into a wall. But there are some things you might want to think consider. Number one, who owns the show? So if it's the Bert and Ernie show, and Burt decides he wants to quit, does that mean Ernie can't find a new co-host and change t...

You may think that your best friend is the obvious choice to be a co-host. However, what if you both DO think  the same thing . That's going to be quite a lot of "me too." Here are some tips to consider: What role does each person play (and who is driving the conversation) Morning radio has a host, typically some "dork" and someone (often a female) who is the voice of reason You might consider add...

Promoting Your Podcast on Social Media So you want to share to the world that your podcast episode is out there? You're not sure what link to use. Should I share a link to Apple? Should I share a link to Google? Should I just share a link directly to the mp3 file? Think of it Like a Podcast Dinner Well, I want to use the analogy of dinner, you've decided to have a bunch of people over for dinner....